Terry Ward Tucker

Moonlight and Mill Whistles Terry Ward Tucker

This is the story of Tommy and Rhona, two adolescents in the early 1900's south who must prematurely put an end to their childhood to help support their families. Child labor is still legal despite a national move to outlaw and millions of children, some as young as seven or eight, labor in spirit numbing menial jobs the same long hours as adults. Not until 1913 do the first laws banning child labor go on the books. The boy in Tucker's story has stood before a loom in a cotton mill from the time he turned eleven. The girl is a beautiful gypsy princess who has told fortunes for money and food for as long as she can remember. Yet in spite of their hopeless circumstances, Tommy and Rhona manage to find sweet and funny moments to behave like the children they are. Theirs is the story of the resilience of youth and of young love blooming.