War Brought Trials and Anxiety at Home and Overseas

For well over half a century, author Catherine C. Brooks carried a box of treasured letters with her wherever she moved. The box remained unopened until several years ago when she began writing her book about the trials and tribulations that World War II wrought upon those left at home in her native Mathews County, Virginia.

War Brought Trials and Anxiety at Home and Overseas begins the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. Lifestyles changed at home with our men, and then 18-year-old boys, leaving for overseas. Rationing, salvaging, blackouts and women working became the norm. The Germans missed no time in sinking our ships, bringing essentials. Survivor's stories bring horror. Love letters bring tears, as do stories of those who survived prison camps, and internment in places the Japanese seized. Diaries recorded events and conditions that one couldn't write in censored letters. Pictures released after the war tell more than words in love letters.

Didn’t Know We Were Poor

Brooks' latest nonfiction book,  shows what life was like in the flourishing 1920s and during The Great Depression that followed. The story begins in 1922. Maywood Callis yearned to date the attractive Grace Richardson. Courtship led to marriage and afterward the couple purchased a nineteenth century homestead, where Brooks was born. Then, after her sister’s birth, the stock market crashed. Daddy made his livelihood on the Bay and by 1932, seafood industries weren’t. The family never hungered but house payments lagged. Would they lose their home? "Mamma prayed and acted on impulse to save her family from failure. We children never knew the true circumstances; however, I wondered why." Stories from many states add spice to the mix—the first of a series of Catherine’s Tales.

Walk with Me

This book traces the history of Mathews County Virginia and its growth, one community at the time. The book includes available statistics, many pictures, and humorous tales told by older residents. History of the county dates back to John Smith’s Exploration of the Chesapeake Bay. The general merchandise store furnished residents with needs that they couldn’t raise on their land or harvest from the Bay. Each community needed a post office that usually sat in one corner of the country store. I walked two miles to and from school, met the steamboat, worked on the family farm and shopped from local stores and catalogs. It could be the tale of any rural county on the Chesapeake Bay if one changed the names. Scroll down for an exerpt.

Endorsements of Walk With Me:

The book is very interesting, and the quotations add inspiration. I don’t usually like non-fiction, but this is different. --  Maida Hudgins, an avid reader

I am enjoying the book—that keeps me connected to Mathews and you. -- Lyn Nutt, Computer instructor, Milton, FL.

Wonderful! Wonderful! I’m buying four copies for gifts. –-- Millie Shaw, Librarian from Newport News, Va., now living in Columbia, SC.

Interesting as ever could be. –-- Eugenia Murray, widow of local historian

A wonderful job. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Post Office Work is special to me anyway. I served as assistant to Uncle Jack Dutton at Moon at the time of his sudden death. –-- Ann W. Hudgins, Newport News, Virginia

One of the best books I’ve read on Mathews! It is nice to see someone detail out the history of Mathews County. Kudos to Catherine Brooks! Many thanks for the time and effort! -- Matthew Kimble, Newport New, Virginia

The book is more like a story told in an old fashioned way. My husband is amazed at the information. –-- Mary C. Godsey, North Carolina

Unbelievable! Delightful! The book is great. --- John W. Dixon, author of “The Black Americans of Gwynn’s Island 1600s through 1900s” and other books about the Island.

Interesting! Wonderful! -- Elsa Verbyla, Managing Editor, Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal

The most in depth historical review on my hometown I’ve ever read! —Scott Sadler, Alexandria, Virginia, former newspaper journalist and employee of Sen. John Warner

Wow!!  Great reading.  Well written and researched.  Very interesting and informative.  -- Bobbie Schroer, Kyle Texas