Author Description

Gladys: An American Story, 1934-1946 is a series of letters from a young woman to her family. The story opens on the day her luck changes because of a new WPA project, enabling her to go to college. Even though Washington State College in Pullman is only thirteen miles from Colton and the farm, Gladys writes of her experiences as if she had settled in another corner of the country, reflective of the emotional distance she sojourned to become a college coed in 1934. Eventually, she lands a job on the west coast near a little town called Silver Lake. She soon finds herself as the home economics and English teacher, the drama coach for the school plays, and the heart of the school lunch program. She survives. She marries, but her husband receives his 1-A draft status. Gladys returns to Colton alone and teaches there during the war years. The 40s gave America back its resiliency, a way to transcend the Depression. Through the letters, we can reconstruct an era. Gladys studies, she reads, she listens to jazz, she goes to the movies, she makes soup for school lunches, and she dances. We can feel the period, the poverty, the New Deal, leaving the farm, and the thrill of finding employment. We can understand the price of goods and even the care for the rubber on the tires. This historical context is the crucible of the greatest generation.