Two Boys and a Dog

By James Goodman

The time was the summer of 1943, Billy was 12 and I was 10. WWII was raging throughout the world. Billy’s Dad was called up to the Navy and later sent to the Pacific. My family fortunately stayed together. We boys had spent our summer riding bikes up to Hornecker Creek, fishing for trout and exploring. Billy’s dog Spot tagged along and enjoyed the chance to chase rabbits and follow wherever the smells might lead. One day we started home and Spot was nowhere to be found. We were heartbroken, Spot was lost! Many searches by neighborhood boys were done to no avail. Two weeks passed, no Spot. Spot's story is one of courage and the will to come home in spite of a seemingly impossible situation. Two boy’s hopes fulfilled by the bravery of a dog, reinforcing the realization that it was a great time to be a boy in a small town at the edge of the high mountains of Wyoming. A time to learn valuable lessons good for a lifetime and to develop the strength that comes from being independent, even in times of stress and worry, and even for two boys of 12 and 10.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Richard
• Release date: Feb 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311908902

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TWO BOYS AND A DOG

Based on a True Story

James Goodman

Copyright 2013 James Goodman

Published on Smashwords

Formatted by eBooksMade4You

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CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER 1 - Being a Boy in Lander (in 1943)

CHAPTER 2 - Hornecker Creek

CHAPTER 3 - That Fateful Day

CHAPTER 4 - The Search

CHAPTER 5 - Week Two Begins

CHAPTER 6 - The End of Week Two

POSTSCRIPT

DEDICATIONS and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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PROLOGUE

The time was early 1942. America was struggling to organize to fight a difficult and costly war, now known as WWII. In early 1942 folks just knew it was war with all the sacrifice and tragedy to come. The shadow of the Great Depression still hung over the land like a storm cloud. Millions of Americans were still trying to find work and coping with how to put food on the table and clothes on their family’s backs. No one knew what the war would bring and a sense of panic seemed to fill the air with doubt and concern. Jacob Johnson was among the unfortunate young men trying to keep his small family, his wife and two children from hunger and the squalor of poverty. Living in a tiny shack at the edge of the small town of Lander, Wyoming, population about 2500, Jacob was barely surviving by doing small jobs, yard cleanups, digging ditches and other piece work when he could get it. Having been raised in poverty in another small town in the West, he looked to live off the land as much as he could. A small garden provided some vegetables and the meager pay for odd jobs enabled the family to have meat, perhaps once a week. Jacob also tried to capture small game in the few traps he had collected over the years. Rabbits were the usual fare when they could be caught. Jacob also had some big ideas about being a trapper. Stories of the glory days of the early 1800’s were always in his mind and he envisioned himself as a mountain man, hunting and trapping in the Wyoming mountains as many had done in those early days. In reality, Jacob had only a few traps, the leg-hold types meant to catch muskrat and beaver along the streams flowing from the high mountains. Living in Lander gave Jacob the opportunity to set his traps along the banks of the Popo Agie River. The Popo Agie is a stream rushing down from the mountains high above Lander. It flows year- round and downstream joins the Wind River as together they race through the Wind River Canyon beyond Shoshoni and flow towards the Yellowstone River. A beautiful, wild stream, the Popo Agie has always been a haven for wildlife and for a quality fishing experience (see the book cover for another photo of the Popo Agie River).

NOTES

The Popo Agie River is famous