A Country Boy Reminisces
A Memoir
by
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My parents were in way over their head as they pursued married life, a new family, and a small 80-acre farm 30 miles from anyone that cared for them. They raised five boys always thinking the next child might be a girl. They worked hard to show their families they could succeed on their own, always haunted with their memories of the last depression. But I have been in over my head more times than I would like to think. For example, I skipped freshman orientation the day after I arrived at college. What could I possibly have had to do that would have been more important to my well being? Did my socks need folding? Was I behind in rolling up my toothpaste tube? God only knows, but there I was in my fourth story dorm room confident that I would be able to breeze through the University of Northern Iowa. After all I was a member of the National Honor Society. I was ranked sixth in my high school graduating class of 40.
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About the Book
This book will put a smile on your face if you grew up in a farm in the 1930s to 1960s. You will follow my ancestors as they lose the family farm during the Great Depression. You will watch them go from failure to success on many levels. I share my parents’ struggles as they moved away from my grandpa’s established 320-acre farm to start-up on a new 80-acre farm of their own. One section of the book shares five boys growing up in rural Southwest Iowa. Early on, I share some of my insecurities related to being around a controlling father and going to a small-town school in Fontanelle, Iowa. I share about being way out of my league in college. My parents knew nothing of higher education. In fact, I was being rebellious in just insisting on trying college. I skipped freshman orientation at UNI out of ignorance of what college life involved. I was drafted into the army one year after college. I knew very little of the politics at the time. I somehow ignored the country’s division over being in Vietnam. In the army, I learned how to obey orders quickly and that I wanted to be a civilian again as soon as possible. Following the war, I experienced many changes in my life. I found out about being committed to my wife, my family, and my newfound faith. I came a long way from my roots that started on that 80-acre family farm.
About the Author
Keith Wood is a retired school teacher, accountant, and part-time assisted living chaplain. He has a BA in business education from the University of Northern Iowa in 1968, a BS in Christian Ministry from Iowa Christian College in 1976, and an MBA from St. Ambrose University in 2000. He lives in Bettendorf, Iowa with his wife Doris. Giving out the general location of Bettendorf, he likes to tell people, “If you can picture Iowa with a nose, Bettendorf is where you would use a Kleenex.” They raised three boys, who now live too many miles from their Iowa roots, raising families of their own. Keith’s 46 years of family life, work life, and church life have been the source of many experiences. Experiences that added to the early lessons of an Iowa farm boy. The reminiscing here is part of his continuous search for meaning throughout his 72 years of life.