Central Standard: A Time, a Place, a Family (Bur Oak Books) - Hardcover

"Real life is so much more interesting than fiction, and Patrick Irelan makes his family real. In his simple, straightforward style and living view of the past, Irelan shows us a clear view of his family's struggles and successes. We grieve for lives lost and dreams shattered. We wonder at their survival during the summer of the drought and the years of Depression on their small, infertile Iowa farm. We also gain a vivid picture of the railroad and the depots where both his father and mother worked. You'll like knowing these courageous, gutsy people and the time and place in which they lived."

In Central Standard: A Time, a Place, a Family, Patrick Irelan vividly recaptures a remarkable era in midwestern history in twenty-four beautifully crafted and often witty essays. Beginning with his parents' marriage in 1932 and continuing into the present, Irelan relates the many wonderful stories and experiences of his Davis County, Iowa, family. In Country Living, he describes his parents' disheartening life as farmers during the worst years of the Depression. The CB&Qo then relates the happiest years of his family's life when his parents lived and worked in the Burlington Railroad depots of rural Nebraska.