Shady Grove

Among the intriguing personalities that made life interesting for Will and Julie Summers in Shady Grove a sleepy little town in Southeast Missouri where Will had been hired as an administrator during the Great Depression were John Davis the town's prowling eccentric; Mozella Lewis a glamorous black teacher and her worthless white boyfriend Harry Hussy; Marshall Ed Hooks and Father Hank Jolliak alcoholics one lovable one not; dignified Rev. Harry Morton the passionate black pastor of Zion Hill Baptist Church; ambitious William Jones cocky prosecutor who officiously presided over two public hangings; Maggie Stanley a buxom overweight mother who brawled with her teacher niece Emily Wickam in Will's office; Lola Taylor New York star of stage and screen who brought culture and heartbreak to Shady Grove; the poker crowd at Elmer Guyton's hardware store; and the gossipy know-it-ails of scandal at Charley Bell's barbershop. These and others made life anything but dull for Will and Julia in Shady Grove Missouri.