Dreams Can Come True

I am quite certain there are few places in the world that I would rather visit than the front lawn of the Idaho Falls Public Library.

There, one can see the statue of Billy Coleman and his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann – from Wilson Rawls’ classic Where the Red Fern Grows
Of the four kids Payton was the only one that has read the book – so for the others we did a crash course on Wilson Rawls and watched the DVD in the car driving through rural Idaho. (next best thing)

The main character, Billy Coleman lives in the Ozarks in Oklahoma and more than anything wants his own hunting hounds. There is no way his family can afford to buy him one. Billy works for two long years and saves up enough to buy himself a pair of hound puppies. His happiest days are spent hunting coons with his dogs in the mountains.

HERE'S WHAT I WANTED THE KIDS TO KNOW: The story is sweet and sad, and there are great lessons to be taken from it… but the main thing is, author Wilson Rawls exemplifies a man who did not let go of his dream. Like his character Billy, Rawls grew up in the Ozarks of Oklahoma very poor. He was homeschooled by his mother. After reading The Call of the Wild he fell in love with the book, reading it several times and carrying it around with him until it was well worn. Inspired by his favorite book, Wilson dreamed that one day he would be a writer.

Rawls longed to write and did so whenever he could, but he never had the opportunity to be formally educated. During the depression he moved around a lot going wherever he could find work. He was so poor at times he found paper in trash cans to write on. He was a prolific writer, and before long, had a trunk full of writing that he had never shown anyone. He was embarrassed about his lack of formal education and horrible grammar. He burned the entire contents of the trunk including the story which would one day become Where the Red Fern Grows.

When he told his wife Sophie of his dream and of the story he had burned she encouraged him to rewrite it. Since Rawls never learned to type, he wrote everything in longhand and his wife typed it up, edited it for him and helped find a publisher. This all took place while they were living in Idaho Falls. It was finally published in 1961 and has since become a classic and required reading in schools nationwide.

The statue which Marilyn Hansen created sits on a grassy expanse in front of the Idaho Falls Public Library and is called "Dreams Can Come True."

It was important to me that the kids see this statue as it is a symbol to dream ambitiously. To never be afraid to work hard and overcome obstacles to make those dreams come true.

Wilson Rawls once said in an interview, "When speaking in the schools, I tell youngsters to keep reaching out for whatever goals they set for themselves. As long as they are honest and truthful and don't hurt anyone along the way, they will have help in reaching their goals. I know I did."

ITINERARY UPDATE: We have left Idaho and stayed in Yellowstone National Park a couple of days... more to come on that, but we were without cell phone, internet, or TV. After Yellowstone, we drove across Wyoming (5 hours)and came into South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore. Still in Rapid City one more night. Photos and recap will follow. My mom leaves on Thursday and the kids and I will make the trek across South Dakota and head into Iowa over the weekend. 2 long days of driving books on tape and movies are in our future...
Stay Tuned!