Remember summer firecrackers, bike races, and double features on a Saturday afternoon?

When author Stephen Joe Payne was working on organizing a Pawhuska All-School Reunion, those who had read his essays about his childhood in a small Western town in the 1950s and ‘60s encouraged him to take his collection of reminiscences and turn them into a book.

For the young at heart, Pawhuska Kids’ Stuff is sure to evoke a flood of memories of your own days gone by.

Praise for Pawhuska Kids’ Stuff

“Visit Pawhuska! Prepare to smile and laugh out loud. It’s really good medicine. Stroll the avenues and climb the hills. Let Stephen be your tour guide. Be prepared. Some of the hills are pretty steep. Then, at the end of the day, go back to the places that were special to you and take some time to be still. In the twilight, close your eyes and listen to the echoes-savor the moment. Remember the time…”

- Frank Hulse (Fellow Pawhuskan)

As a young boy, he was known as "Stevie Joe."

Today, Stephen Joe Payne is an author, essayist, and motivational writer. He hails from Pawhuska, a small town in northeastern Oklahoma, where "he is rumored to have grown up, though he admits to being in a latter state of childhood."