Kathleen O'neill Allison

Popcorn in a Pillowcase Kathleen O'neill Allison

Popcorn in a Pillowcase details the life of a youngster born in 1929, just three months before Black Tuesday in late October. Our grandparents were the last of the pioneers who came to claim homestead land in Montana. This book describes the day-to-day concerns and adventures of the author and his family through the decade of the '30s. Hard times affected everyone and forced many adaptations in everyday life. One of these adaptations is the source of the title of the book. Some of the chapters describe a typical rural school, how people raised crops and animals, winters that were particularly harsh and social activities. It was a time when children were raised with less sensitivity and feelings of neighbors were of less importance than now. Montana was the edge of the Frontier. This is where those who didn't 'fit in' with each other came to live. That may be where the saying, "Rough around the edges," came from. Neighbors did watch to make sure everyone had enough to eat and were warm in cold weather.

Ways of doing farm/ranch work changed with improved machinery, but power tools were few and far between. Homes sometimes had a hand operated pump in the kitchen, which was the extent of 'running water.' There were a few generator/battery plants for electric lights and the phones were big oak boxes that hung on the wall with a crank to call the operator. Toward the end of the '30s many things appeared that made life easier. Also, there arrived a feeling in the air, a kind of anticipation, which signaled an end to the "Hard Times." Rumblings from across the ocean of nations threatening nations caused a few old timers a little concern. These were mostly dismissed as being about as important as the momentary glow of sheet lightning way off on the horizon. The decade ended with folks looking forward to a better tomorrow.