Rock Bottom: An American Heartland Farm-Town and Family from Settlement through the Great Depression

A history of 19th century Westward Movement of European immigrants to mid-America; a chronicle of a farm-town community's life, hard times, & good times from its founding in 1855 through the depression years, the 1920s & 1930s to outbreak of WWII. From a flour-mill town & vital center of worship, schools, bank, lumberyard, pool hall, creamery, railroad, blacksmith shop, a dry- goods store, to a virtual ghost town, Rock Falls, Iowa, was the author's home town from 1920 to 1940. His history is alive with comedy & tragedy, mixing rural society, farming methods, politics, rotten luck, good luck, a tender love story. A significant postscript about 20,000 or more rural communities today -- no schools, no churches, banks, stores, no public service for mostly elderly left behind with no medical services, transportation, fire or police protection, water-sewer systems, libraries, employment, recreation or social services. See review in THE GUARDIAN (England's pre-eminent newspaper) weekly issue Nov. 27, 1994. Other reviews call ROCK BOTTOM "...a masterpiece of small town history", "immensely interesting", "...fascinating & witty." To order call or write Wilkinson Publishing, 34 Hayes Avenue, Lexington, MA 02173. (617-862-0068).Wilkinson, John M. is the author of 'Rock Bottom: An American Heartland Farm-Town and Family from Settlement through the Great Depression' with ISBN 9780963709103 and ISBN 0963709100.