A Long Way from Chicago (study guide)

Chapter 1: Shotgun Cheatham’s Last Night above Ground

Vocabulary:

“A stiff”: dead body

“Chicago Typewriter”: Thompson submachine gun

“Concrete overshoes”: saying referring to putting

concrete on a body to sink it to the bottom of a

lake

Tyke: a small child (toddler)

Privy: an outhouse

Prohibition: law that made the sale of liquor illegal

Hupmobile: car made by Ford Motor Company

Citified: made in the city; having city habits,

fashions, etc.

Obituary: a newspaper story about the death of an

individual

Polecat: a skunk

Reprobate: morally depraved, unprincipled, bad.

Someone beyond the hope of salvation.

Penitentiary: jail

Philanthropist: someone who gives money to

charities.

Pauper: someone who is poor

Gloat: to brag about something

Questions:

1. Where are Mary Alice and Joey Dowdel from?

____________________________________________________________________________________

2. Who do they go visit for the summer?

____________________________________________________________________________________

3. In what year does this chapter take place?

____________________________________________________________________________________

4. Who shows up at the Coffee Pot Café asking questions?

____________________________________________________________________________________

5. Why is he asking questions?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

6. What famous outlaw did Shotgun Cheatham supposedly ride with?

____________________________________________________________________________________

7. How does Gramda Dowdel describe Effie Wilcox?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

8. How did Shotgun Cheatham really get his name according to Grandma?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

9. What story does Grandma tell the reporter about how Shotgun Cheatham got his name?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

10. How did Grandma explain why Shotgun Cheatham died penniless?

____________________________________________________________________________________

11. Where is Shotgun Cheatham’s coffin placed for viewing?

____________________________________________________________________________________

12. Who stays up with the corpse for the final night before burial?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

13. What happened with the gauze that was draped over the open lid of the coffin?

____________________________________________________________________________________

14. What did Grandma do?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

15. What did Effie Wilcox and the reporter think happened to make the gauze move?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

16. What really caused the gauze to move?

____________________________________________________________________________________

17. After the reporter and Effie Wilcox left Grandma Dowdel’s house, Joey says “Though she didn’t gloat,

she looked satisfied.” Why did he think Grandma was satisfied?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

18. In the space below draw and color a picture of Grandma Dowdel from this chapter:

Chapter 2: The Mouse in the Milk (1930)

Vocabulary:

Charles Lindbergh: Famous aviator from the 1930’s.

First solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic in 1927.

Spirit of St. Louis: Charles Lindbergh’s airplane

Tom Mix: Famous actor in western movies

Carolyn Keene: Author of the Nancy Drew mystery

books.

Cobhouse: a corncrib – used to store unhusked corn.

Fatback: The fat, usually salted from the upper part of a

side of pork

Pilfering: Stealing

Pate: The crown or top of the head

Questions:

1. What does Grandma not give “two hoots” about? ___________________________________________

2. What did Mary Alice bring with her to Grandma’s? __________________________________________

3. What did Joey bring with him to Gradma’s? ________________________________________________

4. What happened to Grandma’s mailbox one night?

____________________________________________________________________________________

5. Who did Grandma blame for the mailbox incident? _________________________________________

6. What happened to Effie Wilcox that same night?

____________________________________________________________________________________

7. What was Grandma doing when the milk delivery boy arrived?

____________________________________________________________________________________

8. What did Grandma say she found in the milk delivery? _______________________________________

9. What lie does Grandma tell Ernie Cowgill about Joey?

____________________________________________________________________________________

10. What did Grandma do with the mouse she caught?

____________________________________________________________________________________

11. What happened that night?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

12. Who does Grandma send Joey to get at the church?

____________________________________________________________________________________

13. How does Mr. Cowgill explain why the boys were in Grandma’s house?

____________________________________________________________________________________

14. What does Grandma show Mr. Cowgill before he leaves?

____________________________________________________________________________________

15. How does Grandma explain how the mouse ended up in her bottle of milk?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

16. What does Grandma say she wants from Mr. Cowgill? _______________________________________

17. What did Mr. Cowgill do to his sons?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

18. What look did Grandma have on her face as the Cowgills rode off? Explain why she had this look.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

19. Does Grandma care about her town? Explain why or why not.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

20. In the space below draw and color a picture of Grandma Dowdel from this chapter:

Chapter 3: A One Woman Crime Wave (1931)

Vocabulary:

Great Depression: the economic crisis and period of low

business activity in the U.S. and other countries, roughly

beginning with the stock-market crash in October, 1929, and

continuing through most of the 1930s.

President Hoover: President when the Depression began and

was blamed for the economic situation

Chamber pot: a portable container used in bedrooms during

the night before there was indoor plumbing

Wafting: being carried lightly through air or over water

Glads: Short for gladiolus: tall flowers with many blooms on

a single stem.

Gum boots: Rubber boots

Chiggers: a small red insect that is a parasite on humans –

bites and feeds on blood. Carries typhus and other diseases.

Delicacy: something extremely delightful or pleasing. Often

rare. Usually related to food.

Gunnysack: a sack made of burlap

Stagnant: inactive; not moving – often refers to water

Bootleggers: People who illegally make, sell or transport

liquor or other illegal goods.

Warbled: to sing or whistle melodically

Barbershop quartet: an unaccompanied quartet of (usually

male) voices singing sentimental songs in four-part harmony

Grisly: causing a shudder or feeling of horror; horrible;

gruesome

Prairie chickens: a type of bird found in North American

prairies

Spryer: active; nimble; agile; energetic

Gasolier: a chandelier furnished with gas lights

Dawdle: to waste time

Questions:

1. What had swept over the nation by this time? ______________________________________________

2. What was the sign at the railroad station trying to keep out of town? ___________________________

3. What was the terrible smell coming from the cobhouse? _____________________________________

4. Where does Grandma say they are going in the morning? ____________________________________

5. After walking awhile, Grandma, Joey and Mary Alice came to a barbed wire fence with a sign on it that

said:

____________________________________________________________________________________

6. What does Grandma do anyway?

____________________________________________________________________________________

7. What do Grandma, Joey and Mary Alice find tied up to a tree? ________________________________

8. What happens to Joey as they passed under a low limb?

____________________________________________________________________________________

9. How does Grandma fish without fishing poles?

____________________________________________________________________________________

10. What is Grandma’s answer when Joey asks her what the fine was if one got caught trapping fish?

____________________________________________________________________________________

11. What did they hear as they rowed further down the creek? ___________________________________

12. Where is the sound coming from? _______________________________________________________

13. Describe the scene Grandma, Joey and Mary Alice witnessed from their hiding place along the creek

bank.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

14. Who were the men involved?

____________________________________________________________________________________

15. Instead of rowing upstream, what does Grandma do?

____________________________________________________________________________________

16. Where does Grandma take the children to hide from Sheriff Dickerson once they dock the rowboat?

____________________________________________________________________________________

17. Who is Aunt Puss Chapman?

____________________________________________________________________________________

18. How old does she think Grandma is? _____________________________________________________

19. According to Aunt Puss, why was Grandma kicked out of school?

____________________________________________________________________________________

20. What does Grandma do for Aunt Puss? Why?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

21. Although it is evening when they get back to Grandma’s house, what does Grandma have Joey and

Mary Alice do when they get there?

___________________________________________________________________________________

22. Where do they take the food and the card table? ____________________________________ Why?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

23. Who eventually showed up? ____________________________________________________________

24. What does Grandma tell him she is doing?

____________________________________________________________________________________

25. When the sheriff accuses Grandma of stealing his boat, she tells him where she left it. According to

her, why couldn’t she take it back where she found it?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

26. What does Grandma tell Sheriff O.B. Dickerson when he says he is wants to arrest her for operating a

soup kitchen without a license from the Board of Health?

____________________________________________________________________________________

27. On a separate sheet of paper, draw and color a picture of Grandma Dowdel from this chapter. (Use

the WHOLE page!)

Chapter 4: The Day of Judgment (1932)

Vocabulary:

The Great War: Refers to World War I, people thought

this would be the war to end all wars.

Benediction: Speaking good wishes

Galleon: a large sailing vessel of the 15th to the 17th

centuries used as a fighting or merchant ship.

Cameo brooch: A portrait or a scene carved in relief

with a contrasting colored background and placed on a

clasp for a cloak or cape.

Transfixed: held motionless because of awe or fear

Harness racing: a trotting or pacing race for horses

harnessed to sulkies.

Burgoo: thick oatmeal gruel, especially as eaten by

sailors.

Temperance people: people who were committed to the

Temperance movement of the late 1800s and early

1900’s. They fought against the consumption of

intoxicating liquors.

Biplane: an airplane with two wings, one set over top of

the other set.

Putties: a long strip of cloth wound spirally round the

leg from ankle to knee, worn especially formerly as part

of a soldier's uniform

Barnstorming: exhibitions of stunt flying, participate in

airplane races, etc., in the course of touring country

towns and rural areas.

Legionnaire: a member of the American Legion, which

is a society, organized in 1919, composed of veterans of

the armed forces of the U.S.

Hun: An offensive referral to a German soldier in WWI

Trowel: any of various tools having a flat blade with a

handle

Questions:

1. What does Mary Alice say about Grandma at the beginning of this chapter?

___________________________________________________________________________________

2. Who is Mrs. L.J. Weidenbach? __________________________________________________________

3. Why does Mrs. Weidenbach come to visit Grandma?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

4. What does Mrs. Weidenbach offer to do to get Grandma to the fair?

____________________________________________________________________________________

5. What did Grandma, Mary Alice and Joey work on for the next three days?

____________________________________________________________________________________

6. On the morning they were going to the fair, what was tied on the hatband of Grandma’s hat?

____________________________________________________________________________________

7. What was beyond the Ferris wheel that drew Joey’s attention? ________________________________

8. How much were the rides? _____________________________________________________________

9. What was Barnie Buchanan offering to all blue ribbon winners at the fair?

___________________________________________________________________________________

10. As they looked at the entries for fruit pies and cobblers, why did Grandma freeze when she got to her

pie? _______________________________________________________________________________

11. Who is Rupert Pennypacker?

___________________________________________________________________________________

12. What did Joey think he saw Grandma do when everyone looked up as the biplane flew over the tent?

____________________________________________________________________________________

13. Who won the blue ribbon for their gooseberry pie? _________________________________________

14. What does Grandma tell Barnie Buchanan?

____________________________________________________________________________________

15. How did Grandma get into the airplane?

____________________________________________________________________________________

16. Why did Barnie Buchanan have to bring the plane back without taking off?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

17. Who does Grandma tell Barnie to take up in the plane? ______________________________________

18. What reason does Grandma give for wanting to get in the plane even when she knew she was too

heavy for it?

___________________________________________________________________________________

19. What does Grandma say when Joey tells her his suspicions about her switching name cards at the pie

judging for the fair? ___________________________________________________________________

20. Who really won the blue ribbon for fruit pies and cobblers at the county fair? ____________________

21. In the space below, draw and color a picture of Grandma Dowdel depicting a scene from this chapter.

Chapter 5: The Phantom Brakeman (1933)

Vocabulary:

Shirley Temple: Famous child movie star of the 1930’s

and 40’s.

Poise: a dignified, self-confident manner

Crocheted: type of needlework

Proprietor: The owner of something

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: President after Herbert

Hoover. Only U.S. president to serve three terms,

seeing the United States through the Great Depression

and World War II.

Eleanor Roosevelt: wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Lye: potash mixture used in making soap

Brakeman: a railroad worker who assists the conductor

in the operation of a train.

Buckboard: a light, four-wheeled carriage in which a

long elastic board or lattice frame is used in place of

body and springs.

Confounded: bewildered; confused; perplexed.

Great Fire of Chicago (1871): Fire that lasted 3 days and

destroyed 4 square miles. Supposedly started by Mrs.

O’Leary’s cow when it kicked over a lantern in the barn -

this has never been proven.

Superstitious: The belief that an object, occurrence, etc.

can bring about bad things in the future. Thinking the

number 13 is unlucky, etc.

Bewitched: to be put under a spell.

Abdicated: To give up one’s power or throne.

Elope: to run off secretly to get married.

Questions:

1. What was the only thing that reminded Joey and Mary Alice of home and Chicago? _______________

2. How much did a bottle of Orange Nehi cost in 1933? ________________________________________

3. What kind of shoes did Mary Alice carry around with her in her bag? ___________________________

4. Who is Franklin Delano Roosevelt? ______________________________________________________

5. Who was wiping the tables in the Coffee Pot Café?

___________________________________________________________________________________

6. How much did she earn for wiping the tables? _____________________________________________

7. Who wanted her money? ______________________________________________________________

8. According to Mary Alice, how old is Vandalia Eubanks? _______________________________________

9. When they got back to Grandma’s house, what was she out in the yard making? __________________

10. What did Grandma add to the soap she was making?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

11. As Joey and Grandma stirred the soap in the evening, what did Grandma say she was looking for on the

horizon? ____________________________________________________________________________

12. What happened in 1871 because of the Chicago Fire?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

13. How does Grandma describe how the dead bodies looked?

____________________________________________________________________________________

14. What does Grandma say some have seen down the tracks on hazy evenings?

____________________________________________________________________________________

15. What woke Joey up in the night?

____________________________________________________________________________________

16. What does Mary Alice tell him she has in her bedroom? ______________________________________

17. In the morning, what does Mary Alice do at breakfast?

____________________________________________________________________________________

18. What was Joey doing when Miz Eubanks pulled up to Grandma’s house?

____________________________________________________________________________________

19. What does Miz Eubanks accuse Mary Alice and Grandma of doing?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

20. What does Grandma tell Miz Eubanks when she says she wants to search Grandma’s house?

____________________________________________________________________________________

21. Who was hiding in Grandma’s cobhouse? _________________________________________________

22. What did Junior Stubbs want Joey to do?

____________________________________________________________________________________

23. Who shows up at Grandma’s house next?

____________________________________________________________________________________

24. What do they want Grandma to do?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

25. How old is Junior Stubbs? ______________________________________________________________

26. What caused the thud Grandma heard from inside her house as she was talking to the Stubbs’?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

27. What did Grandma do?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

28. What was going to happen at 8:17 PM when the Wabash Cannonball train came through town?

____________________________________________________________________________________

29. Why was everyone in town gathering to watch?

____________________________________________________________________________________

30. Why were they disappointed? __________________________________________________________

31. What happened a few minutes later as the train passed by Grandma Dowdel’s house?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

32. Did Grandma know about Vandalia the whole time? ______________ Explain your answer

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

33. What did Grandma mean when she asked Joey if he had “everything squared away?”

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

34. In the space below, draw and color a picture depicting your favorite scene from this chapter. Fill up

the space!

Chapter 6: Things with Wings (1934)

Vocabulary:

Valise: a small piece of luggage that can be carried by

hand, used to hold clothing, toilet articles, etc.; suitcase;

traveling bag.

Foreclose: Occurs when a bank takes over ownership of

a house or property when the owner can no longer

make payments.

John Dillinger: Famous Chicago mobster killed by police

in 1934.

Sulk: to pout

Loped: to walk with a long, easy stride

Handbills: a small printed notice, advertisement, or

announcement

Bric-a-brac: miscellaneous small articles collected for

their antiquarian, sentimental, decorative, or other

interest.

Terraplane 8: a car manufactured by the Hudson Motor

Company

Gander: Slang . a look

Bela Lugosi: A famous horror movie actor of the 1930’s.

Stovepipe hat: a tall silk hat.

Belfry: the part of a steeple or other structure in which

a bell is hung.

Steamer trunk: a rectangular traveling trunk low

enough to slide under a bunk on a ship

Seersucker suit: a plainwoven cotton, rayon, or linen

fabric: traditionally a striped cotton with alternate

stripes crinkled in the weaving.

Falsified: falsely represented

Bogus: not genuine, counterfeit, a sham.

The pokey: Slang for the jail

Katydids: any of several large, usually green, American

long-horned grasshoppers, the males of which produce

a characteristic song.

Questions:

1. Who was at the train station when Joey and Mary Alice’s train arrived?

____________________________________________________________________________________

2. What was she doing there?

____________________________________________________________________________________

3. What does Grandma tell them has happened to Effie Wilcox?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

4. What exciting event happened earlier in July in Chicago?

____________________________________________________________________________________

5. What did they do with the body?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

6. What did Mary Alice and Joey’s parents not take them to see?

____________________________________________________________________________________

7. Who does Mary Alice say Grandma is missing? _____________________________________________

8. What does Joey see outside Veech’s Garage that makes him it was love at first sight?

____________________________________________________________________________________

9. What did Ray Veech want $2 to teach Joey to do? ___________________________________________

10. What does the Terraplane 8 have that makes it a top of the line model? _________________________

11. What did Grandma want to do that evening? ______________________________________________

12. What did they charge for admission to the movie “theater?”

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

13. What movie was showing that evening? __________________________________________________

14. After the movie, what does Grandma do to spook Mary Alice and Joey?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

15. When Mary Alice asks Grandma if there are really vampires, who does Grandma say are the only real

bloodsuckers? _______________________________________________________________________

16. What did Joey and Mary Alice both do that night before bed?

____________________________________________________________________________________

17. What does Joey ask Grandma for at breakfast the next morning? ______________________________

18. Where does Grandma send Joey and Mary Alice to find items for the church rummage?

____________________________________________________________________________________

19. What did Grandma tell them to find while they were up in the attic?

____________________________________________________________________________________

20. What made Mary Alice gasp when she found it?

____________________________________________________________________________________

21. Besides the stovepipe hat, what else did Mary Alice and Joey find in the attic that Grandma wanted to

take to the church rummage? __________________Who made it? ____________________________

22. Where in the church was the rummage sale being held? _____________________________________

23. What does Mrs. Askew tell Grandma about Mrs. Weidenbach?

___________________________________________________________________________________

24. Where does Grandma say the hat and quilt came from?

____________________________________________________________________________________

25. What are the initials sewn into the hem of the quilt? _________________________________________

26. Who did Mrs. Askew and Mrs. Weidenbach believe had owned the hat and quilt?

____________________________________________________________________________________

27. What did Otis, the bank teller, want when he came to Grandma’s door the next morning?

____________________________________________________________________________________

28. Why were there rumors that Abraham Lincoln once debated Stephen Douglas in Effie Wilcox’s house

and that Lincoln himself split the rails for the fence that once surrounded the property?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

29. The bank has signed a contract with Deere and Company to build what on Effie’s property?

____________________________________________________________________________________

30. What does Grandma suggest could be built there? __________________________________________

31. What does Mr. Weidenbach accuse Grandma of doing?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

32. After he says he could have the law on Grandma, what does she tell him?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

33. Mr. Weidenbach can’t get out of his deal with Deere and Company, so what does Grandma suggest as

a compromise?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

34. What does Grandma what Mr. Weidenbach to do with Effie Wilcox’s house?

____________________________________________________________________________________

35. What does Mr. Weidenbach ask Grandma to do if he does what she asks?

____________________________________________________________________________________

36. As she is leaving, what does Grandma tell Mr. Weidenbach to give to Mary Alice and Joey?

____________________________________________________________________________________

37. Who tags along with Joey when he goes for his driving lesson with Ray Veech?

____________________________________________________________________________________

38. What does Ray give Joey his driving lessons in? _____________________________________________

39. What does Grandma tell them to turn off so they can just listen to the country? __________________

40. Why did Grandma go to the train depot with Joey and Mary Alice the next morning?

____________________________________________________________________________________

41. Do you think Effie Wilcox is really Grandma’s worst enemy? ___________ Why or why not? Explain

your answer. Be specific.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 7: Centennial Summer (1935)

Vocabulary:

Centennial: The 100th year Anniversary of an

event.

Mexican American War: A war fought between the

US and Mexico (1846-1848)

Butter churn: a machine used to make butter

Waistcoat: a man’s vest

Derby hat: a popular man’s hat in the 1800’s

Bustle: a pad, cushion, or framework formerly worn

under the back of a woman's skirt to expand, support,

and display the full cut and drape of a dress.

Trundling: to convey or move in a wagon, cart, or

other wheeled vehicle; wheel: The farmer trundled his

produce to market in a rickety wagon.

Treadle Singer sewing machine: an early sewing

machine where a pedal controls the sewing – not

powered by electricity.

Tintype picture: a picture made during the early

days of photography.

Victrola: a non electric powered record player.

One had to crank the handle to generate power.

Curtsey: a formal gesture of greeting and respect

made by women in which the knees are bent, the head

slightly bowed, and the skirt held outwards

.

Questions:

1. Why this to be the last summer Joey and Mary Alice visited Grandma?

____________________________________________________________________________________

2. Why was the train depot decorated in red, white and blue decorations? _________________________

3. When they get back to her house, where does Grandma tell Mary Alice and Joey they have to go again?

__________________ Why?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

4. What does Grandma specifically ask them to find? __________________________________________

5. What does Mary Alice find?

____________________________________________________________________________________

6. After they come down from the attic, what does Mary Alice make Joey do with the items they found?

___________________________________________________________________________________

7. What concerns Mary Alice about the old dress?

____________________________________________________________________________________

8. What happened to Grandma when she turned and saw Mary Alice and Joey in the clothes?

____________________________________________________________________________________

9. What event were the clothes from?

____________________________________________________________________________________

10. Who came to visit Grandma that morning? ________________________________________________

11. What did Mrs. Weidenbach want Grandma to do?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

12. Why does Grandma tell her she can’t do it?

____________________________________________________________________________________

13. What type of dance is Mary Alice studying now? ____________________________________________

14. What does Joey find in Grandma’s boots in the cobhouse? ____________________________________

15. What does Grandma say she will do with the kitten? ________________________________________

16. Who were they going to visit in the country? _______________________________________________

17. How old would Uncle Grady Griswold be? _________________________________________________

18. What had Grandma “forgotten” to do along the way? _______________________________________

19. What does Grandma give Uncle Grady? __________________________________________________

20. In what war did Uncle Grady fight? _______________________________________________________

21. What does Grandma want Uncle Grady to do? _____________________________________________

22. What does Grandma tell Joey about watching the talent show?

____________________________________________________________________________________

23. What does Grandma say about Mrs. Weidenbach’s nephew’s performance?

____________________________________________________________________________________

24. What was the next act in the talent show? Who made up the pair?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

25. What does Grandma say after this act? ___________________________________________________

26. Who was on Mrs. Weidenbach’s float? What did the sign on the side of the float proclaim?

____________________________________________________________________________________

27. Who was on Grandma’s float? What did the sign on the side of her float proclaim?

____________________________________________________________________________________

28. What was Grandma wearing?

____________________________________________________________________________________

29. What happened when Mrs. Weidenbach’s daddy read the sign on Grandma’s float?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

30. What was in the picnic hamper Grandma gave Mary Alice and Joey on the train?

____________________________________________________________________________________

31. In the space below draw and color a picture of your favorite scene from this chapter.

Chapter 8: Troop Train (1942)

Questions:

1. What is going on in the world in 1942? ___________________________________________________

2. What does Joey sign up to become in the military? __________________________________________

3. How does Joey notify grandma he will be passing through her town on the train?

____________________________________________________________________________________

4. What does Grandma Dowdel do?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

5. What does this tell us about Grandma Dowdel?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

6. On a separate sheet of paper, draw and color a picture depicting the scene as the troop train passes by

Grandma Dowdel’s house in the middle of the night.