The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

On Tuesday, July 2, 2019 from 2 pm - 4 pm at the Jeff Reichelt Library Loretta Nepil Johnson will be reading and signing her book Farm Stories and A Fading Dreams. It was printed in 2017, but this is her first opportunity to read and sign her book in Big Sandy

Loretta Nepil Johnson and Dean Robertson at their Senior Prom.

Loretta writes, "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 naïve to the harsh weather and trails.

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 10 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."

I first heard of this book from Doris Gullickson, who completely enjoyed it and recommend reading it. It is the memory of a woman's story as a child, raised with the last name of Nepil in Big Sandy area. It's our history, an easy and enjoyable to read.