In the 1950s and ’60s, Montgomery, Alabama, was ground zero for many of the major events central to the civil rights movement in this country. Yet there was also a gentler side of the city that is rarely revealed within the pages of history texts. This book takes a thought-provoking, even-handed look at those days from the perspective of a typical white kid growing up in Montgomery during that era. The end result is a greater appreciation for those times, along with a clearer insight into the city’s unique and colorful past.

The author recalls with fondness the casual neighborliness that existed within his community, the freedom that children enjoyed to roam and play, and the slower pace of life that prevailed. He recalls the popular hangouts for older teens and the legendary “Big Bam Shows” of the period.

Because he was a star athlete at Goodwyn Junior High and then at Lee High School, the author also opens a window into the years when sports competition at Montgomery’s white high schools was at its peak, when state football championships were decided at Cramton Bowl before as many as 25,000 cheering fans.

“The world was changing rapidly, but still it was such a simpler, more innocent time to grow up. How fortunate I was to have come along during that era,” he writes.