This book is simply a collection of childhood memories, all carefully gleaned from family and friends, from all walks of life, and as wide a circle as possible. All stories are true, insofar as memory permits. All contributors are real and were born in the 20th century. Their ages range from 16 to 87 at the time of telling. Years of birth range from 1906 to 1990. All have been cajoled, prompted, and edited by me. In some cases, where I received verbal recall, I have edited out most of the strong language. In others, where such expression is relatively mild, I have left it in, so as to keep the natural voice of the storyteller. This is not a children¿s book, although older children might find it enlightening to learn about the childhood of their parents and grandparents and even great-grandparents in the ages before mobile phones and computers.