The Spirit of Rural America, 1947-1955
Fred B. McKinley
CHINQUA WHERE? The Spirit of Rural America, 1947-1955 portrays the numerous humorous exploits, misadventures and shenanigans of a youth while growing up in Chinquapin [San Augustine County], Texas during that period of time. While it is intended as humor and wit for the general reader of any age, CHINQUA WHERE? also tackles the seriousness and the realism associated with bittersweet memories and the disappointments of rural farm life. Regardless of the regional area that one is most familiar with, most readers who were reared in this day and age will be able to personally identify with and relate to the book's host of lovable characters, both humankind and animal. One such example is Nick, the working mule, who as a world-class jumper refused to stay behind a fence, thereby straying to "perceived" greener pastures and into one specific episode that placed him in a tight spot where he was framed for a crime that he did not commit.