Once Upon a Green Meadow

An American Family's Struggles Between the Wars

This poignant memoir shares one woman's memories growing up between the two world wars as a member of the McMillan family, a hardworking bunch who made their living on an eastern Washington farm.

In a series of vignettes, Ernestine McMillan Hilton recalls the joys of small-town holiday celebrations, close-knit neighbors, and the events that shape the lives of the McMillans as they scratch a living from a scabland farm. With vivid detail, Hilton remembers how the sweet taste of strawberry Jell-O mingled with the wonders of Election Day in 1924 when her mother had the opportunity to vote for the first time, and she revisits how the end of the horse-and-buggy era gave rise to the Model T. She also relates the arrival of her baby brothers, the joys of going to school, and the hardships of the Great Depression.

Once Upon a Green Meadow re-creates the charm and hardship of a rural American life that has vanished forever. But more importantly, Hilton's memoir reveals how one family's love sustained them throughout the hard times.