Warrior Fish
A young boy catches the northern pike of his dreams during a family fishing vacation, but ultimately chooses to release the magnificent 'warrior fish' back to its freedom rather than mount it as a trophy.
These are stories written in the 1960s mostly. Most of them were submitted for publication, and many were accepted. How did she do this with six crazy children?
A Time to Change
"A Time to Change" is a 1965 short story by Donna about Jeremy Eagle, a farm worker struggling with unpaid wages and a troubled marriage, who finally decides to demand what he's owed and start fresh in the city with his wife Etheline.
Of Such Are Memories Made
This story beautifully captures the nostalgia of home food preservation and family traditions from the 1960s perspective, contrasting the communal experience of canning peaches and making apple butter with the convenience of modern grocery shopping.
Let’s Teach Our Children Poetry
Donna's 1960s educational article demonstrates how teaching children to write haikus and quatrains can rekindle their natural love of poetry while improving their grammar, spelling, and creative expression skills.
Memories of Americana
The story is a charming memoir by Donna about coal buckets and their role in her childhood and adolescence, from eating tangerines over them during Christmas to using one for physical therapy after breaking her elbow.
So You Want to Sew
In this hilariously honest essay, Donna warns would-be seamsters about the hidden perils of home sewing—from children who treat fabric layouts as walking paths to the dreaded "home sewer's trap" where you become so discerning about clothing construction that only expensive garments will satisfy you.
The Haunting
In The Haunting, Donna reflects on how the haunting images of starving Biafran children forced her to confront the gap between sympathy and action, awakening her to the reality that children are starving not just far away, but close to home—and that good intentions mean little without meaningful compassion.
I Was an Automotive Dropout
This is a humorous essay by Donna about the progression through various cars, from a traded lawnmower Packard to eventually getting a proper station wagon.
Handy, Dandy Guide to a Safe, Sane and Solvent Halloween
In this witty Halloween survival guide, Donna Hruska offers practical advice for parents navigating the annual October madness, covering everything from safety tips (flashlights instead of candles) to sanity preservation (skip the big dinner) and budget management (limit treats per caller).
Make-up Studio: Beauty is Big Business
Two suburban mothers turned their empty nest years into entrepreneurial success by opening a robert-marc makeup studio in a converted train station, capitalizing on the booming 1970s beauty industry with personalized cosmetic consultations and training.