come reminisce Books

Growing up in Lima, Ohio during the Depression Era was a time of great adventures for Duke Murray! In these affectionate memoirs, Duke (aka. Dr. Emmett Murray, a retired family physician), tells 35 favorite stories from his boyhood years in the Midwest.
After some early mishaps, Duke's entry into grade school opens new worlds of enjoyment. Horace Mann Grade School and its vast playgrounds get long and affectionate descriptions. Adventures on his own find Duke up at dawn to watch the Big Top circuses set up, hauling huge ice blocks while working at Lima Ice and Coal, training the family beagle to hunt and to win show prizes, and taking X-rays of steel castings at a tank plant. Duke helps an eccentric neighbor go after night crawlers, and he faces death and family alcoholism in a school friend's life.
The book conveys the atmosphere of daily life in the 1930s, and Murray's contemporaries will find many a brand name and Age of Radio show to identify with. But Duke Murray goes beyond these to describe also the sounds, the tastes and the smells of the time. "Saturday Night in Lima, 1930s Style" is a golden example of his talent for evoking atmosphere.
Murray communicates a special fascination with life on the farm and the industry and humor of farming people. He describes the big meals, the homemade ice cream and grapes from the arbor. But his fondest memories are of making hay, raising chickens, cattle and hogs, and watching his aunts put up canned food stores for company in the days before modern refrigeration.
The book goes on to describe the dawning realization by America of the inevitability of World War II, and the rather frightening experiences of enlistment and service by all the three Murray sons in the U.S. Army. The book's chronology ends with Duke Murray in medical school, entertaining himself by winning a tall tale radio contest in Columbus, and singing barbershop quartets with his dissecting partners over their cadaver.
These tales will be especially enjoyed by fans of Lima and Allen County, who will respond with glee to references such as the Lima Rescue Mission and the Kewpie Hamburger Restaurant. However, the stories are more than local memoirs in that they evoke the 1930s overall, and depict the universal struggles of a young person learning to fill his shoes in America.
The book includes a map of Duke's old neighborhood, his immediate family tree, an appreciation of his storytelling history, and contact information. Come Reminisce with Me sounds a note of optimism with its attitude that life presents experiences from which lessons may often be derived. Dr. Murray shows that happiness and laughter can happen anywhere, and that life may not be perfect, but that it still offers a lot to enjoy, appreciate and be grateful for at every turn.
Reviewed by Robb Murray, July 1, 2003

Dr. Murray sews together his stories seamlessly. The stories are both quaint and hysterical. His eye for detail gets down to the last inch of the scene. He has a way of drawing you into the story so that you won't want to miss a beat. This book is great for the summer beach bag.

This is a book of many Special Stories. So well written you feel you were there. It is one of those books you cannot stop reading till you finish that last Story.

This book transforms you back to a simpler time in life and one where neighbors really cared about each other.Life at the time might not have seemed so easy but loyalty, manners, patriotic spirit and faith were essential ingredients to a wonderful childhood in the Midwest. You can almost picture yourself in the middle of the neighborhood the author describes and can visualize the characters he describes. It is so pleasant to read.

I must confess that my initial interest in "Come Reminisce with Me" was one of local history. But what I discovered was something deeper than descriptions of Lima, Ohio in the 1930s. Murray's simple style and delicious imagery of youthful experiences took me back to a time in my own life when each day was a new adventure. These memories are intricately woven with humor and humility, joy and compassion, leading the reader through youthful rites of passage on the road to evolving maturity.

Share this book with your friends, kids and grandkids and watch what happens. It's sure to spark dialogue about some of life's most endearing and enduring experiences and values.

Patricia Smith
Allen County Museum