Starvation Flats

About the Book

It was the era of the Great Depression, the dustbowl years, the years of prohibition, and a time when a new generation of ruthless outlaws emerged and ran rampant in our country.  It was a time in our history when the “ends” justified the “means” in the minds of many Americans.  It was a time of harshness.

            In the summer of 1926, Rufus Jackson Coleman loaded his wife, two boys, and all his worldly possessions into a worn-out covered wagon and left the rundown farmhouse near Rhome, Texas.  The long drought had left him no choice but to leave, and the unsettled feeling in his gut was born from the knowledge that he really didn’t know where they were going.  He just had to get his family away from this God-forsaken area before they all starved to death.  Nobody looked back as they pulled away from the barren waste of the front yard.  There were no fond memories to savor, and the desolation would not be missed.  It was barely sunup but the wind had already begun to stir the choking dust. The distant cawing of a half-starved crow brought an end to the sights and sounds of a once-hopeful expectation gone bad.  Rufus turned his wagon to the northeast, toward the Oklahoma border.   

About the Author

Ron Churchman is a retiree with deep roots in the state of Texas.  His great grandfather settled near Roanoke in the mid 1800’s, and is buried in The Lonesome Dove Cemetery.  Ron is currently living in Flower Mound, Texas.  As a young man he worked as a ranch-hand, a truck driver, and an oil field roughneck.  He worked professionally for an oil field service company for twenty eight years as a Research Technician, Product Designer, and Product Manager.  He is the author of thirteen U.S. patents and various articles published in oil field trade journals.  “Yesterday’s Hero” was his first published novel, and “Starvation Flats” is his second offering.