Famous In 1957

EXCITING NEWS WE GOT NEW NEIGHBORS DOWN THE ROAD. THEY LIVE IN A
HOUSE BOAT AND FISH FOR A LIVING. THEY TIED THEIR HOUSE TO THE TREES
AND THREW SOME ANCHORS IN THE WATER AND SOLD FISH TO ALL THE FARMERS IN
THE AREA. THEY ALSO DROVE INTO TOWN AND SOLD FISH FROM THE TRUNK OF A
CAR WHEN THEY HAD A LOT TO GET RID OF.

WHAT A
WONDERFUL WAY TO LIVE I THOUGHT. WHEN YOU GET TIRED OF THIS PLACE JUST
FLOAT ON DOWN UNTIL YOU FIND A NICE PLACE AND STAY THERE FOR A WHILE.
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER GOES A LONG WAY AND THERE IS A LOT TO SEE
.


THEY HAD KIDS THREE I THINK AND ONE GIRL
WAS NEAR MY AGE THEY WERE GOING TO ENROLL IN OUR SCHOOL IN THE FALL,
AND WE WOULD RIDE THE BUS TOGETHER. WE WANTED TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH
THESE KIDS BUT THEY HAD TIME TO PLAY AND WE DIDN'T . ANYTHING NEW TO
OUR AREA WAS EXCITING AND NEWS TRAVELED FAST .


UNBELIEVABLE, WAS THE WORD IN OUR HOUSE "IMAGINE
LIVING IN A BOAT FLOATING HERE,AND THERE, NOT HAVING A REAL HOUSE.
THERE'S NO WAY I COULD LIVE LIKE THAT" MAMA SAID.

I
DIDN'T HAVE CLASSES WITH ANY OF THE KIDS, BUT I DID SIT WITH THEM ON
THE BUS. ONE DAY A LADY GOT ON THE BUS ON OUR WAY HOME AND ASKED US
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WAY WE LIVED, AND HOW MANY KIDS IN OUR FAMILIES,
SHE WAS VERY NICE TO US AND TOLD US HER NAME WAS, LOIS LENSKI..


SHE WAS WRITING A BOOK ABOUT THE FAMILY THAT LIVED
IN THE HOUSEBOAT . ARE WE GOING TO BE IN IT? WE ASKED. 
&;quot;YOU WILL BE BUT YOUR NAMES WILL BE DIFFERENT, WHEN YOU READ
THE BOOK SEE IF YOU CAN FIND YOURSELF IN IT." I WAS SO HAPPY I WAS
GOING TO BE IN A REAL BOOK,IMAGINE THAT.

THE NAME OF
THE BOOK WAS " HOUSEBOAT GIRL." AND I NEVER DID FIGURE OUT WHICH ONE OF
THE KIDS IN IT WAS ME. JUST THINK FAMOUS FOLKS RIGHT AT OUR FRONT DOOR
. " WHO IN THE DEVIL WOULD WANT TO READ A BOOK ABOUT PEOPLE FLOATING
DOWN THE RIVER AND SELLING FISH." MAMA SAID. "ME, I WOULD, AND
EVERYBODY AROUND HERE WOULD MAMA, EVERYBODY BUT YOU." I
SAID.

MS LENSKI, WROTE SEVERAL BOOKS ABOUT KIDS AND
THE WAY THEY LIVED. THIS BOOK WAS A BIG HIT IN OUR LITTLE TOWN, AND THE
GIRL THAT LIVED IN THE HOUSEBOAT WAS ENVIED BY ALL OF US. I THINK THEY
HAD DECIDED TO STAY WITH US FOR A WHILE. THAT SPRING WHEN THE RIVER
OVERFLOWED IT'S BANKS THEY LET THEIR HOUSEBOAT COME TO REST ON CEMENT
BLOCKS AND ANCHORED IT TO THE BLOCKS WHEN THE WATER RECEDED THE BOAT
WAS NOW ON DRY LAND. THEY HAD NO CHOICE NOW BUT TO STAY UNTIL THE WATER
OVERFLOWED THE BANKS AGAIN . I SUPPOSE THEY GOT TIRED OF DRY LAND
BECAUSE NEXT TIME THE WATER GOT HIGH ENOUGH FOR THE BOAT TO FLOAT THEY
LEFT US. OH WELL FAME ONLY LAST FOR SO LONG AND WE HAD OUR FIFTEEN
MINUTES IN
1957