Meanderings of an Aging Soul

With warmth and gentle humor, the author recalls his boyhood on a farm near Lanesboro, Minnesota in the 1940s. His essays portray a childhood structured by chores, family, school and church obligations. In addition to depicting everyday life, he reflects on special events (Minnesota State Fair, holidays, WWII “air raid” practice, car trips), recreation (radio shows, townball league, fishing on the Duschee Creek, roller skating), and memorable characters (hobos, teachers, the town bootlegger, the family dog.) These charming memoirs capture whimsical details as well as stark realities of Midwestern rural life during that period. Besides giving us a glimpse back into time, on a deeper level William Connelly’s writings reveal how his Irish Catholic farm family and small town community shaped the values that would guide him through his life.