William A. Owens (1) (1905–1990)

In this book educator William Owens continues from where he left off in THIS STUBBORN SOIL. He details his often-interrupted struggle to get a proper education in NE Texas during the hard times of the 1920s and past the stock market crash of 1929. Borrowing money and chopping and picking cotton combine with working in department stores in Dallas and Paris, TX, Owens was determined to achieve his goal of reaching beyond his humble roots as a poor dirt farmer, and he does, earning a teaching show more certificate, even while he continues to help support his widowed mother and brothers. As was the case with THIS STUBBORN SOIL, this second volume of memoirs provides a fascinating look into the poverty-stricken lives of farmers in the 20s, a look that is sometimes heartbreaking and sometimes uplifting. The only part of the story that tended to drag and cloy a bit is the "churchy" sections, in which Owens joins a fundamentalist Baptist church, is "saved," and even recommended for the ministry, which he is not surprised to learn is not for him. But whatever Owens talks about, he keeps to his plain-spoken and sensible style of writing, which keeps the narrative always moving forward. A SEASON OF WEATHERING is a good example of superior story-telling. show less

5572. This Stubborn Soil A Frontier Boyhood, by William A. Owens (read 29 July 2018) This is a most unusual book. The author calls it "fictionalized autobiography". It tells the story of the author's life from the time he was born (on 2 Nov 1905) in a place called Pin Hook, in Lamar County, Texas, till at age 18 he was to start college in Commerce, Texas. The author was the fifth of five boys in his dirt poor family and his father left his mother soon after he was born. His mother married show more again (briefly) and had a sixth boy. The primitiveness of the life is astonishing and at times funny. The author is eager for education and books but gets very little. I suppose the account is written to make an astounding story, and it succeeds. The farm life was centered around cotton, peanuts, and having enough to eat. I don't think I have ever read of a more primitive and poverty-full life but one has to admire the resourcefulness of the family. There is a sequel, called A Sense of Weathering, which I would read if I found a copy. show less

This is, quite simply, a wonderful and plainly told story of a hardscrabble childhood and youth in east Texas and a glimpse of a bygone era. It's too bad we couldn't make it required reading for today's youth. William A. Owens was a credit to his generation. Loved this book, and will read his next memoir, A Season of Weathering, soon.