Panther Creek Mountain—The Big Adventure

by Clyde McCulley

Clay and Luke are brothers who live in the Appalachian Mountains during the 1950s. They live with their folks in log cabins on Panther Creek Mountain, high above the Wild Cat River. Their cousin, Sally Jane, lives with her Mama, Aunt Olive, in the same mountain settlement.

Their little community has no electricity and no running water. The kids do not have much money, but they are rich with adventures. Around any corner they might come face to face with rattlesnakes, wild razorbacks, and panthers. Fueled by colorful imagination, their travels lead them to a thieves’ cave, an Indian burial ground, a deadly booby trap, and a crazy woman hiding in their “clubhouse.”

Clay, 11, is leader of the pack. Luke and Sally Jane are both 9. The boys are “real boys” and Sally Jane is no sissy. She is spunky, smart, cute and full of energy. They share the same quest for adventure and excitement as well as a strong and protective love for each other.

Join the three kids in their crazy adventures as they dream up ways to make money, build and discover secret hideaways, and explore rivers and ponds. Along with the kids, you’ll meet a country peddler, as well as Ol’ Larry—a genuine old mountain man—and other colorful characters.

One thing is After a busy day of adventures, Clay, Luke and Sally Jane will all fall asleep while listening for the panther to scream in the distant hills.

137 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2018

Reviews

[Kitten Foxx · Rating 2 out of 5]

*I received this book free from the author after winning a contest, but all opinions are hereby my own.*

This wasn't a book that I would normally read, but I won the book and decided to give it a shot. I didn't dislike the book, but is it something I would read again, probably not.

I enjoyed reading the book and hearing about the main characters adventures. As a child I lived near the mountains and would often hear panther's screaming, and this book brought back some of those childhood memories.

If you're a fan of novels set in the 1940's this one's for you.

[Wayne Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you ready for some thrilling adventures? It is 1951, and Clay McDougal, age eleven, lives with his Pa, Mama, and younger brother Luke, age nine, on Panther Creek Mountain, part of the Appalachian Ridge. The boys attend Wild Cat Valley School, but it’s summer, and school is out. Their best friend is Georgie Robinson. Then, when their Uncle Neal dies, their Aunt Olive and cousin Sally Jane, also age nine, move to Panther Creek Mountain, so they have another playmate—if they can lower themselves to do things with a girl. Over the summer they build a tree house, find a mysterious cave, meet up with Mama and Aunt Olive’s sister Aunt Jane who has run away from a mental hospital, fall into an open water well, stumble onto a dangerous wild razorback pig, escape the strike of a rattlesnake, get attacked by a hawk, build a raft like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and float down the Wild Cat River to an island where they encounter a hermit who has booby-trapped his cabin with a shotgun, take a ride on a runaway train car, go coon hunting with a neighbor at night, and more, all while listening to the scream of the panther each night.
Are Clay and Luke able to get along with their girl cousin? Is the Indian mound which they find way back in the woods really haunted by the ghosts of Indians buried there? And will they all survive the huge storm that brings a tornado and a flash flood while the children are riding their bikes back from going to the army surplus store in town? Panther Creek Mountain: The Big Adventure is Book 1 in an intended series of “Adventures on Panther Creek Mountain.” I was born in the early 1950s and grew up in a rural area with a brother two years younger than I, so I can relate to Clay and Luke. Some colloquial euphemisms (e.g., ding-dang and dad-gum) and childish slang terms (e.g., pee) are found, and the “d” word is used once by some rabbit hunters in the woods while the boys are hidden in the cave. But the book is a pleasant story about the summer explorations of some kids growing up in backwoods America during a simpler time. Those of us who had similar experiences in our youth can read the book with a sense of wistful nostalgia, and readers who weren’t so free to explore their worlds can be envious.

[Susan Mcculley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Panther Creek Mountain, by Clyde McCulley is truly a big adventure, tracking the summer explorations of a couple of brothers growing up in backwoods America before rural electrification made it to their neck of the woods. Money poor but certainly not impoverished, these boys fill their days with projects, like building treehouses, organizing neighborhood hot dog roasts, and discovering ancient relics while bravely evading dangerous snakes, wild razorback pigs protecting their young, and listening to the scream of the black panther. All of this is done without helicopter parents hovering nearby. Rather, the parents stay in the background giving wise and gentle support and guidance.

The boys are challenged when they learn that a girl cousin will be moving nearby, but she passes the test and impresses them with her adventuresome nature. As the summer progresses their entrepreneurial skills sharpen and surprise. Kids will find this a delightful and entertaining read and adults might just find themselves feeling a little deprived if they didn’t grow up so free to explore their worlds and having McCulley around to provide the script. An added plus for this book are the charming author generated illustrations. I would give this book 5 (out of 5) stars.

Nancy P. Greenleaf