Tonight I am thinking about Ottumwa, Iowa. I started thinking about Ottumwa this afternoon when I started reading Making Piece by Beth M. Howard.

The author was born in Ottumwa a bit before we lived there, and we would have been in school at the same time. However, on different sides of town and not in the same grades.

The book is autobiographical and she refers many times to Ottumwa or the area, so many memories are flooding back.

The reason I requested this book from inter-library loan was that I knew she had written about the Canteen in the Alley, so wanted to see what more she shared about growing up in Ottumwa.

A loose meat sandwich sounds really good right now.

One of the things Beth wrote about was taking cello lessons. I also took cello lessons when I lived in Ottumwa.I am only about half way through the book, but I know that she went to college on the West Coast and lived in Germany, Mexico and several other states. At the time that this book is set, Beth had moved back to Iowa and was living in the American Gothic house in Eldon. While she lived there she ran a pie stand.

The book Making Piece is centered around pie. There is a lot in the book about Iowa and pie, which makes for a good story and also makes me hungry for pie.

I may share some more thoughts once I have finished reading the book. The book is bring  back so many Ottumwa memories, so I just had to share something now.

Steven