June Fulton Ellis

Shut the Door: You're Lettin' in the Flies! June Fulton Ellis

The late 1920s was a good time to be a child growing up on a farm. In this memoir, author June Fulton Ellis recounts the story of her youth, the story of a girl raised on a farm in Greene County in the southwest part of Missouri near the Ozarks. Born in 1925, June was the oldest of seven children of Lloyd and Emma Fulton. Shut the Door, You're Lettin' in the Flies! provides a vivid account of her parents, siblings, childhood, adolescence, and life on the farm. She remembers her mother as a nurturing woman who taught her the necessary skills to survive on the farm and in life-from gardening to cooking and plucking chickens. She describes her father as a funny man who cared for his large family. Each family member contributed to the health and well-being of the whole family, with knowledge passed to them through no-nonsense rules and the warm embraces of a loving mother and father. From everyday life to church life to school life, Shut the Door, You're Lettin' in the Flies! presents a reflection of the innocent times of the 1920s and '30s.