1 | Arnie | | Betty's last husband / Sarah's step-grandfather. |
| Charlie | | Butcher. |
| Four | Eyes | Farmer. |
| Betty | Dee | Arnie's 2nd wife / Sarah's grandmother. aka: Sis. |
| Johnny | Cash | Singer. |
| Betty Jean | Smarsh | Betty's daughter / Sarah's mother. aka: Jeannie. |
| Father | John | Priest of a nearby parish. |
| Dorothy (2) | | Jeannie's younger sister. aka: Pud. |
| Candy | | Pud's older daughter / Jeannie's cousin. |
| Shelly | | Pud's younger daughter. |
| Nicholas C. | Smarsh JR. | Sarah's father / Jeannie's husband. |
| August | Smarsh | Sarah's child. |
| Sara | Smarsh | Narrator / Protagonist. |
| Ray | | Betty's first husband / Sara's biological grandfather. |
| Nicholas C. | Smarsh SR. | Sarah's grandfather. aka: Chic. |
| Teresa | Smarsh | Nicholas SR's wife / Sarah's paternal grandmother. |
| Mr. | Carter | The President of the United States. |
| Ronald | Reagan | The new President of the United States. |
| George | Strait | Famous singer. |
| Sam | Smarsh | Sarah's uncle. |
2 | Matt | Smarsh | Sarah's brother. |
| Aaron | | Betty's father. |
| Jeannette | Smarsh | Nicholas's sister. |
| Gary | Smarsh | Sarah Smarsh's uncle. |
| Joseph | Stech | Sarah's peditrician. |
| Dorothy (1) | | Betty's mother. |
| Ed | | Dorothy (1)'s father / Betty's grandfather. |
| Irene | | Dorothy (1)'s mother. / Betty's grandmother. |
| Dee | Roy | Aaron's brother. |
| Franklin | Roosevelt | The President of the United States in 1935. |
| Carl | | Dorothy (1) and Aaron's first child. |
| Bert | | Dorothy (1)'s sister. |
3 | Willie | Nelson | White singer / Founded the concert fund-raising. |
| John Cougar | Mellencamp | Willie's co-founder. |
| Neil | Young | Middle class hippie from Canada / Willie's co-founder. |
| Wendell | Berry | Kansas farmer and activist. |
| Johnny | Carson | American television host. |
| Sasha | | Sarah's german shepherd. |
| Dwight | Eisenhower | The President of the United States in 1953. |
4 | Robert | Byrd | Senator from West Virginia. |
| Daniel Patrick | Moynihan | A 1965 New York politician. |
| Richard | Nixon | The 37th U.S. President. |
| Mrs. | Coykendall | Sarah's teacher. |
| Nola | Foulston | District attorney. |
| George | Tiller | Abortion provider who was murdered. |
| Mr. | Watson | Judge. |
| Joe | | Dorothy (1)'s third husband. |
| Paul | | Dorothy (1)'s second husband. |
| Polly | | Betty and Pud's sister. |
| Chris | | Sarah's step mother. |
| Bob (1) | | A newspaper columnist / Jeannie's boyfriend. |
| Bob (2) | | Betty's third husband. |
| Mr. | Cheatham | Sarah's teacher in Minneha. |
| Ms. | Dunn | Sarah's teacher in Minneha. |
5 | Herbert | Hoover | Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s. 31st U.S. President. |
| Johnny | | Betty's second husband. |
| Robert | | Betty and Bob's son / Sarah's uncle. aka: Bo. |
6 | Clarina | Nichols | Activist / Journalist. |
| Elizabeth | Candy Stanton | New York suffragist. |
| Susan B. | Anthony | New York suffragist. |
| Miguel | | Mexican immigrant. |
| Galen | | Betty's fifth husband. |
| Herbert | | Betty's boyfriend. |
| Dean | | Betty's sixth husband. |
| Dawn | | Sarah's first friend. |
| Larry | | Pud's husband. |
7 | Amelia | Earhart | Winchita's famous daughter. |
| Pat | | Carl's wife. |
| Tom | | A man who lives on Arnie's farm. |
| Jerry | | Arnie's farmhand. |
| George | Bush | The U.S. President. |