In the land of used to be: A rural Pennsylvania memoir

Growing up in rural Pennsylvania
The 365-page book "In the Land of Used to Be: Memories of a Rural Pennsylvania Childhood," which is available from Amazon and the MCHS in paperback format, provides a nostalgic look at growing up in rural Pennsylvania in the 1953 to 1971 timeframe. In addition to letting younger generations know how their parents and grandparents occupied themselves in the days before cell phones, video games, and social media, this memoir is sure to remind older people of their own childhood adventures, misadventures, and hijinks.

A story about a subset of the Baby Boomer generation
The author, Lannie Dietle, was raised along a Mercer County dirt road miles from the nearest town, and frequented the isolated mountain farms of his Somerset County grandparents to work and play. He wrote this book to provide a glimpse of what life was like for a subset of the Baby Boomer generation: The country kids. During a time of significant societal change, he and his childhood friends were left mostly to their own devices, except for school and church. They had the entire countryside as their own to explore, and made their own boyhood adventures — at first on foot, then on bicycle, and eventually by automobile. They took risks and made mistakes with various degrees of seriousness, and learned from the sometimes-unpleasant consequences. I guess you could say they got a lot of mistakes out of the way early, before they reached adulthood. Maybe that was a good thing, and maybe not. Regardless, this delightful book uses their adventures to shine new light on the way things once were, in the land of used to be.

Mr. Dietle's new book is a mid-20th century coming-of-age memoir about growing up in rural Pennsylvania. It’s sure to help Boomers remember what life was like in their formative years. It will also help more recent generations understand how different growing up was back then, compared to today.

About the author
Mr. Dietle is a retired industrial designer who did pioneering work in the field of hydrodynamic rotary seals. He and his wife Cheryl are currently living near Annapolis, Maryland. Interested in history since childhood, in 2019 he wrote "Fort Cumberland," the definitive two-volume book about the military and civilian history of Fort Cumberland, Maryland and its environs. He is also known for discovering the military origin of the Turkey Foot Road, which was cut in 1779 to resupply a desperately undersupplied Fort Pitt.

As with most of Mr. Dietle's books, all of the proceeds from the sale of this book go to a historical society. In this case, the beneficiary is the Mercer County Historical Society in western Pennsylvania.

"In the Land of Used to Be" is a new book about growing up in rural Pennsylvania. Order today to read about how things used to be for kids who lived in Pennsylvania farm country during the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s! The contrast with today is remarkable. It’s an entertaining book, regardless of which state you hail from. (ISBN-13: 979-8327495098, non-fiction, photo-illustrated)