Book excerpt: Last of the Small Towns: Short Stories is a charming collection of tales that recount the boyhood years of author Stewart Hyson. From gatherings in the “Indian Graveyard” through unprecedented encounters with baby chicks, here is a sentimental recounting of a range of colourful juvenile adventures experienced by a boy during a time that was poignantly more innocent than today. Hantsport, Nova Scotia, might have been a small place during the 1950s and early 1960s, but it was a veritable hive of activity in certain sectors and for certain segments of its lively population—especially through a kid’s eyes. In this memoir, Hyson invites readers to share his childish perspective of the postwar years on the streets of this little town. With a strong wash of nostalgia that characterizes his memory of his time there, Hyson shares his growing-up experiences of such preoccupations of the time as Sputnik and the widespread introduction of television. Last of the Small Towns: Short Stories is a labour of love that delivers readers back into their own childhoods, so vividly painted are its scenes. It is this energy, this devotion to subject, that are the book’s greatest strength.