little heathens by mildred armstrong kalish

“In the first place, I love to read out loud, and in the second place, I’m reading to people who know about things that I don’t know about and that’s very interesting.”Īnd for the listeners? “I like it because it evokes old memories, some of which I experienced and some of which I just heard of,” said a woman named Jane. “I just love these people,” Ingram said of his audience, which includes his Aunt Sally. Ingram wrapped things up after a bit better than 40 minutes and introduced me to the group, leading to a discussion of the reasons this weekly reading and conversation is important to listeners and reader alike. The group shared reminiscences about learning and teaching in one-room schoolhouses, about the restrictive nature of teacher contracts at the time-including the common clause that voided the contract if a teacher got married-and about the food tucked away in the eponymous boxes at box socials. It was just one of quite a number of times Ingram lifted his eyes from the text to interact with his audience.

“You guys remembering this?” Ingram asked after a detailed account of dipping a pen in ink to complete lessons at school. An anecdote involving a rotten egg and another centered on the machinations of a young, pretty teacher at a box social produced quite a bit of mirth, and it was clear that the memories were flowing for the listeners. Ingram mines that humor to good effect, and his audience chuckled and chortled at the misadventures Kalish relates. Kalish isn’t a flashy stylist, but she’s consistently funny. Ingram is an engaged and engaging reader, and his audience members were plainly right there with him-or perhaps more accurately, right there with Kalish, remembering their own childhoods.ĭuring my visit, Ingram read passages focusing on the rituals of schooldays, the social hierarchy of children, and the customs of box socials. I joined a group of 12 women and two men in the parlor on an early August evening to listen to Ingram read from Kalish’s memoir of her childhood. At Legacy Pointe, he’s been connecting a group of about 14 residents with Mildred Armstrong Kalish’s Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression. His enthusiasm and knowledge have connected many a book and a reader over the years. Booklovers in Iowa City and beyond know Ingram as one of the central personalities at Prairie Lights Books. © Gregory KalishĪ parlor is a place for special visitors, and on Wednesdays this summer, the parlor at Legacy Pointe-part of the Silvercrest Legacy Senior Living Community in Iowa City-has had a special visitor in the person of Paul Ingram. The Depression was hard on everyone, but for Mildred Kalish, Iowa farm life was filled with endearing family, wild romps, and remarkable adventures.

Little heathens by mildred armstrong kalish