Pine Creek Recollections Revisited

My grandparents were tenant farmers in an area south of Mt. Morris, near Dixon, Illinois called, Pine Creek. This book is one of several I have about towns or areas in Ogle County. The author is Jane Shoemaker, and although I don't know her well, I remember her stopping by after the death of my mother in 2000 to visit. The book was a gift from Ruth Balluff, who also grew up in Pine Creek, and attended school with my Dad.

"This book describes life during the 20th Century in a small area of northern Illinois, Pine Creek Township. Although it tells about life in a small area of Ogle County, it should not be considered just a book of local interest. Within these pages is a description of rural and small town life that honed and defined the generation of people who parented, nurtured, and shaped the Greatest Generation, as was defined later by Tom Brokaw, in his book with the same name. The harsh realities of life during the early 1900s, that finally led to prosperity after the world's largest depression, shows a stamina and grit in those who lived it, that still holds us in awe. My Mother, Lela Mae Feary Stomberg, lived in this incredible century. She was born on October 13, 1901, on the Pine Creek Farm, nestled between a winding creek and a dirt road, in rural Ogle County. A few years ago, I sat down with her with a small tape recorder. We conducted an oral history of her life. She has remarkable recall especially for details in her early years. After many sessions together, we had three tapes full of her remembrances." From the Prologue by Jane Shoemaker. (Mt. Morris, IL: Pinecone Productions, 2001)