Memoirs: Early Childhood 1929-1943

Bette James shares with us her early childhood memories of growing up during the Great Depression. Bette wrote candidly about the events of her life and her feelings towards her parents, grandparents and her siblings. Memoirs: Early Childhood, 1929-1943, includes numerous photographs of Bette and her family, and the house where they all lived, in Mt. Wayte, Framingham, MA.

Bette’s writing paints a picture of living in an old Chautauqua settlement made up of fifty or so tiny cottages, many with gingerbread trim, along with a wooden building with a great porch that served as a community center. Written as a collection of short stories, some of the stories Bette wrote about include her learning to swim, childhood friends, the Saturday matinee, the fights between her parents, the Great Depression, special days, religion, home movies, and the special times spent with her grandparents.