From the Hidewood

by Robert Amerson

In twenty-one interwoven stories, author Robert Amerson re-creates life on his family's 160-acre farm in the remote Hidewood Hills of eastern South Dakota from 1934 to 1942. Each story, told from the perspective of a family member or farmer neighbor, captures the moods, sounds, sights, and relationships of these rural Americans at a time of tremendous change. Nine-year-old Robert Amerson is a dreamer fascinated by books, airplanes, and cars. As he grows older, he becomes impatient with old-fashioned horse farming, and he struggles to balance his responsibilities to the farm with the attractions of high school and life in town. His father Clarence, a master at making do, labors unceasingly but never seems to get ahead. His mother Bernice, who fights off dark emotions along with frustration at not "having it nice," concentrates her energy on getting her children an education. In this time of Depression-related hardships, edging toward the eve of World War II, co-operation and hard work a