The Summer of 1934
by
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. . . Johnny decided to take advantage of this opportunity to venture out to the shed, curious about what Andy might be up to. He found Andy in his usual place, sitting next to his campfire. There was a large iron frying pan on the make-shift grill over the fire. It contained what appeared to Johnny to be either fried chicken or rabbit. Emma frequently cooked rabbit. After cutting it into pieces she would dip it into milk or beaten egg, and then dredge it in flour, or cornmeal. Fried chicken or rabbit were always reserved exclusively for Sunday dinner. The chickens were much too valuable and were needed for their eggs. Truman had to go out very early in the morning, or at dusk, with his .22 rifle and search for the cottontails. The rabbits were elusive and he wasn’t always successful. The cottontail meat was very popular with most of the people in the valley at the time. It was all white meat, surprisingly tender, with a mild flavor—and it didn’t cost anything if you could manage to shoot one. “Help yourself,” Andy said as the boy approached. Johnny sat on the ground and took a piece of the meat out of the pan. He couldn’t discern whether it was chicken or rabbit. He finished one piece, and reached into the pan for another. As he did so Andy began to laugh loudly. “What do you think it is?” Andy asked, still cackling loudly. “I don’t know, chicken I guess,” Johnny said. (He didn’t think it was rabbit, knowing that Andy didn’t have a rifle). “It’s ground squirrel, you little shit.” Johnny didn’t like the idea at all of eating ground squirrel. He had never heard of anyone eating them. They were a pest, and considered to be nothing more than a furry rat. Johnny, however, refused to let Andy intimidate him and ate the second piece of meat without saying anything in reply to Andy. Andy stared at Johnny with cold dark eyes. He was no longer laughing, but had an eerie grin on his face. Johnny stared back while finishing the piece of meat, determined not to be the first to look away. Without taking his eyes off Andy, he reached for another chunk of the squirrel, his stomach churning at the thought. He ate the third piece, eyes locked on Andy’s, neither of them saying a word.
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About the Book
In the summer of 1934, Johnny Varble is six years old. He lives on a farm with his family near the small town of Santa Susana California. Johnny’s peaceful world is jolted when a stranger with a checkered past arrives to live at the farm. As the long hot summer progresses, Johnny is confronted with decisions that a six-year-old should not have to make. A pretty girl from Oklahoma creates confusing emotions, and a brutal crime gets the small town buzzing with suspicion. Johnny attempts to unravel the mysteries as he watches the world around him, and is confronted with the harsh realities of depression-era life.
About the Author
The author is a life-long resident of the Simi Valley, nestled between the Santa Susana Mountains and the Simi Hills, just northwest of the Great Los Angeles Basin. She spent much of her childhood riding horseback through most of the locations described in this book. The history of the Valley, especially the details of early 20th century life there, has always fascinated her. She has been an active member of the Simi Valley Historical Society for several decades. The author’s husband of 35 years was born in the Simi Valley in 1928 and spent his entire childhood there. Through the years he described to her in great detail what life was like in the small community during the Depression-era of the mid-1930s. Hearing those stories (and countless other oral histories from many of the Simi Valley “old timers” she was surrounded by as a child) inspired her to record them in a way that is both entertaining and enlightening for anyone with an interest in this intriguing area of Southern California.