New books look at rural life in Southeast Missouri

Two books rich with personal accounts of the passage of time in Southeast Missouri recently were published by the Center for Regional History at Southeast Missouri State University. The books focus on rural Missouri life throughout the 19th century.

"The Way it Was in Southeast Missouri" chronicles author Luella Duncan's experiences of growing up and living in the Stoddard County region.

"A Good and Ordinary Life," written by Joe Dunn, unravels his mother's memoirs, depicting life in the southeast region.

The two books create scenes of the antiquated world that shaped the two women. For those who aren't familiar with the geography, family names and local references, the books still are a treasure to read, according to Dr. Adam Criblez, the director of the center.

Criblez is new to the position and the area, only becoming a Cape Girardeau resident this last year. He's read both books and said for those who are not from Missouri, the fact that they weren't born and raised here won't detract from the enjoyment and knowledge they'll gain from reading the two authors' works.

"It's an interesting insight into what life was generally like," he said. "You don't necessarily have to be from here to appreciate it."

This is Duncan's first published book. She's 97.

Duncan, originally from Puxico, Mo., has been writing since she was about 15 years old. She began the lifelong pastime by sending stories to different magazines when she was 16. Those were rejected, but that didn't discourage her.

She continued writing. She eventually had biblical material for Sunday school published when she was in her 20s. She has written on a variety of subjects since and for many different publications.

She's written on rural life in Southeast Missouri, but looked to family for "The Way it Was in Southeast Missouri": Stories passed down from her grandparents and uncles, along with folklore from the area.

"Many of the characters were quite colorful, and I tried to write about it," she said.

She started this particular book about three years ago. It contains her own stories and harkens back to when she was a teenager.

"It's about life and circumstances in the Southeast," she said. "Just family life, what happens to families. Good things happened to bad people and bad things happen to good people."

Duncan said she wanted to motivate others to write what they observe, their experiences.

"Everybody has a story to tell," she said. "I thought others would be encouraged to write down their stories."

Dunn decided more than 10 years ago that he needed to collect his mother's stories to preserve the history he'd heard about all of his life.

Louise Pender Dunn grew up in Southeast Missouri. She was born in 1915 and died in 2011 at the age of 95. The stories are set in Fruitland, Pocahontas and Jackson.

"It's the transformation of rural Southeast Missouri through her life," he said of his book. "I show how national events play out at the local level and in individual lives." The book includes the Great Depression striking the farm community and the affect of World War II on the lives of people in the area. It chronicles the '50s, '60s and '70s.

"It's not just my mother's story," he said. "It's their story, the people who lived this life."

The project began in 2002. Dunn's mother was 87 years old. She would write every day and he would type it up, read it, ask questions and fill out the stories with historical context. The book was finished within a few months, but Dunn wanted it published by Southeast Missouri State University's press, because that's where his family attended school. The book took 10 years to publish. His mother died in 2011, never seeing the published version.

"The tribute still remains for her and the family and grandkids," he said. "The real value is for the family and then the larger community who could relate to these things, like a woman who went from horse and buggy to flying on airplanes around the world."

Dunn is a professor and the chair of the Department of History and Politics at Converse in South Carolina. He has written five published books.

Both books are available at the center and cost $15 each. They may be ordered by calling the center at 651-2555.

botto@semissourian.com