3 Review(s)

As a young boy, Dave Crehore moved with his parents from northern Ohio to the shipbuilding town of Manitowoc on the shores of Wisconsin s Lake Michigan, where the Germanic inhabitants punctuate their conversations with enso, the local radio station interrupts Beethoven for commercials, and the outdoors are a wellspring of enlightenment. Crehore s stories of his youth in 1950s Wisconsin are peppered with engaging characters and a quiet wit. A grouse-hunting expedition goes awry when an eccentric British businessman bags an escaped bantam rooster with a landing net. Crehore's great-grandfather gets in trouble one Christmas when he sneaks a whoopee-cushion under a guest s seat. The elderly Frau Blau gets trapped in an outhouse by a shady auctioneer during a farm sale. Through all the adventures and misadventures in a small town and in the great outdoors of Wisconsin, family is always at the center. This gently humorous look back at a baby-boomer s awakening to adulthood will be appreciated by members of any generation.Honorable Mention, Kingery/Derleth Book Length Nonfiction, Council for Wisconsin Writers Finalist, Humor, Midwest Book Awards"