A youth (Stephen Lars Kalmon) raised in a Midwest rural setting, remembers the vast changes after World War II. He tells the story of buying a new Hudson, a long tricky process in which a man is upstaged in the deal. When the farm was wired for electricity it enabled the use of many mysterious new appliances. In a backcountry tavern tricksters fool some city slickers, with a twist, it winds up in laughter. At a square-dance and basket social he learns of a wily competitor for his best girl. Later, and just of age in 1955, he leaves home in a rage with $7.00 in his pocket and a full tank of gas. His experiences in a big city leave him charmed when he lands a job at a TV station. But horrified when helplessly viewing a grievous insult heaped on a small African-American girl. On a Saturday night during the wheat harvest in Montana, at a dance hall, and later in a small town bar, he learns fists are not only for shaking. Joining the army with a friend, they endure a rough basic training. The farm boy makes a friend and together they find girl friends in Louisville. In another army post a dangerous escapade earned him a tour of duty in Korea. That led to trauma that engendered a lifelong affliction.
About the Author: About the author: Stephen Lars Kalmon was reared on a farm in Taylor County, Wisconsin. That part of his life is detailed in his first book, Barn Fire and World Fires World War II, A Farm Family on the Homefront. For a few years he and his wife tried farming on their own. After a serious car accident made the decision for him, he left farming behind in1966 and began work at Potaczek Scrap yard and later Schmidt's Men's Clothing in Medford. He finished his undergraduate degree in 1972 and began his work-a-day career with a national dental company that year and finished it as a Dental Supply and Equipment salesman for Sullivan Dental. Concurrently since 1976 he was a freelance writer for large and small dailies, weekly newspapers and small magazines. In the early 1980s after being fired by his first dental company he spent two years freelancing full time and wrote and edited two newsletters: The Tombstone Times for Tombstone Pizza; and another for the Taylor County Memorial Health Center. He was a stringer for the Marshfield News Herald and a columnist for the Star News, Medford, for more than 10 years. He is the founder, editor and a writer for the Taylor County History Project, a community work. As encouragement for young writers he founded, directed, funded with his own money, contributions, and advertisement dollars, the Gilman Schools writing contest for 11 years and co-edited its literary magazine. He is a family man and is the father of eight children. Except for a six-year hiatus which included a three year hitch in the U.S. Army, he is a lifelong resident of Taylor County. This his fifty-fifth year residing on his farm which has been purchased by his son and his wife