My dad had an unconventional childhood as member of a farming family scraping by in 1930s to 1950s Chicagoland—in the midst of growing suburbs they had milk cows and grew crops. Dad’s father drove tractors down the streets to get to threshing jobs for other farmers, when O’Hare Airport was just a big area of orchard (ORcharD) and corn. Then in the late 1950s, Dad was stationed in Japan (post Occupation) with the U.S. Army and loved exploring the recovering country, especially the rural areas where old ways of life existed. Several years ago, in an old trunk he had inherited from his mother, Dad discovered a stack of letters he had written home about his experiences and impressions. His mother had saved them all.

I used the saved letters to write Dad’s memoir for him, at least the military service part. For most people, turning a bunch of old letters into a story is a daunting task. Dad was able to write most of his Chicagoland childhood memories, though, and I put them into good order. He and I worked the manuscript over to the satisfaction of us both, then I formatted it into book form and added photos. This month I finished, and my family is so pleased with the resulting 8.5×11 paperback printed via Lulu.com. My 91-year-old dad is thrilled—priceless!

Together, Dad and I saved some very interesting history. The family was fascinated by his stories and Dad loves remembering. Some very cool old print and slide photos are now in a book, easy to see. I sense that Dad is pleased his life stories are important to us—worth all the trouble of writing and publishing. Who would not feel important as the star of a book!

See also my post on: Publishing two more family memoirs with Lulu