Author Fuhrman recalls his farming childhood and the development of his telephone company, in tandem with his wife. Gracie, in this fascinating journey into the past. As a boy, he worked on the family farm in Texas, helping to harvest hay, corn, and cotton with a combination of horsepower and some more modern machinery. But a sudden traumatic change occurred when, in 1942, the US government took over the land to build an airbase. Managing to cadge a few of the crops still growing on the former property, the Fuhrmans migrated to Muenster, where they would remain.

Fuhrman describes playing under the house and sleeping outside in harsh weather, butchering hogs to eat from head to hoof, and Saturday night baths when the author was consigned to already-used water that was “not clear and not too clean.” After a stint in the US military, Fuhrman married his teen sweetheart, Gracie. The two of them established the region’s first phone service based around his advanced mechanical gifts and her office management skills, a professional and personal partnership that has endured for more than sixty years.

Fuhrman and his wife have composed this dynamic memoir that combines writings from each, deftly interweaving a chronology of their business acumen and achievements with private, sometimes tragic, events, such as the sudden, accidental death of their second son. Facing every challenge, the much-admired couple were able to enjoy world travel, fostering a notable connection with Fuhrman’s—and the town’s—German relations and histories. With interesting photographs, family lore, and facts, Fuhrman invites readers to envision the world of their own forebears—hardy people living out their dreams with grace and grit. His book will be appreciated both locally and by a larger audience drawn to the memories and promise of Americana that he has so carefully and lovingly arrayed.

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