The Okoboji Kid


Book Description

Although Doug is constantly reminded of his speech dis-fluency, and is tortured because of it, he still discovers a boyhood life of adventure, danger, enchantment, and calamity. For example, he almost drowns in a cesspool, slips over a 200 foot cliff, climbs water towers, and destroys three cars in six days in the first month of receiving his license. He is a stutterer and a bed-wetter, both curses lead to some embarrassing and ultimately hilarious situations that he would rather not remember, but fortunately for the reader, he recalls them all in vivid detail. Still, for some unknown reason, Doug is convinced he's leading a charmed life; that he's invincible and everything will turn out well for him someday. All the while, events are piling up around him, suggesting to the contrary. Growing up in the 50's in a small town in Okoboji, Iowa, Doug's antics and bone-headed choices always lead to his ultimate worry; how will his dad react this time. This story is a romp through boyhood at it's finest in a different, simpler time, filled with belly laughs galore, and tears shed for a scared little boy dealing with his constant reminder that he has a major problem that someday a cure would need to be found.The Okoboji Kid will bring back every reader's childhood memories of families, friends, first loves, and endless days of just being a kid.







Sailing for Kids


Book Description

Sailing for Kids is aimed at children aged 8-15 who are taking their first steps into the fantastic world of sailing. Packed full of colour photographs and diagrams, this straightforward and easy-to-understand guide is the perfect introduction to the sport. It is based on the Optimist dinghy, which is the most popular children's sailing dinghy worldwide, and endorsed by the UK Optimist Class Association. Topics covered include what to wear, setting up the boat, sailing and safety. For those who want to go further, there are also tips on sailing faster and preparing to race.




Okoboji


Book Description




Unmasked


Book Description

Unmasked is the story of what happened in Okoboji, a small Iowan tourist town, when a collective turn from the coronavirus to the economy occurred in the COVID summer of 2020. State political failures, local negotiations among political and public health leaders, and community (dis)belief about the virus resulted in Okoboji being declared a hotspot just before the Independence Day weekend, when an influx of half a million people visit the town. The story is both personal and political. Author Emily Mendenhall, an anthropologist at Georgetown University, grew up in Okoboji, and her family still lives there. As the events unfolded, Mendenhall was in Okoboji, where she spoke formally with over 100 people and observed a community that rejected public health guidance, revealing deep-seated mistrust in outsiders and strong commitments to local thinking. Unmasked is a fascinating and heartbreaking account of where people put their trust, and how isolationist popular beliefs can be in America's small communities. This book is the recipient of the 2022 Norman L. and Roselea J. Goldberg Prize from Vanderbilt University Press for the best book in the area of art or medicine.




Hattie and Hudson


Book Description

When Hattie's singing rouses a giant beast from the lake, everyone in town is terrified except Hattie, who works to convince the townsfolk that Hudson is not dangerous.




The Death Boat


Book Description

In the twilight of a summer evening, on a bustling Iowa lake in 1929, two speedboats collided. Nine people were killed, and boating in the state was changed forever. "The Death Boat" is the story--told in detail as never before--of the crash on West Lake Okoboji in northwestern Iowa. One boat, Zipper, had been a prime attraction at Arnolds Park, an amusement park and entertainment mecca on the water that drew vacationers from across the country. The other, Miss Thriller,was a newcomer to the lake touted as the fastest boat in the world carrying passengers for hire. Friction, even sabotage, ensued as the boat operators competed to become king of the lake. The rivalry ended in disaster. Within hours, before the last passenger's body had been brought to shore, questions swirled: Had Miss Thriller's, captain been careless? Did the inexperience of the other pilot cause the collision? Did the bitter rivalry figure in the deadly encounter? And finally, would the recovery of Miss Thriller, from its resting place 96 feet deep in West Lake Okoboji reveal the accident's cause? The enduring mysteries of the crash long have remained in the dark, much like Miss Thriller, after she sank into the depths of West Lake Okoboji. "The Death Boat" pieces together accounts that shed light on those mysteries.




A Worthy Pursuit


Book Description

A teacher on the run. A bounty hunter in pursuit. Can two enemies learn to trust each other before they both lose what they hold most dear? Stone Hammond is the best tracker in Texas. He never comes home empty-handed. So when a wealthy railroad investor hires him to find his abducted granddaughter, Stone eagerly accepts. Charlotte Atherton, former headmistress of Sullivan's Academy for Exceptional Youths, will do anything to keep her charges safe, especially the orphaned girl entrusted to her care. Charlotte promised Lily's mother she'd keep the girl away from her unscrupulous grandfather, and nothing will stop Charlotte from fulfilling that pledge. Not even the handsome bounty hunter with surprisingly honest eyes who comes looking for them. When Miss Atherton produces documentation that shows her to be Lily's legal guardian, Stone must reevaluate everything he's been led to believe. Is she villain or victim? Then a new danger forces Charlotte to trust the man sent to destroy her. Stone vows to protect what he once sought to tear apart. Besides, he's ready to start a new pursuit: winning Charlotte's heart.




The Brushy Crick Kids


Book Description

Who are the Brushy Crick Kids? They are every kid from a large family. They are every kid that ever lived near a creek, lived on an old farm, or attended a one-room or small town school. They are everyone's kids getting into mischief. They are old and young, happy and sad, rich and poor. Some page of The Brushy Crick Kids will remind you of yourself or someone you know. The Brushy Crick Kids; one Iowa farm family and it's journey from innocence, laughter and tears into the Twenty-first Century. A family history beginning 600 years ago in Europe; of slave traders, American Colonists, and pioneer families in Iowa. A personal journey of faith for Veenbaas and her ancestors.




In God We Trust


Book Description

A collection of humorous and nostalgic Americana stories—the beloved, bestselling classics that inspired the movie A Christmas Story Before Garrison Keillor and Spalding Gray there was Jean Shepherd: a master monologist and writer who spun the materials of his all-American childhood into immensely resonant—and utterly hilarious—works of comic art. In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash represents one of the peaks of his achievement, a compound of irony, affection, and perfect detail that speaks across generations. In God We Trust, Shepherd's wildly witty reunion with his Indiana hometown, disproves the adage “You can never go back.” Bending the ear of Flick, his childhood-buddy-turned-bartender, Shepherd recalls passionately his genuine Red Ryder BB gun, confesses adolescent failure in the arms of Junie Jo Prewitt, and relives a story of man against fish that not even Hemingway could rival. From pop art to the World's Fair, Shepherd's subjects speak with a universal irony and are deeply and unabashedly grounded in American Midwestern life, together rendering a wonderfully nostalgic impression of a more innocent era when life was good, fun was clean, and station wagons roamed the earth. A comic genius who bridged the gap between James Thurber and David Sedaris, Shepherd may have accomplished for Holden, Indiana, what Mark Twain did for Hannibal, Missouri.