“Many of us have had relatives that saved every little thing to the point of ridicule. When you laughingly tell people about it, the response is, ‘They lived in the depression, didn’t they?’ And yes it’s true. When I’d open a certain cupboard in my Gramma’s kitchen, there would be an avalanche of Cool Whip containers or Parkay butter tubs. Funny to us, but not to them. In this book, Joy shows us what it was really like, and in an Iowa area where I lived myself for some time. Thanks Joy for the reality check!”

Van Harden retired as our well-loved early morning broadcaster on WHO-Radio. He generously wrote the foreword for the first Leora book, Leora’s Letters: The Story of Love and Loss for an Iowa Family During World War II, and even interviewed me in the studio about it.

Van is the author of two books (so far), an inventor, and a speaker. Here’s his website.