American Legacies Organization, Inc.

Joyce Virginia McNutts 1947 senior high school Poto. She was born in 1929.

by Joe Mayfield

I waited for another vehicle to come and finally I saw the headlights headed my way. It was the bus with Cincinnati on the sign. I flagged it down and got on. We hadn’t gone very far until I noticed a good looking gal and her mother riding in the front seats. I started a conversation with her and learned that they had been visiting her brother at Camp Campbell, KY.

In November 1946 Billy was ordered to report to Kempston Barracks in Bedfordshire for six weeks basic training in the British Army. Entering the gates of this impressive foreboding looking fortress, which was built in 1875 and could easily be mistaken for a prison, he couldn’t help thinking that his only crime was to reach the tender age of 18.

By Sunshine

Sooner or later, most people get asked,”And what do you do?” Depending on the kind of day I have had, I have been known to say, “I raise a mother.”

Needless to say, I have gotten some strange looks when I say this. I find that some people first look at me funny, then their expression changes and they respond, “Oh! You too?” We then start discussing this “job” we both share.

By Dale Castle

I have always been interested in how life was back in the 1800s. I never get tired of watching reruns of Bonanza and Gun Smoke or other old movies of that time period.

My cousin told me that Missouri Town would be having their annual Festival of Arts, Crafts and Music October 1st and 2nd, and if I wanted to really see and experience what life was like in the 1800s, I should spend an afternoon there.

Lester Feaster and Ada Feaster nee Kreiser and their son Lester Jr, standing in front of Emma Wike nee Feaster's home.

By Polly Mazariegos nee Wagaman

KELLY DENISE BAKER

Henry Eldon Roberts was born in Strathroy, Ontario on Dec 28th, 1915 during World War I. His father was born in Londonary, Ireland and his mother was born in England. His parents migrated to Canada when they were just babies and met each other as teenagers. They lived on farmland and had to work hard for what they had. Henry's older sister, Ruth couldn't pronounce his name and referred to him as "Al," which became the name he was known for, for life.

By Jennifer Sidle

Dwight Foster, a poor southern boy growing up during the depression in North Caroline, finds himself “just another mouth to feed” as his frustrated and volatile father, a cabinet finisher, struggles to support a wife and their eight children. Dwight escapes his father’s frightening fury by maintaining a quiet existence.

Mom and Pop and the eleven of us lived in a 4-room cinder block house. Our house looked like all the other houses because they were company houses. The company or coal mine owned the houses, and the stores and we knew we belonged to them. Everyone knew everyone else. We never lived anywhere else but in a mining camp or ‘the blocks,’ as everyone called it.

One of the enticing draws to the pond was the rope swings. Daddy had designed and welded a huge swingset and had it concreted in the bank of the pond. He then built an open shed with a tin roof close to the swingset.