Stories From My Father - Paperback

by Barbara Paulding (Author)

Stories From My Father is an engaging narrative of the childhood of James Paulding, a boy born to a poor coal mining family in 1909. It is a story of coal miners, family, love, and struggles. Issues such as race, equality, and workers' rights are woven into the rich history of one family. The little coal mining towns in southern Iowa have changed over the years. The mines are long gone. No bone weary miners come home at night, covered in coal dust, walking with weary steps. The pool halls, company stores, union halls, and schools are all gone. Barbara Paulding's captivating stories and photos give readers a first-hand view into what it was like to grow up in the early 1900s. Her family's stories of struggles and achievements are universal and inspiring.

Author Biography

Barbara Paulding was born in Hamilton, Iowa in "The Little Black House," a coal miner's shack covered in tarpaper. Her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins all lived within a few blocks of her home. All of the men in her family worked in the mines at some point in their lives. Barbara remembers seeing them come home at night, covered in coal dust, only their eyes and white teeth shining through the dirt. When Barbara was seventeen, she left the coal mining towns of southern Iowa to attend the University of Iowa, where she earned her BA and MA in psychology. Barbara has returned to her roots and now lives with her husband, Kirk Moody, on a small acreage in southern Iowa. She has written a novel, Ghost Town Truck Stop.