Reminiscences: For Youth

Reminiscences of Early Peoria
by Odillon B. Slane

For Youth

YOUTH'S eternal struggle to catch and treasure a thread from the hem of the garment of romance is certification of the glory of human courage in the face of terrifying odds.

The span of one man's memory, in this little book, is sufficiently long to bridge time's gulf between today and the days when Red Indians lingered on the outposts of white civilization in a prairie town. Today, it is easy to suspect that a sophisticated and hard-boiled post-war generation of youngsters finds few remnants of glory in tales of the Red Man's losing struggle with the White. Styles in movies have changed from the unbelievable gallantry of "westerns" to the sleek sexiness of Hollywood's conception of "realism." The tales of Cooper and Henty mould on modern shelves. Little boys still buy sailor suits and cap pistols, but the Indian's feathers and the bow and arrow are far removed from the play consciousness of babies.

Nevertheless, youth always yields homage to courage. True stories of how Peoria county pioneers met time and weather face to face, how they endured hardship and feared the scalping knife while they built a city and made a dream come true are clear calls to a courage none the less needed in a civilization where dangers are not so obvious but are quite as cruel.

These little tales carry a message of courage. The very matter-of-fact style of their telling discloses that their author seeks to make no preachment and peddle no sensation. But he knew pioneer moments, if not himself, then from the lips of his parents. His stories are threads from the hem of the garment of romance.

They are red with the color of courage.

G. W. BARRETTE

Introduction Chapter 1

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