The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Farm Stories -

A Fading Dream ,

by Loretta A. Johnson

THIS MEMOIR starts in the early 20th century as both sets of grandparents are immigrating to the United States from Czechoslovakia. Settling in Chicago, a carpenter and baker, they start to raise large families, just as the lure of settling the West starts to beckon. News spreads that they can realize a dream and become farmers with 160 acres of free land in Central Montana.

With no experience in farming, they are naive to the harsh weather and trials. THE STORY begins when the families set up homesteads without the conveniences of electricity, telephones and running water. Humorous adventures abound as you see this life through the eyes of a child. The book is an astounding true life tale of how children under the age of ten learn to be responsible for making large meals, driving the food to the fields, milking the cows, and getting an education in a one-room schoolhouse while the teacher teaches all eight grades.