Fruit Tramp Volume I: Cat Fight and Blood and Cherries - Paperback

by Rs Houde (Author)

During The Great Depression from the hills of Appalachia migrated a generation of people westward. These people gained their sustenance by traveling from state to state harvesting fruit and vegetables for local farmers. They lived their lives on the Road, finding shelter where they could but most of the time living out of their vehicles or having limited visits to local motels or boarding houses. This life lacked any kind of security or stability and the underbelly of America victimized these people at every turn or engulfed those more accepting. Post World War II most of these people found roots in whatever state they decided to call home. They found jobs, bought homes and raised families. Becoming what most would call "Productive members of society". While others found the migrant life more appealing and continued to travel from state to state on what would be termed the "Fruit Tramp". Tramping from state to state following the harvests from sunny Southern California, up to the Pacific Northwest and across the great divide all the way to the east coast of Florida. Never staying in one place long enough to grow any kind of roots or be an active participant in a local community. This is not to say that they did not have families or their own community and culture, they assuredly did. To some the Fruit tramp culture would be compared to the underworld, to others they would just be vagrants. To me the Fruit Tramp Culture was and is a part of my past, present and future. I was raised around it and have experienced both the good and the bad of what it is to be in the world of the Fruit Tramp. Fruit Tramp Volume I has two short stories in its pages that with any luck will give the reader a look into a part of American culture some never knew existed. They are works of fiction with a mix of reality and fantasy as to make the stories more enjoyable. I hope you enjoy them.