Frank Greerson and Gregory Young have been discharged from the Army and are headed to their childhood homes. They both defied their parents in 1861 when they joined the Army. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union of the United States of America, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Once they find their claim, they encounter common obstacles to life on the Kansas Prairie in 1866: Native Americans, tornadoes, wild animals, and weather.<br><br>When a prairie fire destroys their crops and takes their neighbor’s lives, Frank and Gregory are instructed to find their young son’s aunt. Faced with leaving a destroyed claim, the railroad coming through their land, and dwindling funds, Frank and Gregory must decide whether to leave the place they have worked hard to make their own or fulfill their friends' dying wishes.

A Place to Call Their Own

After Thanksgiving, December continued to be a cold and rainy month. Frank and Gregory had brought a few Christmas decorations with them and supplemented them with pine cones, twigs, and anything else they were able to find that looked fun to include on the tree. During the week of Christmas, the rain stopped and it was unseasonably warm. Frank and Gregory opened the windows to keep the cabin cool while they cooked for their own meal and the community meal. It was so warm on Christmas Day that the neighbors ate outside. Frank and Gregory surprised James with a new shirt, and Mr. and Mrs. McAvoy gave him a peppermint candy stick.


Mrs. McAvoy’s New Year’s dinner completed the holiday season for the neighbors on the prairie. Not to be outdone by the others, she served up a big pot of white beans and flavored it with salt pork rather than a ham bone.


Chapter 40