Gene Ralston was born February 16, 1933 on a farm just outside of Binger, Oklahoma, the fourth child of five children. This family of seven lived in a two-room farmhouse, and Gene and his younger brother Jerry attended school in a one-room schoolhouse for two years. During this period, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, and for the next five years the family experienced the shortages and tribulations that all farm families suffered, including the rationing of sugar, gasoline, tires and shoes, and price controls on almost everything considered life necessities. Gene survived these adventures, graduated from high school. He enlisted in and served honorably for thirty years in the United States Navy, during which he earned and was awarded a Bachelor's degree in Government from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He retired from the Navy in March, 1982 as a Commander. With a seemingly inexhaustible memory, Commander Ralston writes with great detail the physical description of this one-room school and its associated equipment, the subsequent schools he attended, the details of farm life, including laundry day on the farm, the butchering of cattle and swine, and the canning of beef, pork, fruits and vegetables. Gene and Carolyn, his wife of 55 years, reside in Lemoore, California.