Growing up as a Baby Boomer: Life in the land of used to be

An autobiographical look at growing up as a Baby Boomer in rural America.

A childhood Memoir of Rural America
The book “In the land of used to be” is an anecdotal memoir that provides a view of the Baby Boomer era through the eyes of a country boy. From a young age, the life of a Boomer who grew up in the country was significantly different from that of a Boomer who grew up living in a town, a city, or the suburbs. Out in the country, boys developed an independent attitude early on as they explored their rural environment in search of entertainment and adventure. Their initial playground was the surrounding fields, forests, ponds, and dirt roads, and the items that gave them the most enjoyment were things like hatchets, tents, sling shots, fishing poles, tree houses, transistor radios, bows and arrows, bicycles, and inner tubes. As they grew older and became teenagers, their interests expanded to include girls, automobiles, hunting, tobacco products – and eventually, alcohol.

A window into a bygone time
The book, which is about a boy growing up as a Baby Boomer in western Pennsylvania, is based on the childhood memories of the author, Lannie Dietle. He believes the book captures typical coming of age stories that will help the X, Millennial, Z, and Alpha generations better-understand their rural Baby Boomer antecedents. He also believes that the stories will help other Boomers recall their own childhood experiences.

The author was born at a Kentucky Army base in 1953, and lived on his grandfather’s Somerset County, Pennsylvania farm until 1956. That year, he and his parents moved to Mercer County, Pennsylvania in search of economic opportunity. Because the family frequently returned to Somerset County to visit family, the book is a mix of Somerset County and Mercer County boyhood recollections.

The book is published by the Mercer County Historical Society, and is available from them, and from Amazon. All proceeds benefit the historical society. Order your copy today to read about what it was like growing up as a country Baby Boomer!

“In the land of used to be” is a photo-illustrated 2024 memoir about growing up as a Baby Boomer in rural America. The farm pond that is featured on the cover of the book was a favorite swimming spot for the author and his teenage Boomer friends. His boyhood home was located just beyond the tree line that is visible on the left-hand side of the cover photo. (ISBN-13: 979-8327495098.)

This is a 2024 photo of the author, Lannie Dietle. He hopes that his new non-fiction book will help Boomers resurrect long-forgotten memories of what growing up was like in their formative years, and will give younger readers an improved understanding of the Boomer generation.