"Thirty-Six Feet of Boys"
The title of this memoir came from Peter Dunkle's mother's common remark that she had "thirty-six feet" of boys among her six tall, lanky sons. Peter's father, Michael Dunkle, and mother, Carolina Boyer, raised their family in Pine Hollow, Perry Township, on the farm that today is the Jordan Dairy Farm. Michael Dunkle built the barn and house that are still in use today.
Peter Dunkle's memories of the earliest days of Clarion County -- before oil and the Civil War changed it -- and his description of how pioneers arrived from Germany, traversed Pennsylvania, and settled in the wilderness that was to northwestern Pennsylvania, are fascinating in their detail. His recollections of people and events, both in daily antebellum living and later during the War, are remarkable.