"I’m merely a conduit, relaying the information given to me about the past."
All About Me
Ron Allen Ames, a history enthusiast, attributes his 46 years of life experience as a hands-on business co-owner, for giving him insight in portraying the lives of others. The discovery of an old box in his late parent’s house containing extensive information about the years 1914 to 1919 prompted Ames to bring this history to light in ‘Goodwill Hill.’ Ames previously wrote ‘Vessels of the Strand,’ a work recognized by the USS LST 325 Ship Memorial, and ‘Metal Horses,’ a narrative that touches on the sociocultural implications of the muscle car era. Ames resides in Pennsylvania with his wife, Cathy, they have two grown sons.
From Ron:
"I don't see myself as the author of this book. I’m merely a conduit, relaying the information given to me about the past. The family letters, postcards, journals, newspaper articles, and photographs found in a tattered old box contain a record of a somewhat forgotten time when a great war and a pandemic simultaneously struck the world. History records major events, statistics, details of destruction, and world changes, but it often overlooks the home front and the emotional impact of such a perilous time—a time that changed the lives of so many and left grief and destitution in its wake. Goodwill Hill is just one of many stories from this era."
My HP Books
COMING SOON
"GOODWILL
HILL"
COMING SOON!
Goodwill Hill—a story lost to time, then found again in century-old letters that lay in a tattered box.
Actual events taken from the pages tell of when the Great War and the Spanish Influenza shattered the lives of hundreds of thousands, including a family of subsistence farmers who also worked the oil fields of Pennsylvania.
The parents, Ella and Almon, live and work the same as their forefathers have for generations. They strive to keep their family together as the war and influenza close in. Earl, the eldest son, is a gifted trombone and piano player. He is smitten by Lucile Lake, a girl from a higher social status. All he has to win her heart is his music and his words, while the military draft lingers in the foreground. Jack, a friend as close as a brother, realizes the horrors of war as he fights at the Western Front. Albert’s free spirit causes chaos as he searches for direction and hope. Arthur’s patriotism leads him to the Mexican Border. Russell is young but must suppress his fear to save a life, while Little Clara is shielded from the distress.
World War One and the Spanish Influenza Pandemic are two events that have been well-documented in books and movies—but rarely portrayed together. Yet, they happened simultaneously in 1918. The people of that era endured hardship and loss. From the ashes, they picked up their lives and sought happiness anew. This is but one of countless stories from such a tragic chapter in American history.
