The Great Depression deepens across the United States in 1935. Dorothy Wagner lands a job as book mobile librarian for the Illinois Library Relief Fund. Packing her feed sack dresses in a cardboard suitcase, Dorothy rides an Illinois Central Railroad train to Deer’s Woods, the southern-most part of the state. Dorothy enjoys her accommodations boarding with Pastor Ray and his wife, Evie. But the news that Lieutenant Tom Nelson from the Civil Conservation Corp will drive her from towns to schools rubs her sense of independence. Eventually, the hobo jungles, quilters, graphic artists, school teachers and desperate farmers that Dorothy meets on her book route present glimpses of life that she had not experienced in Chicago. As the weeks pass, Tom and Dorothy discover the true meaning of Christmas in the midst of economic deprivation.

(Originally published in Christmas through the Ages Anthology)

Cleo Lampos read extensively about the Great D

The Great Depression deepens across the United States in 1935. Dorothy Wagner lands a job as book mobile librarian for the Illinois Library Relief Fund. Packing her feed sack dresses in a cardboard suitcase, Dorothy rides an Illinois Central Railroad train to Deer’s Woods, the southern-most part of the state. Dorothy enjoys her accommodations boarding with Pastor Ray and his wife, Evie. But the news that Lieutenant Tom Nelson from the Civil Conservation Corp will drive her from towns to schools rubs her sense of independence. Eventually, the hobo jungles, quilters, graphic artists, school teachers and desperate farmers that Dorothy meets on her book route present glimpses of life that she had not experienced in Chicago. As the weeks pass, Tom and Dorothy discover the true meaning of Christmas in the midst of economic deprivation.

(Originally published in Christmas through the Ages Anthology)

Cleo Lampos read extensively about the Great Depression through diaries, journals, and books over several decades. A retired teacher with a library science background, Lampos researched the packhorse librarians and advent of the bookmobile until a story developed in her mind. The author of historical fiction and nonfiction based on this time period, Lampos lives in the Chicago area where she and her husband are urban gardeners.

epression through diaries, journals, and books over several decades. A retired teacher with a library science background, Lampos researched the packhorse librarians and advent of the bookmobile until a story developed in her mind. The author of historical fiction and nonfiction based on this time period, Lampos lives in the Chicago area where she and her husband are urban gardeners.