his secret wouldn't get in the
way. So he and Angela bought
a farm and began to raise crops
and animals - and a family. They
had four daughters. They were
good farmers and so successful,
they even had an indoor toilet!
The girls adored their dad. He was kind. And funny. And a great
practical joker."
Imagine living to be 105! What a life lived!
Clarence Brazier was one of seven children. His early years were spent on his parents' farm where he helped with milking, harnessing horses, carrying hay bales. Clarence was strong, kind, and always thinking. He started school not knowing the alphabet, or how to spell his own name. When teased by his classmates, he sprinted away from school and headed for home. That was Clarence's first and last day at school.
As happened with many families at the time, a farm accident changed the course of the family's life. His father, now blind, needed help with daily chores and with keeping the farm viable. Clarence accepted the challenge. At 7, he was doing most of the chores, as well as helping his father cut down trees to sell to others for firewood. Through his formative years, he kept busy working as a logger. Impressed with his work ethic and his leadership, he was asked to be boss. Clarence had a secret and he didn't want to share it. So he quit the camp and soon began work in the gold mines.
Life went on. Clarence married, after finally sharing his long-kept secret with his soon-to-be wife. Their family life was happy and successful. Clarence was a good husband, a fine father, an excellent provider, and an attentive grandfather. Through it all, he kept his secret - for almost one hundred years! He was 93 when his wife died, alone and worried. He had needed Angela's help to keep his secret through all the years. He did not know how to read. How would he manage on his own?
With a great deal of determination and help from his daughter (the second person to learn he was illiterate), Clarence learned to read - and then never stopped! The final spread shares the joy he felt reading in a classroom filled with children!
The colorful illustrations fill the pages with memorable moments through Clarence's long life, and a clear look at farm life in the early twentieth century. Textured and inviting, listeners will enjoy every moment of this inspirational and joyful book.
An author's note adds a quick recap of Clarence's life, a photo, and meaningful data concerning illiteracy and the power that reading has to make a life better.
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