Changing Seasons

About the Book

BOOK DESCRIPTION Changing Seasons traces the lives of Warren and Arleta Martin as they seek a better life for their family. After their marriage, Warren goes to work for Arleta’s father on his farm, but Arleta yearns for something better. The whole country is struggling through the depression, and after Mother Nature ravages the area where they live in Texas, money for work on the farm becomes scarce. Leaving his pregnant wife at home, Warren travels out of state to find a job that will pay cash, promising to be home before the baby is born. The story is told through the eyes of Mary, their oldest daughter—a bright and precocious child who is the center of her Grandma Jamison’s world. Mary feels secure and loved, even in a world on the brink of World War II. Then that security is snatched away when her parents decide to travel west seeking a better life for their small family. The trip to California in a crowded car with the Jefferson family is a long, tiring ride in late December of 1941, especially to three-year-old Mary who has never seen these people before. When she realizes that this is not just a ride to town, but that they are leaving her beloved Grandma Jamison, she begs to return to Texas, but her wishes fall on deaf ears. When they finally reach their destination she discovers they have moved to what she describes as a ‘wide spot in the road,’ and their new house isn’t much better than the one they left in Texas. Soon after arriving in California Mary is told she must learn to speak correctly, “There is no such word as ain’t,” she is told, and she’s not to use southern slang—words like didja, gonna, gotta, and dozens of others. It’s all very confusing, especially when she is informed that her Mama would henceforth be known as Mother. Soon more of her father’s family joins them in California, and she doesn’t feel quite so lonesome. Then she reaches school age, and comes face to face with a whole new world, when she discovers that she is just a small cog in the scheme of things, and she is forever falling out of sync. Mary’s parents have grilled into her that she is ‘never to get into a car with a stranger.’ So, when a car pulls to a stop and a lady gets out and approaches her, while she is waiting at the bus stop alone on the first day of school, Mary panics. She is sure that the lady is going to kidnap her, so she runs home, screaming all the way. Things went downhill from there. Most of Mary’s pretty school dresses were made of printed flour sacks, but some of the girls referred to them as rags. Once the other kids realized that she was very smart, and always got top grades, she became known as smarty-pants, teacher’s pet, and other names that were not so nice. Mary began to think of herself as a country mouse in comparison to other girls. Especially since her hair was a plain mousy brown without any curl, while her cousin, Olivia, and her sister, Reba, both were curly headed blonds. So Mary withdrew and turned to books and a world of make believe. However, there are happy times too. Once a month the Martins and Jefferson’s go on a picnic to a local park, where the children play on the playground equipment and go for exciting boat rides. Another time they attend a war bond rally, where The Sons of the Pioneers, along with Roy Rogers and his horse, Trigger, are the main attraction. And there’s the Fourth of July picnic, where one of the rockets went astray and caused all kinds of excitement. There’s also travel. One Christmas, four families of the Martin relative’s caravan by automobile to Texas to spend the holidays with the rest of the family. Along the road they run into all types of excitement; rain, wind, snow, ice, flooded roads, and even a cattle drive. Finally they reach their destination, and it’s a whirlwind of new experiences for Mary. The cousins join in building a snowman, and then proceed to have a snowball fight. It’s a rare treat, since there is no snow in

About the Author

Melba Stolhand was born near Aubrey, Texas, but grew up in the San Joaquin Valley of California. She is a widow, with two grown children, and decided she wanted her family to know their roots. Therefore, she began researching her family history and turned it into a collection of family stories. Changing Seasons is her first attempt at writing fiction. Melba has chosen to make her home in the delta area of Northern California where she is a member of the East Contra Costa Writers Group and credits them with giving her the courage to continue writing.