A Twig Grows in Springdale [Paperback]

Al Michaud (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2004

We start life as little babies, then grow to little kids, to bigger kids, to young adults and on to the years called "Golden." This book traces the life of one small kid growing up in one small town during the grim days of the Great Depression. There are no spectacular events, just many small happenings of people and events forming the life of this little village. The book is based on recollections perhaps enhanced by years of watching television and the movies. There may be some romanticizing and embellishment but the main course of the story holds true to life as it was. The people and events ramble a bit and hopscotch around among the years, but it all comes together at the end. Young folks will be bemused and hopefully enlightened. Older folks will sit back, sigh and mumble "those were the days"-"good old" or not.

Editorial Reviews

Review

..brought back memories of my own clildhood..enjoyable..couldn't put it down -- Jackguy McDonough GA-Amazon post

..wonderful book for grandparents to read to their grandchildren....for teachers good reviews of life "as it was"- -- All Books Reviews-May 2003

Michaud captured essence of small village life during the Depression..bright light on positives never overlooking family travail -- Don Russell Stamford Advocate April 2003

About the Author

Al Michaud writes warmly and personally of his experiences growing up in Springdlae-Everyone has his or her own Springdale-Al is retired and this is his second book-the first is based on his 40 years experience in american business appropriately titled MEDIOCRITY IN TEN EASY STEPS

Product Details

• Paperback: 451 pages
• Publisher: PublishAmerica (February 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413707815
• ISBN-13: 978-1413707816
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,056,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read, July 19, 2004

By 

Susan Dart (Saluda, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Twig Grows in Springdale (Paperback)

Reading Al Michaud's book of reminiscences, A Twig Grows in Springdale, is like taking a trip backward in time. The time was the Great Depression, which coincided with his early boyhood, but in spite of the lack of money-possibly because of it-his was a happy boyhood.
The place was a small New England town, Springdale, where we meet the colorful characters who peopled his world. Money may have been in short supply, but there was always enough for food, and though threadbare, clothes enough to keep them warm. And to add to the richness of a life of simple pleasures in Springdale were the years during the polio epidemic when the family spent the summers with friends on their farm in the mountains. There more adventures helped bend the Twig, and the reader is the lucky spectator. A good read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Walk Down Memory Lane (Hope Street), March 25, 2006

By 

Marilyn Ritchie "Marilyn Seaman Ritchie" (Bluffton, SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Twig Grows in Springdale (Paperback)

I was born on Hope Street and lived in Springdale for most of my
life. Al Michaud brings back many wonderful memories of growing
up. "A Twig Grows in Springdale" is a good read for anyone who
grew up in a small town or wished that they did.
You get the feeling that we were richer then, with or without
Con Lund's dimes.
Thanks for the memories! Al.

Marilyn Seaman Ritchie

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a Crazy Quilt of memories, July 13, 2004

By 

Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" (Clallam Bay, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Twig Grows in Springdale (Paperback)

Rebeccasreads recommends A TWIG GROWS IN SPRINGDALE as a treasure trove of stories, rather like your Grandmother's hope chest. Take it down, open it up anywhere & travel back to a time when the future is a distant thing & where everyday life is so much more important.

Like an ancient family photo album, Al Michaud fills his with remembrances & impressions, written in snapshots & vignettes, some a hundred or so words, others a couple of pages long, penned in a storytelling rhythm, of a time when sliced bread was a novelty, coal was king, homework unknown, all immigrants wanted to learn English & become Americans, & Springdale, a small southern New England town, was the center of his universe.