Real American Stories

About the Book

Real American Stories include:

* The diary of a Civil War soldier

* A 15-year old Irish boy joins the British Merchant Marine and meets his future wife on board 14 years later on a voyage from Shanghi to London

* A young woman sails to China in 1920 to teach school

* Electricity and telephone come to a home for the first time

* What was an outhouse?

* What was the Horse Theif Detective Association?

* What collage coach had an undefeated, untied and unscored on team?

* What small high school team won a national high school tournament?

* What small town boy became a hero at Colombine?

...and many more.

About the Author

Bob Quirk graduated from Richland Township High School in Newtown, Indiana in 1945 then served in the Army for 1 ½ years.  He graduated from Wabash College in 1950 and that same year he married Jeannine Peterson of Attica, Indiana.  They are the parents of three children, Jeff, Jerry and Jill and have seven grandchildren.

After 8 years of farming and with Jeannine’s encouragement, Bob began his elementary school teaching career at Coal Creek Central in Montgomery County.  He retired in 1992 after 24 years of teaching and 10 years in administration.

Bob’s father, Griff Quirk, was born in Ireland in 1895 and served 14 years in the British Merchant Marines.  His mother, Grace McKinney, was born in 1891 in the house her mother and father built near Newtown.  She graduated from Newtown High School in 1910 and Northwestern University in 1914.

In 1919 Grace went to Kuling, China to teach music to British and American children.  She met Captain Griff Quirk on a ship sailing from Shanghai to London and they were engaged on the open seas.  He then came to America and they were married in 1923 and settled on the McKinney family farm.