In This Valley I Grew: Life on Blacklog and Happy Hollow [Paperback]

Mary Ellen Goble Preece (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 7, 2005

In This Valley I Grew is my own story of growing up in the ’50s and ’60s in a small Appalachian neighborhood on the outskirts of a town called Inez, population 500. It is a story of hardships, innocence, and faith. It describes the people who lived all around me, who, in some way or other, helped shape and mold my life into what it is today. I can honestly say that there isn’t one person in my childhood who left such a negative impression on me that I’d rather not remember him or her. It is my prayer that those of you who read my stories get the feeling that I am just talking to you face to face, in a relaxed way, recounting the events of my life as I remember them and that you find yourself reliving them with me, or better yet, that they bring back your memory, things you had long forgotten, and that a smile might cross your lips and make your day a little brighter. If you don’t like sentiment then you probably won’t like this book, for that is the only way I know how to tell it, through the eyes of love as I saw it and through my heart’s emotions as I felt them. God Bless!

Product Details

• Paperback: 108 pages
• Publisher: PublishAmerica (November 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413793991
• ISBN-13: 978-1413793994
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,625,769 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "In This Valley I Grew"--application of faith-based love and sharing, November 24, 2005

By 

David Sidney Rosenberg - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In This Valley I Grew: Life on Blacklog and Happy Hollow (Paperback)

In This Valley I Grew, by Mary Ellen Goble Preece

Mary Ellen Goble Preece's narrative, In This Valley I Grew, welcomes the reader with homespun stories about Appalachian living. The author recalls people, events, and circumstances that on the surface seem primitive and harsh. Her unpretentious style warms the heart as she presents an era where jobs were scarce and wages were low; where people lived from the land; and where application of the Christian ethic of 'loving thy neighbor as thyself' (Leviticus 19:18 ) , often made the difference between surviving or starving.

The reader cannot help but draw comparisons between subsistence living and the fast-paced, but often uncaring lifestyle, that pervades much of America today. Mrs. Preece's book proves that love of self, of family, of friends, of neighbors, is not borne from material wealth, but from faith-based love--given without limitations, conditions, or attached strings.

Mrs. Preece's book invites you to 'set down' in the rocking chair on her front porch where you'll smell the fresh-baked biscuits, wave to a friendly neighbor, and listen to the distant strains of a hammer dulcimer or banjo. Soon she'll join you and begin her recollections. Portions of In This Valley I Grew are suitable for a Smithsonian Museum documentary on twentieth century Appalachian living and culture.

Submitted by: David S. Rosenberg, author

5.0 out of 5 stars The wonderful heart of Appalachian people!, June 7, 2006

By 

Andrew Huddleston "Stay the course" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In This Valley I Grew: Life on Blacklog and Happy Hollow (Paperback)

Review: In This Valley I Grew
Author: Mary Ellen Goble Preece
ISBN: 1-4137-9399-1
In her superb memoir Mrs. Preece takes you on a heart to heart journey into Appalachia. By Appalachia, I mean her people of course, the hearty souls whose courage, God-fearing belief system and gritty determination assured survival in an area of America where people had to be self-sufficient, able and genius resourceful. "In This Valley I Grew" is a book about foundations. It is about mountain people. It holds no trickery for the reader, no false starts and no phoniness. It is honest, real and Mrs. Preece reveals her story--the story of Martin County--as if she's talking to you. Her style is a warm, glowing talk--she tells you about people, what they willingly and happily endured and the hope their deep faith provided without prejudice. You want to listen.
And her conversation with you far more than holds your interest. You want to be there. You want to go back in time and be there too--maybe to help some of the folks a little who desperately needed help. But in Martin County everyone did help those who had less. Those who had more in those days did not have much. Some passages are difficult to get through smoothly because of the continuous pressure on your eyes to tear up before you know what is happening. Nothing can stop something that natural from the combination of your physical and emotional self--and owners of this book know well. Tears interfere with the act of reading for a while.
The author caused me to remember things about the fifties and childhood long ago put aside--pleasant things, from the games children (we) played to the snacks we enjoyed. It is the story of America in perhaps her purest form told in a special brand of language. Words are used that came out of the author's world; they provide color and depth, meaning and truisms. Truths that are still the same today. I am in awe and profound respect for these folks--for this book. My writing seems cheap now and irrelevant. It is evident Mrs. Preece didn't write it for that purpose but the book had that affect.
She remembers preachers, neighbors, family members, teachers--many people of the county; her ability to recall details must be at the genius level. There are elements about life in the fifties and through the seventies that are forgotten by most people but Mrs. Preece brought them back somehow. It does not matter if you don't know her--when you read "In This Valley I grew," you will come to know a dear heart, a true friend who loves the Lord and one who thankfully has shared a wonderful American story with you. I highly recommend Mrs. Preece as an author to acquire as soon as you can. "In This Valley I grew" is a must for your library. It is an excellent chronicle of this area in Appalachia with the true story of her people within its pages.

Andrew O. Huddleston

5.0 out of 5 stars An authentic look into Appalachian life, May 14, 2006

By 

Jim Elders - See all my reviews

This review is from: In This Valley I Grew: Life on Blacklog and Happy Hollow (Paperback)

If you never knew how people once lived, and some who still do, in the hollows of America's Appalachia, you now have an opportunity learn first hand. Mary Preece's `In This Valley I Grew' is an inside look at how people of Appalachia lived, worked, played, raised their families, and loved. Her description of Happy Hollow and its people and how they lived can only warm the the reader's heart. Born to poverty but raised in love, the people of Happy Hollow make their way through a life that was filled with hard times by taking advantage of what little they had. This book is filled with children's games that most people have forgotten or never even heard of, and wonderful examples of adults who spent their life in trying times forging unknown but hopeful futures for their children. When I closed the last page of this book, I couldn't help but wish that Happy Hollow had been one of my life's experiences. Go to Mary's little hollow; you will be glad you did.

This book earns a five star rating if for nothing else but for its research value. It is a valuable source of information for anyone interested in the lifestyle of the Appalachian culture.