Wild Plums

As he continued write his tales of the cantankerous farmer Gus Elker, and his neighbors Joe and Lou Stoll, August Derleth broached themes he had addressed in earlier tales: Gus's fondness for nature and the wild animals who inhabit it; his softheartedness when it came to the pangs of young lovers in his midst; his cleverness in battling with some of the less savory denizens of Sac Prairie, such as the unscrupulous Herb Stulpy and the conniving Tillie Codder; and his dealings with bureaucrats from the government. A late story, "The Boundary of Now," brings the young narrator of these stories, the teenage boy Steve Grendon, to the forefront, as he is fascinated by an English girl who tells him of the wonders of London. Throughout these narratives, Gus and the Stolls prove themselves to be decent, hard-working people who represent the best that rural life has to offer.