PREFACE 15 



of Anezeh. Even left its paper, "The Silver- 

 ton Appeal," among that tribe. 



I have told people of this little town's beau- 

 ties till they have yawned and finally left in 

 disgust, yet it holds me with a something that 

 I cannot describe. Strangely I find that I 

 have forgotten all the many rainy days, the 

 boyhood fights and the neighbor quarrels. 

 They with the petty pains and pangs of life 

 have been forgotten, and while I know that 

 some of my expressions of love for this little 

 town have been misunderstood by the newer 

 and younger generation, j^et I am certain that 

 the pioneers, the men and women that belong 

 to the old oak tree, have all seen in every word 

 I have ever written or line I have ever drawn 

 pertaining to Silverton and the farmers around 

 it, nothing but love. All the attention I have 

 drawn to it in the past and any I may in the 

 future was, will be, to benefit Silverton. My 

 only regret is that we couldn't have remained 

 always the same as we were before the big oak 

 tree was chopped down, as that tree seemed to 

 fit into our landscape better than open or 

 paved streets do. The tree seemed to be a 

 center of dignity around which we could build. 



