Draft Notices

Although this isn't my dad's draft notice, he received one like it. He had already served three years in the Army from 1933 to 1935. That didn't exempt him from service during WW II, however.  He received his reclassification from 4 A to 1 A the day after I was born.  The draft requirements changed …

Train Stations–WW II

        The Ottawa, Kansas train station still stands, although today it serves as a museum. Sitting forty-five miles southwest of Kansas City, it has seen its share of departures and homecomings. On a late October night, 1945, my dad arrived from his mandatory trip of almost a year in France and Germany …

Mail in WW II

With today's Skype, IMs, and e-mails, communication with those in battle zones it's instantaneous. Not so in WW II. Letters sometimes took four weeks to reach their intended target. A GIs letter was first censored to make sure the author didn't divulge any information as to where they were in case the letter fell into enemy …

WW II Draft Notice

You'd think if you'd voluntarily served in the Army for three years, you wouldn't be called again, right? Read this excerpt from "Hard Times in the Heartland".  The next Monday evening Henry picked out the mail from the box and thumbed through it while he ate some leftover turkey hash before heading to the hospital. …

WW II Anniversary Coming

Article Image "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." ~George Santayana

Funny Money

Ever see one of these? They’re rather scarce these days. In the days when I came into the world in the 40s, these bills were in common circulation.  My mom and I stayed in the hospital for nearly two weeks after I was born. The hospital bill came to a whopping $75.00. Before my dad …

My Process to Write Historical Fiction

I don't know if this the proper way to write a historical novel--this is just how I do it. I start a box and dig through stuff Mother saved over her 89 years. When I run across a picture, a stack of letters, or any books, they all go in the box. All the while, I’m considering where

Welcome to Hard Times in the Heartland

Hard Times in the Heartland,  is the third in The Late Sooner series available here. For an author, a new book is like having another child. You wait, dream, and hope. Then one day all the details are finished and you've delivered. Your blood, sweat, and tears are out there for all to see. Hard Times covers the …

New Baby at our House

I know this doesn't look like a new baby, but it is. It's my new fiction, based on fact which is out this month. So, do we call that "faction"? Hard Times in the Heartland, the third in the series of The Late Sooner is based on my dad's letters to Mom and me during WW II …

New Site

I have moved all my blogs to my website SallyJadlow.com under the Blog button at the top of the page.