Hurrah for My New Free Country

Fouquet left France in 1868 at the age of 18 to avoid military service; his experiences over the next 65 years embodied the American Dream. On the voyage to America he began keeping a journal, a practice he continued for most of his life. These journals have been ably edited by his twin granddaughters, now in their 80s. Fouquet first went to western Kansas to work for an uncle, then struck out on his own. He was a freighter, ferryman, farmer, storekeeper, postmaster and, married to another French immigrant, Mathilde, father to seven children. In 1892 the family lost everything when their home and store burned, but within two months they had set up a tent store on the Cherokee Strip in Oklahoma, selling groceries, supplies and sandwiches to settlers. Later, Fouquet established a fruit farm near Chandler, Okla., where he grew prize-winning grapes and peaches. His is a remarkable story and a wonderful piece of Americana. Illustrated. (May)