Illustrators Hall of Fame

The wonderful picture by Stevan Dohanos center pages 52-53 [March/ April] could have been taken 70 years ago of my mother and me on a farm in Iowa. Every spring my dad got the brooder house all ready exactly like the one in the picture. I could hardly wait for him to come home with boxes of baby chicks.

My mother and I lovingly put the perfect fuzzy babies on the clean newspaper, under the hover warmed by a kerosene heater. These chicks were not sent out for Easter gifts! They were the future for our family —fresh eggs and fried chicken. Saturday nights my dad took crates of eggs to town to exchange for groceries. The chicks required one to two years of tender care before they were productive. It was my job to care for them as well as the older chickens. Not my favorite job!

Betty

Roswell, New Mexico

Letters

How Can We Fix Our Broken Schools? —An Historical Perspective

Who's responsible when a child fails? Looking at the education system today, it's critical to understand the central role parents were once expected to play in a child's learning process.

Question & Answer

Your Mar/Apr issue carried an article that was a tremendous blessing—‘‘The Post Investigates Celiac Disease.” A heartfelt thank you for helping me to better understand what is happening  to my body. Betty Hickox Syracuse, New York

Rebuilding Greensburg

The inspirational article about Greensburg, Kansas, is so special!

Tour of Duty

I enjoyed your article “Honoring Our Heroes.” However, I was quite surprised to read that the average tour of duty during WWII was “only 45 days.” I believe Laura Ymker needs to do more research. Don W. Marek West Des Moines, Iowa Editor’s note: In “Honoring Our Heroes” from the May/June 2010 issue, Laura Ymker, [...]

A “Cut” Above

I just finished “Cutaway” by Jennifer Haigh and am taken by this extremely thought-provoking piece of fiction. I’m a new subscriber and in awe of the top-notch writers you attract. Peggy McGuire Milwaukee, Wisconsin