Nancy Peek Youngdahl
My Nana was an Outrageously Mischievous kid. In the 1940s and ’50s, children were allowed to run free, play outside, and use their imaginations-without parents constantly hovering over them and fearing for their safety. In her own small town in North Carolina-with very little traffic, and neighbors who actually knew each other-Nana was no exception to the free-range kid phenomenon. But as an outrageously mischievous child that was left to her own devices, she sure got into some amazing and hilarious adventures. It was a glorious time to be a child! Both of Nana’s parents worked, so she and her brother were often unsupervised. They wreaked havoc most of the time, thus living an exciting childhood. Nana’s stories-told to her great-grandchildren-are all true. She relates how her family and neighbors survived in spite of her and is quick to let her great-grandchildren know what not to do. As she says, if she had lived as a child today, she’d probably be locked up in a juvenile home!
