Those Were The Days, My Friend

By Gary Wonning

Those were the days my friend, we thought they would never end.

It was a great time to grow up. The war babies and baby boomers were the recipients of a time brought to us courtesy of the “Greatest Generation”.

Our parents had endured a depression, and a world war to set in place a time of prosperity never seen before in our history

We grew up in the land of bobby socks and blue jeans, rock and roll, blue suede shoes, white bucks and flat tops.

We were all about hot cars, loud music and dancing the night away. It was a time of innocence, sex wasn’t passed out like cotton candy and drugs were unheard of. We did overindulge in alcohol, but our shenanigans were mild compared to what came in the decades to follow.
There were problems, always has been, always will be. Divorce was practically unheard of, and many of the problems we faces today were present, but most people had a moral compass to keep them on the straight and narrow. People would stray and not always do the right thing, but sooner or later, most would somehow find their way back to leading a somewhat respectable life.

Little did we know, the negative elements of society that were emerging would someday lead to the possible downfall of our country.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Florida Hoosier
• Release date: Sep 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370725007

Gary Wonning

  Growing up on a dairy farm  in rural  southeastern Indiana ,Gary was  raised in a conservative Christian environment and looked forward to a life much like his ancestors had lived.  The two car garage, white picket fence and 2.5 kids was his life’s dream. Due to some twists of fate his life changed suddenly and a different path was taken.   At this time,he began to question everything he was brought up to believe, his political views, his religious and spiritual beliefs and every value society places on us as members of the human race. During his Vision Quest, which lead him to Egypt, Australia, the Canary Islands, Belize and most of the United States, he reevaluated and examined everything he believed in.   Having always had an interest in things of a spiritual and esoteric nature this was without question  a predetermined path. Through and because of his interest in photography he was able to study and document many ancient cultures throughout the world, in particular the Australian Aborigine, the Maya, and the Ancient Egyptians.   Although his travels have changed his perception of life and many of the spiritual values he once held, one belief remains unchanged.   His belief in the basic conservative core values of life that have been carried down through the ages from time immemorial. Those same core values that led to the founding of our great country and are instilled in our sacred documents, The Bill of Rights, The Declaration of Independence, and the United States Constitution.   His belief in a Supreme Being or God have not faltered. In spite of this, he has found there is much more to life than conventional wisdom leads us to believe.   Time and time again history has shown that when a people or civilization fall from a belief in their God and basic common sense values, their way of life ceases to be. Let’s not let that happen to us. To contact Gary: www.journeysthrulife.com. Email: [e-mail].

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Those Were The Days My Friend

Gary Wonning

Copyright 2016 by Gary Wonning

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Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1 We Bought The Farm

Chapter 2 The Early School Years

Chapter 3 Life On The Farm

Chapter 4 Farming The Land

Chapter 5 Learning Respect For Guns

Chapter 6 Church And School Life

Chapter 7 The High School Years

Chapter 8 Life Goes On

About The Author

Other Books Written By the Author

Prologue

Those were the days my friend, we thought they would never end.

It was a great time to grow up. The war babies and baby boomers were the recipients of a time brought to us courtesy of the Greatest Generation.

Our parents had endured a depression, and a world war to set in place a time of prosperity never seen before in our history

We grew up in the land of bobby socks and blue jeans, rock and roll, blue suede shoes, white bucks and flat tops.

We were all about hot cars, loud music and dancing the night away. It was a time of innocence, sex wasn’t passed out like cotton candy and drugs were unheard of. We did overindulge in alcohol, but our shenanigans were mild compared to what came in the decades to follow.

Baby Boomers Enjoying Life

There were problems, always has been, always will be. Divorce was practically unheard of, and many of the problems we faces today were present, but most people had a moral compass to keep them on the straight and narrow. People would stray and not always do the right thing, but sooner or later, most would somehow find their way back to leading a somewhat respectable life.

Little did we know, the negative elements of society that were emerging would someday lead to the possible downfall of our country.

The baby boomer era ended in 1964, those born after that date were from a different time. And with the passing of 1964, the world began to change. The age of innocence transformed into a time of rebellion, drugs and discontent.

People didn't realize how good they had it. The world had opened up endless possibilities and most ignored it and began to only look at what was wrong with the world and what was in it for them.

With the prosperity that followed, we began to forget where we came from, and what had made us a great nation. In retrospect, we were victims of our own success.

Return with me to the days of yesteryear. Discover how it was, why our values disappeared and maybe learn what we can do about it.

Chapter 1 We Bought The Farm

In nineteen forty-seven, when I was three years old, my parents bought a small farm near Napoleon Indiana.

The previous owners abandoned the property several years precious and as a result there was a lot of work necessary to bring the farm up to being a productive, profitable enterprise.

My dad and mom had originally intended on buying the Brum farm near Batesville, the banker wouldn’t lend them the money because he thought we couldn’t make a living on that farm.

I’m not sure how he decided we could make money on this farm.

The Barnyard

The land had grown up in weeds, it was so overgrown mom and dad didn’t know what they had gotten themselves into.

Very tall weeds surrounded the barn; in fact when dad cut the brush around the barn they found the hog house shown on the left side of the barn, no one even knew it was there. Sometimes surprises are good!

The Front Yard

The soil was depleted; several of the fields had gullies that were over six feet deep.

When the land is poor nothing grows, much of it washes away during the rains. When the land is poor with no nutrients, there is no roots system of the grasses and crops to hold and protect the soil from washing away.

As a result our first year's corn crop, planted on a twelve acre field was only about two hundred bushels, total. Anyone who has ever farmed would know this yield wouldn’t even cover expenses. The average acceptable yield in those days would be about one hundred bushels to the acre, today; the yield would be over two hundred bushels per acre.

The house had no hot water, all the water for washing and had to be heated in a pot on the kitchen stove. It made one real conservative when it came to taking hot baths and washing the dishes.

A bathroom was totally out of the question, it was a trip to the outhouse on cold winter mornings, with a Sears and Roebuck catalog waiting.

I never really figured out why the outhouse had two seats, I mean do people actually have quality bonding time in such a situation?

We had basic electricity, the wiring was aluminum, which we think was the reason the house caught fire and