Recently Brown Bag Book Club was surprised with a guest visit by author Jean Schafer. The group had read "The Winged Boot" written by Jean and her husband Dick. This is a wonderful memoir of the couple’s life and marriage before and during WWII. The account starts in the summer of 1938 and continues up to the summer of 1945. Both Dick and Jean hail from this area so the people and places are all familiar. Beautifully written in alternating sections, each author tells their story of the historical events taking place.

In the first chapter, Dick starts off with a little bit of family history. He was fortunate enough to have had a job during the Depression. There were no child labor laws so he started working after school at the age of twelve in a grocery store. He sacked potatoes for four hours for 25 cents. At age nineteen, he worked in the Gering Safeway and was paid $18 a week, working 12 to 16 hour days. Coffee was 12 ½ cents a pound, bread 6 cents a loaf, and milk 25 cents a gallon!

In WWI Dick’s Uncle Charlie was an airplane mechanic in the Army Air Corp. He bought a Travelair airplane after the war and so of course was a hero to all the little cousins, Dick being his biggest fan. Charlie built an airplane hangar and marked and mowed runways in a pasture four miles east of Scottsbluff. This became Scottsbluff’s first airport and was called Schafer Field.

As the couple reveals their story, Dick tells of love at first sight when meeting Jean. Jean tells of a first date with an awkward 6 foot-2 spectacle on the dance floor. Their relationship escalates but so do things on the European front. They are married 2 ½ years when they hear the news of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Dick leaves immediately for Cheyenne to enlist in the Air Corp. His desire to follow in his Uncle Charlie’s footsteps and to serve his country during war, translates into a wonderful tale of heroism. The events that take place from here on out are amazing, entertaining and suspenseful. While Dick writes of bombing missions and being shot down by the Germans, Jean writes of holding down the home front through the birth of their first child who has severe medical issues. Dick eventually is rescued and hid by the French resistance. Meanwhile, Jean tries to keep a brave face for her baby son and Dick’s family during her husband’s MIA status. She wonders if he is even alive but continues to write letters to him every day.

Obviously, Dick does make it back home (or this memoir would not have been written). How all this is accomplished makes for a very interesting read. While turning the pages, one can almost see the events playing out on screen (perhaps starring Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, or has that already been done?).

The discussion group had a great time with Jean as she shared her experiences and signed copies of her book, which are also available for purchase at the Scottsbluff Public Library.

Although this is not a new book- published in 1992, or a famous book-written mainly for the Schafer’s family members to have an account of family history-it is well worth the read and I would recommend it to anyone.

Dick and Jean Schafer settled in Alliance, NE after the war where Jean still resides. After several years of poor health, Dick passed away in 1994.

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