Voices of America

The 1930s were an unparalleled period in American history. Never before or since - and probably never again - has the gamut of human emotions swung so far, and so fast. On October 29, 1929, the stock market crashed and soon after, the nation of plenty was in turmoil and fast becoming a wasteland. No sacred institution was left untouched; banks failed, factories shut down, stores closed, and almost every business seemed paralyzed with economic stagnation. A generation raised in these conditions could not help but be changed by such foreboding circumstances. It was a period in which new trends of thought emerged in economic matters, social activity, and moral conduct - all leaving the pockmark of progress upon the nation's young. This book presents a revealing portrait of one man's life during the Depression. His particular story is derived from a specific location in the state of Alabama; however, it is an intimately familiar tale to anyone who survived that horrible economic period, and to younger generations who have allowed the stories to endure in their family lore.

The Fagan Sisters speaks of life in a county village in upstate New York. Sally and Agnes Fagan were born in the village of Copake Falls and lived there through almost all of the 20th century. Their experiences, however, were not confined to that village, located about 50 miles south of Albany near the Massachusetts and Connecticut borders. Even in their childhood, they frequently traveled by horse and buggy or train to visit relatives in neighboring states. The sisters talk about their people who left Ireland during the famine of the mid-1800s, arrived in the rural area, and found work in the mines and later on the railroads. They reminisce about their own school days, their wide circle of friends, and their simple and more elegant pleasures. They recall their first years as teachers in the classroom, where they experienced the prejudice that existed against Irish Catholics at that time.

In Eastern North Carolina lies a rural, agrarian community known as Edgecombe County. Here, the Tar River winds slowly through the land and provides beauty, nourishment, and recreation for its residents. The soil in Edgecombe is rich, and many of the friendly souls who live here-and whose families are rooted here-own unique memories of the county's yesteryears.

Edgecombe Remembers is a window into Southern life over the past 80 years. In this volume, community locals offer readers a variety of journeys-from a 1930s tobacco farm to the activities of homemakers from the 1970s. Early 20th-century Christmases were celebrated with different customs, while education was a privilege not available to everyone. World War II, an especially difficult time for Americans, is an event that those who remember speak of with the joys of patriotism and the tenderness of heartache. The people whom these voices represent may not have been rich in material wealth, but they lived rich, full lives with what was available.

Nicknamed "The Duchess" by a tongue-tied editor early in her career, Virginia Marmaduke is the First Lady of Chicago print journalism. She was the first woman to: cover both crime and sports for Windy City newspapers; be named (by Mayor Daley Sr.) to the Chicago Board of Health; be named Press Veteran of the Year by the Chicago Press Veterans Association; and to be inducted into Chicago's Journalism Hall of Fame.

First with the Chicago Sun, then the Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune, the Duchess's newspaper career ran parallel to the 20th Century. She covered, as she called it, "blood, guts and sex," as well as presidents, natural disasters, women's issues, and-notably-humanitarian causes.

This volume, the first on the life and career of Virginia Marmaduke, reprints many of the famous articles from her Chicago heyday. Additionally, it documents her childhood in Carbondale, Illinois, her first newspaper job, and her return to Southern Illinois where she became a community booster, humanitarian, and beloved "all-Illinoisian."

Since the beginning of the 20th century, St. Louis' Greek-American community has been a vibrant part of the city's fabric. Through a series of vivid personal accounts of growing up in two worlds during the post-WWII era, Growing Up Greek in St. Louis explores the challenges faced by Greek-Americans as they sought to preserve a rich cultural heritage while assimilating to American ways.

From a detailed account of her Grandmothers' struggles during the occupation of Greece during WWII and the Asia Minor Holocaust to the first hand experiences faced by Greek-American children in Greek school, the celebration of name days, and the ever-present evil eye, the book captures the sense of tradition, history, hospitality (philotimo), and community so vital to the Greek experience.