The Autobiography of Harry S. Truman by Harry Truman

His first year was a good experience, but in January 1894, during his second year, Harry and Vivian developed a severe case of diphtheria. The Truman family had moved to Independence when Harry was ready for schooling. The group elected a captain, marched, and camped out in the woods two blocks north of his home. He marched with the neighborhood Junior Militia, which was organized for fun by the boys during the Spanish-American War as a. They just had too much respect for him.īut Harry did not just sit around reading and playing the piano. In addition to coping with being different in looks, Harry was ordered by the doctor to avoid sports and rough games to keep the glasses from breaking and injuring his eyes.Īccording to Henry Chiles, a boyhood friend, the neighborhood boys rarely kidded Harry about his glasses or non-participation in sports. Glasses were a rare sight on children in those days. Harry was promptly fitted with very thick, expensive and fragile glasses. He diagnosed the eye problem as myopia, or in layman terms, flat eyeballs. Her husband was away on business, so she hitched up the team to the wagon and drove her son 15 miles to Kansas City to see Dr. Harry jumped at the exploding sounds but could not see the shiny showers of the fireworks.Īt that moment, Harry's mother decided to take him to an eye doctor. Then came the Fourth of July celebration in Grandview where the climax was a series of colorful rockets bursting in the air. She taught Harry to read from the large print Bible before he was five, but she noticed he had a hard time reading newsprint and distinguishing objects coming down the road. She valued art, reading, and music and saw to it that Harry had the same interests. Harry was particularly close to his mother, a college educated and outspoken woman. National History Day Workshops from the National Archives.Electing Our Presidents Teacher Workshop.Collection Policy and Donating Materials.An Ordinary Man, His Extraordinary Journey.

The Autobiography of Harry S. Truman by Harry Truman