Tune of the Hickory Stick

Captivated by Annie O'Hara a country school teacher in Kansas youngWorld War I veteran David Reilly courts her and they soon wed. Over thenext twenty years David farms and Annie teaches while they raise two boysand two girls. After the farm population in the area dwindles and their oldestson is tragically killed in World War II the family moves from the farm tothe small town of Bourbony where Annie continues her career in education.</P>Their younger son Michael after serving in the Korean War moves toArizona where he follows in his mother's footsteps and becomes an educator.There he marries teacher Monica Vargas a second generation Mexican-American. Pursuing a career in school administration Michael must dealwith social upheavals of the Vietnam War era including student war protestsdrug proliferation racial unrest in the black community Mexicanimmigration and an increasingly militant teacher's organization.</P>Despite hardship and tragedy through the generations the Reilly familyremains united loving and ever hopeful that with a solid commitment toeducation they can achieve-and help others achieve-a happier fullerand more liberated life.</P><i> Tune of the Hickory Stick</I> is a poignant historicalnovel about the immigrant experience the changing social role of womenand the evolution of public education in twentieth-century America.</P>