EDMONTON (1940-2018) by Carol Perkins and Susan Chambers
One day I made a suggestion to Susan, "Let's recreate our town. We'll go back to the 40s when both of us were born and tell about every business within the city limits, who ran those businesses, and what has been in each building over the years." We embarked on a journey that was much more challenging than we dreamed. In some cases, such as the Corner Restaurant, there were more than a dozen different operators. We not only recreated the square, we told about those who ran the businesses and personalized each account with our own memories. The movie theater, barbershops, poolroom, many family own grocery stores and clothing stores, and the soda fountain at the local drugstore showed how life was after WWII until the present. Our 450 page book tells of glorious times and tragedies, famous musicians, beauty queens, and others who have made their mark. We talk about old toys, transportation, and life in a small town. This book is a living history of our town. Amazon.com for $20 or can be ordered through Facebook: carolsullivanperkins.
At recent reunion for all who attended Edmonton Schools, each table was decorated with a brick from that school. Makes a lovely display.
Fred and Richard Young grew up in Metcalfe County. The book features them.
Carol Perkins As An Author
New Release A Girl Named Connie (A True Story)
Connie Wilson as born in 1946 at the Susan Speed Home for Unwed Mothers in Louisville, Kentucky. Inside that facility was a young, unmarried pregnant woman who would soon hand over her baby to Bill and Cloteel Wilson, prosperous business owners in the small town of Edmonton, Kentucky. They would bring Connie to their home when she was six-weeks old and never tell her they were not her biological parents, a fact she discovered on a crowded playground when she was in the sixth grade, and an incident she would never tell them happened.
Connie struggled with fears of abandonment and her illegitimacy, but her anxiety came mostly from not knowing how to survive keeping with this secret, so she lived as if she didn't know about herself, and her parents lived as if they had nothing to tell.
Rumors, speculations, and whispers followed Connie, but nothing prepared her for the truth that would come in a late night phone call, a birth certificate from 1946, and a trip to the local courthouse when she was fifty when her adoptive mother told their story for the first and last time. That five minutes would be the only time she would hear her origin discussed from her mother. Her father remained silent.
A Girl Named Connie is a serious story but is also filled with humor and nostalgia of small town living. It is a page turner.
Available at Amazon & Kindle
Amazon Review, Mary Alice Yokley, college professor
A touching story of how a warped sense of what was necessary to protect the "family name" led to a life of pain and guilt....A beautiful and talented child comes face to face with evil on the playground, and her life is never to be the same. Lies build upon lies, even as secret feelings are withheld from those who need to share them most. Life in a small town unfolds, as it is shared with humor, pathos, and authenticity. A story that needed to be told.
Rewiew from Shelia, a retired librarian A Girl Named Connie is by far one of the best books I have read in a very long time. It depicts the small town atmosphere with such realism. Since I purchased the book I have found myself reaching for it every spare moment until I finished. The book gives great insight as to how secrets can hurt, change and consume one's life!!
A Dog Named Fluffy Sam
A dog. Why would I want a dog at my age? I had been through “dog days” when my children were young, and taking care of their pets usually fell on my shoulders, no matter how many times they promised they would do all the work, “Please, Mama, I promise I’ll take care of her.” I was a sucker for a pup, so every time one of our dogs died or ran off, a well meaning friend showed up with another temptation. The bathing, feeding, cleaning after them, as well as the extra expense of a pet, was reason enough not to have another one. Some of my friends decided I needed a dog. They loved their pets, took pictures of them, and told of the funny things they did. Sometimes they acted just like grandparents the way they bragged on how smart their dogs were. I hadn’t mentioned having a pet, but because they had several around them, in and out of the house, they felt my life would be so much more fulfilled if I had one, too. I didn’t know my life wasn’t fulfilled. Sometimes other people want you to experience what they experience. “I can’t have a dog in my neighborhood,” I told Katie when she brought up the dog topic. “No one wants a dog running around, going through the neighbor’s garbage, or chasing their cats.” “I’m talking about a house dog!” Now that was a different ballgame. A dog in my house? I wasn’t so sure about that. “Get you a little dog that can hang out with you when Guy is gone. A dog keeps the blues away and occupies your time!” Did I have the blues? What time? A dog would definitely occupy my time by having to take care of it. “Are you all in a contest to see who can wear me down?” I asked one day when my dog owner friends were together. Why was my having a dog important to them when it obviously wasn’t very important to me? “I have no desire to take care of an animal. Having an inside dog is like having a child to take care of. Those days are over.” This was my go-to line of defense. I turned to Katie. “You know you can’t go out of town without worrying about yours.” I didn’t want to be tied down. Just for her to take a weekend trip was nearly impossible. I knew what outside dogs required because I grew up with them, but an inside dog was not that simple. They are like people and for that reason, I resisted when the topic arose. My husband Guy would have resisted, too, if he had known what they were urging me to do. I should never have told them I felt a little uneasy when Guy was gone on business trips. With a series of break-ins around town, I didn’t feel as secure as I once felt. A dog might deter an intruder. So would a gun, but I wasn’t the gun toting type. I never should have complained that my house has been too quiet since my retirement. With my children living states away, I had no young ones running in and out. What I had was too much silence. I should have kept that to myself. Sometimes silence is a good thing. Sometimes when a dog barks and nothing appeases him, silence is a good thing. When a dog wants to take the leg off a friend, silence is a good thing. The more “dog talk” I heard, the more I was leaning toward looking at a few. No one can just “look” at a dog. “Just think about how much company a dog would be for you.” That was the argument levied each time I gave an excuse for not wanting to invest my time in a dog. “You don’t know how much love a dog can give.” I did know because I had experienced that love only to have it die on a busy highway. I listened to my well-meaning friends, but it was on a snowy night a few weeks before Christmas when I made up my mind.
Carol Perkins and Connie Wilson
"Our first book signing."
One of the Amazon Reviews from "Poof" I finished this book in two days. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. This should be read by everyone. It is so insightful for those who are adopted, have adopted children, someone who has adopted friends and/or family, and anyone who has suffered lose as a child. It gets to the raw and real feelings of the child, and also shows that the questions, loss, and the actions of others in relation to the incidents remains present throughout life. I can relate to this story in many ways. I lost my father as a young child. I was teased at school because it was rare for a child to only have one parent at that time. Today, I still wonder how life would have been different for me had he lived. This is a Real Story. This is a story for us all! "