Cauliflower and Denney Boy

By Marjory Lack-Skidmore

Cauliflower and Denney Boy is about twelve-year-old twins Colleen and Dennis, set in Northern California in the year 1959. It is a historical fiction, centering on a large family with eleven children in the lean years after WWII. More specifically, it centers on Colleen and Dennis, their daily lives, relationships, and personal characteristics, until they must choose to either put themselves at great personal risk to right a great wrong, or let the injustice escalate into great sorrow for others.

Colleen is a take charge, if you dont like, tough girl. Dennis is a mild-mannered, get-a-long boy. You never see one of them without the other. There is a bond between them that no one can break. Together, they go on a terrifying adventure to save a little boy, fully aware that they might never come back. Maybe even death would be preferable to what might happen to them. Little do they know that many people are praying for them and God is guiding their footsteps.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512752458

Marjory Lack-Skidmore

Marjory Skidmore has taught in elementary school for more than eighteen years. She knows and understands the needs of children with special needs. Having had autistic children in her classrooms, as well as having a grandchild with autism, she has insights into their behavior and needs. She has a BA in elementary education, an MA in education, and an education specialist in educational administration.

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Copyright © 2016 Marjory Lack-Skidmore.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Special thanks to Allison McClain for the cover picture.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

ISBN: 978-1-5127-5246-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-5247-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-5245-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016912846

WestBow Press rev. date: 8/30/2016

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1 Chores

Chapter 2 Going to Church

Chapter 3 The Fourth of July

Chapter 4 Salmon for Mama

Chapter 5 Good Times

Chapter 6 When It Rains, It Pours

Chapter 7 A Little Ray of Sunshine

Chapter 8 School Days

Chapter 9 Little Boy Taken

Chapter 10 The Journey Home

Chapter 11 To God the Glory

Glossary

The Salmon Project: Reclaiming Clear Creek

Interesting Facts: New in 1959

About the Author

To Colleen’s children: Diana, Christine, Tammy, and Charity

And to Dennis’s children: Robert and Susan

INTRODUCTION

T his is a historical fiction book about a large family during the hot summer days of 1959. It takes place in Northern California, not too many years after the Great Depression and World War II. The places and experiences are realistic fiction, true to life as it was in that period of time and place.

There is also a two-page nonfiction explanation in the back of the book about The Salmon Project in Northern California, as a supplement to the chapter, Salmon for Mama.

Besides a glossary, there are two pages of facts about the year 1959, in the back that might interest the reader.

CHAPTER 1

Chores

H er shoulder length blond hair clung to her temples and neck in the hot sun of the California Northwest. It was late June in the summer of 1959. She stuck out her bottom lip and puffed the air over her generously freckled face to fluff her bangs and fan her hot forehead. Colleen was twelve, one of eleven children. She had a twin brother, Dennis, with an equal blessing of angel kisses, as Mama called the freckles. They looked so much alike, except Dennis’s hair was black.

Colleen had an intense fascination with the flames that were licking up the dry grass in the empty field. She would light a match and watch the grass flame and practically explode with life. Then she went to another spot to see it happen again and again, while her blue eyes sparkled with dark lights of amber.

Dennis and Kevin, her fair-haired brother of nine, were are her ardent followers. They were a little afraid of her but loyal to her every whim. This was one of those times. They ran after her, stamping out the fires as she made them, but they couldn’t keep up with her. Soon, there were too many for them to stomp out.

Then they heard the fire engines in the distance. Looking up, they noticed Mrs. Pryor standing on her front porch across the street. She was shading her eyes with her hand and looking intently at the field with several fires starting up. Smoke was already curling toward the breezeless sky. They were in trouble! Mrs. Pryor saw them. They were too far away to recognize, but it was only a matter of moments until the fire trucks arrived.

Come on, said Colleen, with a wave of her hand. All three took off running as if their lives depended on it. They climbed over the tumbled down, three-foot rock wall at the back left side of the field. There they squatted down to catch their breath, while the trucks came right up into the field, screeching to a halt. The firemen began to put the flames out with their hoses of powerful water. Colleen snickered with delight, while Dennis and Kevin quivered in fear of being caught. They could see Mrs. Pryor waving her handkerchief in their direction, as she called to the firemen. But the firemen were too busy to listen.

Let’s go home. It must be dinner time, suggested Dennis.

They wove their way through the hundred feet of forest-like trees to the edge of their back yard, which they quickly crossed. Then, surreptitiously, they made their way in the back screen door. Mama was standing at the kitchen stove, frying chicken. It sizzled and popped comfortingly, as if everything was fine, and there were no firemen to escape from or fires to stomp out. Kevin sighed involuntarily.

You kids get washed up for dinner, Mama said in her quiet, soft voice that sounded like a smile. Mama was short, about five-foot-two, with soft brown hair that framed her face. She was sweet, but you didn’t want to get her ire up. She could give you a whipping that you wouldn’t soon forget. I hope you haven’t been getting into any mischief, she said.

No, Mama. We’ve just been walking around, Colleen said, as she winked at Dennis with her back to Mama. Dennis was noticeably nervous, so Colleen gave him the look. He knew as well as anything that he’d better buck up or incur Colleen’s wrath.

Soon everyone was sitting quietly around the table, waiting for the blessing. Daddy sat at one end, with Mama beside him. John, the oldest child at home, sat at the other end. Rick and Sam, the oldest set of twins, sat on each side of him. The big kids were mixed around the table, with a little one next to an older one, so that they could help them with their food. Only one was missing. Mary was nineteen and married with a baby of her own.

Everyone thought that Rick and Sam were identical twins, but they weren’t. They were fraternal twins. People outside of the family couldn’t tell them apart. At thirteen, they had fun fooling people. The principal usually put them in different classrooms at school. One time, just to see if they could get away with it, they switched classes and pretended to be each other. It worked, and they never told, because they might want to do it again some time. Plus, they didn’t want a licking!

Daddy said the blessing. It was always the same, heartfelt and comforting.

"There was a