daniel chavez sr.

It is 1925, and the little town of Humbar is just getting by, like most Midwestern towns of the day. Some of its citizens are fairly well-off for the time, others live basically just day to day. The biggest threat the town faces is from the dam at Dagone Canyon, which periodically overflows during heavy rains, causing floodwaters to sweep through the lower parts of the town.
It turns out that Dagone Canyon’s flooding is a metaphor, and a harbinger, of the national disaster called the Great Depression, that would befall the town in a very few short years.
Into this time is born little Etta Summer. From idyllic beginnings, born to loving parents, little Etta is quickly thrust into a set of tragedies that would eventually consume her, and pull her down into deep depression—into the winter of her life. The reader will become completely engaged in following this title character, and will be rooting for her to find the strength to leave her dark season behind.
This story follows Humbar, and Etta, into the dust bowl era, and graphically illustrates how the town and its citizens deal with economic and climatic events that were quite beyond their control.
Follow the lives of the Beau family, particularly young Billy Beau, whose strength of character as a young man acts as a strong glue for those whose lives are falling apart. As one townsperson put it, “Billy is one of the finest young men this town has ever produced.” Ultimately, Billy’s patience, strength and endurance save the day when a final tragedy strikes, and all is seemingly lost.
The author, Daniel Chavez, Sr., in Where Summer Goes, Winter Follows, graphically depicts the struggles, and the joys, of Midwestern small-town and rural life in the Depression era.