April 7, 1965 Jocie Brooke reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. Do not, I repeat, do not get close to my father today. He is in the middle of doing taxes. The door on his office at the paper is closed and I don’t think even Zella would have the nerve to knock on it. “Not even if the press breaks down,” …
April Fools Day in Hollyhill
April 1, 1965 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. It’s April Fools Day. That means I’ve got to be on the lookout all day for people ready to pull pranks. Especially Wes. Wes says they invented April Fools Day up on Jupiter and the first Jupiterian who visited earth started it up here back in the 14th Century by …
Old Houses and Ghosts
March 24, 1965 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. It’s finally getting to be spring in Hollyhill. And boy, are we all ready for it! The March flowers are blooming on the hill on Mr. Crutcher’s farm next door. He says there used to be a house there, but it got torn down and the pieces carried off to …
Toads, Warts, and Twins
March 17, 1965 Jocie Brooke here, reporting from Hollyhill. And whew! Am I tired. We had a day off school today and I volunteered to help out the Hearndons by keeping their three-year-old twins. Wow! Have you ever tried to keep up with two three-year-olds? I mean I’ve taken care of Stephen. He’s my sister’s little boy and now that …
To Be or Not To Be a Princess
March 10, 1965 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Main Street, Hollyhill, Kentucky. Did you ever want to be a princess? Like in the fairytales. A Cinderella or Snow White. But you know, when you think about it, those two had a pretty rough time. Cinderella had to sleep in the ashes and talk to mice, and Snow White had to …
March Marches
March 3, 1965 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. Not much has been happening here in Hollyhill. School. Basketball games. We actually won one game in the District Tournament. So we had lots of basketball pictures in the Hollyhill Banner. Even one of Valerie jumping up and cheering. I felt especially generous taking that picture. Valerie thinks she’s so …
The Staying Power of Jupiterian Fropples
February 24, 1965 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. Things have been pretty calm in Hollyhill. That’s the way it is in the winter around here. If we don’t have a big snowstorm, then nothing really happens in February. Just cold winds and days you think spring will never get here. School is extra trouble in February. Teachers must …
Jocie Shares a Scene from Summer of Joy
February 17, 1965 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky three days after Valentine’s Day. It’s been snowing and snowing. That’s given me lots of time to think about all the different kinds of love and back to some of the things that happened in those Heart of Hollyhill books I’m in. You know it’s funny that last Hollyhill …
Chocolates Spell Love
February 10, 1965 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. Snow is still on the ground but the school buses are running again. I don’t ride the bus. Dad takes me to school on his way to the newspaper office. Thank goodness. If I had to ride the bus, I’d be on it for an hour. That might be all …
Thinking Joy in the Middle of Winter
February 4, 1965 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. First I have to let you know that last week was a disaster here in Hollyhill. A foot of snow and cold. Somebody told Dad that it was twenty below out on their farm. Wow! That’s too cold to do anything except sit by the fire and hope you don’t …