A glimpse into Pickrell's past

PICKRELL -- Pickrell holds a special place in history and in Faye Winkle’s heart.

“I love Pickrell. I love to look into the history of Pickrell,” Winkle said.

Winkle just published her second book called “Pick Hill: The Early Years.” Her first was an autobiographical book published in 2000.

The historical fiction book covers the years of 1914 to 1921. Its name comes from the main street in Pickrell known as “Pick Hill.”

“Pickrell is a very hilly place,” she said.

Through the story of two young lovers, Winkle tells the history of Pickrell between 1914 and 1921.

The heroine, a young girl who recently graduated high school, takes a job at the local bank. Winkle explores the troubles of a woman finding a job once out of high school. The heroine begins a romance with her former high school principal.

Through the lovers’ eyes, the reader experiences such happenings as World War I, when the principal goes to war and leaves the girl behind.

The flu epidemic is included, where the heroine’s mother is lost to the flu.

“We see prohibition, the women’s right to vote, the change in clothing,” Winkle said.

Through her two years of research, Winkle said elderly Pickrell citizens were her greatest help.

“I have a whole list in the back (of the book) thanking everyone who helped me,” she said.

One Pickrell man told Winkle of the signs he remembers for an important baseball game in history that took place in Pickrell. The Pickrell professional baseball team played a game against members of the Negro League. The man remembered watching the game and seeing the signs go up all around town advertising the game.

Most of all, Winkle loves to write about the changes Pickrell has went through during and after those years.

“Pickrell used to be a rowdy, left town at the time,” she said, including that, though not many may know it, the old hotel, now a house, was first a brothel.

Although Winkle hasn’t advertised for her book yet, she said she will be selling it for $10. There are currently 200 copies in print.

“Last time I had people calling from both the west and east coast,” she said of her 2000 book. “A lot of times it’s former Pickrell people or their family members. The interest did get pretty broad last time.”