Childhood on farm inspires local resident, retired principal to publish new book

Local resident, retired principal and former school board candidate Bart Altenbernd grew up on a farm near Lawrence in the 1960s. And as his own son was growing up Altenbernd often used anecdotes from his own childhood as bedtime stories.

From a haunted house in Eudora to an encounter with a mad mother pig, Altenbernd found that he had plenty of material to keep his son entertained. So when his wife started encouraging him write the stories down a few years ago, the pages filled up relatively quickly. Soon, he had 20 short stories.

Altenbernd decided to turn them into a book, but, like many first-time authors, had a hard time finding a publisher. But after a magazine decided to publish one of his pieces, Altenbernd decided there might be enough interest to go ahead an publish the book himself.

“Kaw Valley Boys” came out last month.

Altenbernd said his aim was to capture the innocence of a by-gone era.

“I want to take grown ups back to simpler times or help some younger adults to understand why so many of us long for simpler times,” he said.

The book is available at Rainy Day Books in Fairway.