WHY I READ: SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN COLUMNISTS TELL WHY THEY LIKE TO READ

I like history, especially the era of the Civil War of the United States.

My den (junk room) at home is filled with a variety of books with such titles as:

-- Confederate Soldiers of the Civil War, a one-volume, 12-x-18, 500-page volume, vintage 1893.

-- Soldiers of the Civil War, a two-volume, 12-x-18, 800-page set, vintage 1866.

-- Battles of the Civil War, vintage 1867.

-- Camp Fire Chats of the Civil War, vintage 1884.

-- Harper's Monthly magazines, a number of 1850s and 1860s volumes.

The historical collection also includes:

-- Night Raiders of Reelfoot Lake.

-- Nixon's Memoirs.

-- And, a number of works on Abraham Lincoln.

As far as fiction is concerned, my first recollections are Dick, Jane and Sally, along with their parents and pets, Spot and Puff.

Soon after going through the many volumes of Dick, Jane and Sally -- We Work and Play, Fun With Dick and Jane, More Fun with Dick and Jane, and a number of other volumes filled with the same characters, I found Night Raiders of Reelfoot Lake, where I discovered a new world -- nonfiction.

I also discovered a couple of my infamous relatives who had been suspected -- but not proven -- of being one of the "night raiders" that waged warfare against the government a number of years over land sought by the feds for the Reelfoot Lake refuge in the Phillipe and Tiptonville, Tenn., areas.

This led to Confederate Soldiers of the Civil War, where I was introduced to more relatives, at least one serving in the rebel army, under the leadership of Gen. Robert E. Lee.

But like Brother Against Brother, another Civil War-era book, I found relatives on both sides of the great Civil War battle, including one officer who served under Gen. U.S. Grant.

I was hooked on the Civil War era.

In another book, Camp Fire Chats of The Civil War, we remember some of the amusing anecdotes as well as the serious.

The camp fire chats were unveiled some 20 years after the war, in 1884. Materials for the 346-page book were gathered by editors of the book and were acclaimed as "fresh and heretofore unpublished."

The book was written as a group of anecdotes -- both serious and amusing. The book could be scanned from time to time.

In one incident -- and, this really happened -- it seemed that weary soldiers were being treated to a special flapjacks (pancake) meal. With 100 pounds of buckwheat flour, cooks had been instructed by the commanding officer to prepare a good supply of cakes.

The cook proceeded to mix the cakes, applying the necessary seasoning (all he had) and the big meal was soon ready. Only problem was that the 100-pound bag of flour turned out to be a 100-pound bag of "plaster of Paris."