Sweet and Sour Pie A Wisconsin Boyhood Reviewed
Humorous Book by Dave Crehore About Small Town Living in Manitowoc
Jun 25, 2009
In Sweet and Sour Pie: A Wisconsin Boyhood the author, Dave Crehore, shares his stories about growing up in Manitowoc Wisconsin. Each chapter is a autobiographical story strung together with humor and the sensibilities of a small rural town in the 1950s, situated on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
Growing Up in Manitowoc
Readers are quickly drawn into life with Davey, his parents and beagle dogs, Rip and Nip. Early stories called “Beans for Breakfast” and “The Fannie Farmer Mystery” find the family settling into life in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, after moving from Lorain, Ohio.
Now, in this rural shipbuilding town, every sentence seems to end with the word enso. Davey experiences the early 1950s style of school grade placement by counting pocket change for the principal and, by his early teens, heart break at the county fair.
Small Town Humor in Wisconsin
The middle class Crehore family has their share of family, friend and animal encounters. In the chapter called, “The Dorking Rooster Catcher” Dad and the family is host to a visitor from England. Not knowing what to expect, Davey envisions Sherlock Holmes walking through the door. Perce Perkins is, indeed, a man that smokes a pipe but he has come to hunt grouse and has never seen a bantam rooster fly.
Sweet and Sour Pie: A Wisconsin Boyhood is an easy summer read sure to put a smile on any reader’s face. This pleasant book is appropriate for young adults to enjoy. He good-naturedly retells his stories of childhood experiences and people he met along the way to growing up.
Northeastern Wisconsin Lingo Glossary
Crehore includes a glossary of northeastern Wisconsin lingo. Even Wisconsin natives who grew up during the 1950s will find the glossary useful. It includes hunting, fishing and pipe smoking terminology, as well.
Lingo like sheepshead, as the author notes, “a European card game, sometimes involving beer” and Holstein are well-known Wisconsin terms. But enso, Big Chip, latakia and mumblety-peg are terms more endeared to a local region of Wisconsin, a favorite pastime or an era sure to never be seen again.
Wisconsin Author Dave Crehore
Dave Crehore grew up to become a public information officer for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Crehore has had his stories published in Wisconsin National Resources magazine and Shooting Sportsman magazine. He now lives in Green Bay, even farther north than his beloved Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
Locating Sweet and Sour Pie Book
Sweet and Sour Pie: A Wisconsin Boyhood by Dave Crehore was published in 2009, by Terrace Books, trade imprint of University of Wisconsin Press. For hardcover, use the ISBN 978-0-299-23060-9 to locate the book. ISBN 978-0-299-23063-0 is the location of the title in e-book form.
Another summer read by a Wisconsin author is Star Lake Saloon and Housekeeping Cottages by Sara Rath.
Permission received for all photos used in this article.
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