Perhaps you have read his books or seen him on television. He’s a very busy person and, thus, we are extremely fortunate to have Jerry Apps speak at our annual Pommerscher Verein meeting which will be held at the Rib River Ballroom on Sunday, Oct. 20. A German-style buffet will be served at noon ($12) and the program will follow at 12:45. The public is invited to attend free of charge. However, for those wishing to have the noon buffet, advance reservations are required and may be made by telephoning Cindy Braatz at 715-842-7320 by Oct. 17.
Jerry Apps will speak about his newly published book, Limping through Life: A Farm Boy’s Polio Memoir. He recalls – “Families throughout the United States lived in fear of polio and now the disease had come to our farm. I can still remember that short winter day and the chilly night when I first showed symptoms. My life would never be the same.” The hardworking farm kid who loved playing softball had to make many adjustments and meet many challenges after the winter night in 1955 when he was stricken with polio.
In Limping through Life, the celebrated rural historian shares the intimate story of how polio changed his world physically and emotionally and how the disease ultimately set him on the path to becoming a professional writer. Though polio crippled part of his body, Apps stresses that it actually strengthened him and his attitudes toward hard work and rural living.
In his most personal book, Apps explores the ways polio profoundly influenced his education, work on the farm, military service, and family life. He shares the stories of the teachers, friends, and family who helped him to first see beyond, and then rise above, the disease that tried to take him down.