"Root - Hog or Die"
The Life Story of James H. Oettel
by
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FORWARD
We now live in
I am at present 77 years old and my wife is 72.
Winters in
I have earned that relaxation after working in and around
The pleasant aspects of the present cause me to reflect on the path that led me here.
They say we are the essence of everything we have experienced and all the people we have met.
I write this autobiography to honor those people whose kindness and compassion helped make me the person I am today. I write to praise the lessons I learned from my father and mother under the most trying of circumstances.
I write with the encouragement of my lovely wife, Dolly, who has been by my side for 54 years.
My family was truly blessed by the generosity of many good people, some of whom I have been able to locate and personally thank.
In the bleakest of times, someone put out a hand to us.
Barefoot in the winter is bearable when you have a full stomach. Little or no food is made easier when you have a home and a loving family, be it a cave, a tent, or a makeshift abode.
I sometimes feel sorrow for the needy today who become trapped in the bureaucratic charities which give but don’t encourage self preservation.
My father would undoubtedly give them the same stern but concise-advice he gave his family:
“ROOT - HOG - OR - DIE “
To my children and grandchildren - This is the way it was for me.
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About the Book
The Author wrote about the hardship he and his family went through with not much help from the Government.
This is the life and struggles of a family of six during the depression years.
They say we are the essence of everything we have experienced and all the people we have met.
It expresses the words my Dad used when we were in desperate situations.
“ROOT-HOG or DIE.”
It describes how some families lived around
We lived in a cave for almost two years, under bridges, in cotton piles, what we slept on and how we kept dry, and out of the wind and cold. What we had for food, cooking utensils and other accommodations.
Going to the Blind school, Entering Service.
Having a Foster Group Home with 153 children.
Having four Auctions.
About the Author
He was a depression child, born in 1927. At 4 yrs. of age, he lived in a cave in mid-Missouri.
His parents died just three weeks apart in 1939, orphaned at age 12.
He was with strangers and later relatives placed him in a Blind school in
He had no one to help him during these hard times.
He ran away from the blind school, and joined the Army Air Force in W.W. 2.
He had his left eye removed at 22, a major heart attack at 48, Cataract surgery at 66, open-heart surgery at 74, Cancer surgery at 75
His writings are from his own experiences.
He followed his Dad’s advice, “When you can’t do anything else, you can always give up.”
He said, “Giving up was not an option. You had to “ROOT- HOG- OR DIE”.