Yesterday's Boys: A Memoir of Growing Up in the Backwoods of Virginia

Yesterday's Boys is an eye-opening account of one hillbilly boy growing up in the coal mining community of Patterson, Virginia in the 1950s and the 1960s. Patterson is located deep in the Appalachian Mountains, 16 miles from the nearest town.

This is John Echols' true story of the good times and bad times. Coal was king at that time, and like the song "16 Tons" by Tennessee Ernie Ford says, all the miners in Patterson owed their soul to the Company Store. Soup beans (pinto beans), fried potatoes, and cornbread were what they ate five, six, or seven times a week. This was the main meal at the Trent house and for most families.