How much of your childhood do you remember? What can you recall of your hometown? Who were the people who influenced your life? These are questions that Joseph Colwell answers for himself in his recollections of growing up in the small Illinois town of Tuscola. At the time, his adventures and experiences seemed nothing special. But looking back over 60 years, he remembers with fondness the place where he grew up and the time of mid-twentieth century. The place and the time laid the foundation for his life and for countless others. His hope is that everyone who grew up in a hometown similar to this one, especially a half century ago, will be able to relate to a place and a time that formed their values and character, which stayed with them throughout their lives. Think of your own growing up as you enter Joseph’s time machine.

Joseph describes the values of a hometown and how this small town was his home, even after he left it to pursue his career out West. Many of the businesses and people who were teachers, mentors, and adult influences on his life and the lives of his contemporaries. The place was important but also was the time–mid twentieth century. He describes how that world is gone, but why we remember it in such fond terms as seen from today’s world.