FAWNGROVE, Pa., Oct. 1, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oftentimes, inspiration strikes when we least expect it, driving us to write down the stories that need to be told. Author Merritt George Yorgey draws inspiration from the past as he recalls the events and memories that enriched his life and those around him. Join him as he shares his memoirs of A Pennsylvania Dutch Boy: And The Truth About The Pennsylvania Dutch.
We often look back on our earlier years to see why we have become the person we are today. Everything that exists today is influenced by the events of the past, just as everything that is put in place today will influence and determine the future. In A Pennsylvania Dutch Boy, Yorgey not only shares his life experiences but also reveals the changes the "Pennsylvania Dutch" people are going through. Originally the predominant ethnic group in Pennsylvania, with a population of hundreds of thousands, they are now losing their Pennsylvania Dutch dialect, their "Dutchified" English accents, and their German cultural traditions. They are falsely perceived as being the "plain people," as symbolized by an Amishman of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
This memoir written by a Pennsylvania Dutchman and supported by diligent research, sets the record straight and relates how the influences of the "great depression" of the 1930s and participation in the World War II Navy's Pacific campaigns molded him into a different person. Through this individual transformation, he exemplifies the changes of the ethnic group.
A Pennsylvania Dutch Boy will be featured in the 2009 Pennsylvania Library Association Regional Exhibit at Harrisburg, PA, on October 18-21, 2009. For more information on this fascinating book, log on to www.Xlibris.com.
About the Author
Born in the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch farmlands of eastern Pennsylvania, Merritt George Yorgey worked as an apprentice in the plumbing and heating trade. He volunteered for active duty in the Navy in World War II, after which he worked in industrial distribution and sales until he retired as manager of a wholesale supply house. Then he went back to college to earn a BA Degree in Philosophy from Muhlenberg College to fulfill his dream of becoming a writer. He lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Helen. They have three married children and five grandsons.
A Pennsylvania Dutch Boy * by Merritt George Yorgey
And The Truth About The Pennsylvania Dutch
Publication Date: June 25, 2008
Trade Paperback; $19.99; 188 pages; 978-1-4363-3478-5
Members of the media who wish to review this book may request a complimentary paperback copy by contacting the publisher at (888) 795-4274 x. 7479. To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (610) 915-0294 or call (888) 795-4274 x. 7876.
For more information, contact Xlibris at (888) 795-4274 or on the web at www.Xlibris.com.