Have you ever wondered what it was like to live in rural and small town America during the roaring twenties? Or experience the great depression of the thirties?  Or actually hear President Franklin D. Roosevelt's voice announce America's entry into World War II?  This memoir , written as a fact based novel, (Father Was A Caveman) takes you to those times through the eyes of Burrel Harman and his young family.  Taking place in Newark, Ohio , Seneca and Smokehole Caverns and Petersburg West Virginia, Father Was A Caveman is filled with stories of the father's adventures as  he fulfills his dreams as a spelunker.

You will experience the enchantment the children feel as they play within the cavern's  stonewalls, wake to the sight and sound of a carrousel  that appears overnight in their front yard, or soar over the the 1000 feet peaks of Seneca Rocks in the open cockpit of a barnstormer's airplane, or watch a country music show from their front porch.

Then unknown forces begin to work behind the scenes to destroy life as they  know it.  While they had faced tragedy, loss of loved ones, and a bushwacker'sbullet,  nothing  had prepared them for what happens next.  While Burrel struggles to restore order to their lives, and the children yearn for what they have lost, a stranger appears on the scene and helps bring the magic back into their lives.

We Were Vagabonds, the second in the series stands alone as a story or can be read as a sequel to Father Was A Caveman as it continues the saga of Burrel Harman and his family when they are together again after having been  flung in different directions for a year.

World War II has just begun and  Burrel takes to the road to do his part on the home front for the defense of his country  by working on the construction of  large defense related projects.     He vows never to be seperated from his family again so  he comes up with a creative way to keep them together.   His solution leads to some exciting, joyful, and even frightening  experiences.

The book is filled with humor and adventure as the family adjusts to their lives as vagabonds.  Their adventures takes them to Washington, DC, Great Mills and  Leonardtown, Maryland and Jackson, Missippi (where they learned what it was like to be  Damn Yankees in the Deep South.)

When their journey ends, they are back in Newark, Ohio where the oldest son discovers that pretty blondes and unreliable cars  make a volatile combination.  Then with help from an unexpected source, the only daughter begins her quest to become reunited with those who had so abruptly disappeared from her life.

As you read these books, you will come to know and love this family, and find yourself  sharing their joy and their sadness. One thing is certain,  these characters will continue to live in your memory after you have closed the book on the last page.