This Photograph of Doris and her sisters was taken in front of her house in Tomah Wisconsin. Doris is the second from the right. The girls only had one dress each and had to be very careful with it. They got one pair of shoes each year so they had to buy them really big in the fall to fit the whole year. When winter was over the shoes were worn out or too small so they always went barefoot in the summer. You can see their bare feet in the picture if you look close! Sometimes they tied weeds or pieces of rubber from tires to their feet in the summer. Did you notice the baby in the middle of the photograph? That is Doris' little brother Donald. Do you think I should write a story with baby Don in it? I changed some names in the book. Doris' real sisters were Jeannie, Vera and Arlene. Her little brother was Donald. Her ma was Augusta Adelia and her dad was LeRoy.

When Doris unexpectedly befriends a thief, her life becomes complicated. In order to help her struggling neighbor, she must keep secrets from her family.

The pure desire to do good brings together not only Doris' family and their neighbor, but the entire town of Tomah.

Doris Marie Freemore-Puttkammer with her sisters and baby brother

Around 1928