Description:

THIRD EDITION - Set in western Erie County, PA, this is the story of the day-to-day lives of poor rural families, told in their own words through hundreds of pages of collected correspondence. It tells the true story of an unwanted child from the city of Pittsburgh, who was transported to the totally foreign environment of her great-aunt's home in Cranesville. In her own words, she describes daily life on a farm in rural western Erie County - her chores, her school, her friends - and later her jobs and her courtship and marriage to a local man. The bulk of the letters include both those composed by her and hundreds received by her, beginning in 1910 and going primarily until her marriage in 1923. The areas covered include primarily western Erie County, as well as North East. Many local families are mentioned in the letters, and there is an index to aid in that search. There are also many photographs throughout the book, as well as an appendix containing the genealogy of several local families.