Phil Cook, Jr. was born to a farmer and school teacher in rural North Dakota almost a decade before the great depression started. For the oldest of 6 children, it was not an easy time. Back then life was work and work was hard. The family lived in a small farm house several miles north of Sentinel Butte and a quarter mile or less from Westerheim School. His mother Lucy Evelyn Cook was the teacher at Westerheim School and married to Phillip Taylor Cook Sr. (Taylor Cook--what Evelyn called him) Together they had 6 children. Many people probably never knew that Evelyn's first name was actually Lucy.
Phillip Taylor Cook, Jr. was my father and Taylor and Evelyn's oldest child. He was labeled "Junior" early on and became friends with "Junior" Allen. So you had the two 'Juniors' running around together. My father met and married Mary Zinsli. He worked in and managed the grain elevator at Thelan, ND which doesn't even exist now--the town I mean. He drove truck for many years, worked as a prison guard at the state prison in Anamosa, IA for a stint, drove taxi cab, and was a milk man and went back to driving truck. To read more about their lives and adventures click on one of the links above
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