A Gift to the Future from Leisure Village Writers. Universal Wisdom from Aroostook County Historians

Pritchard, Martha Brabant

ISBN 10: 0998376906 / ISBN 13: 9780998376905

Edité par Bright Star Publishing, Chapman, Maine, 2017

A propos de cet article

Very good condition. Minimal wear. Clean and all intact. No writing or marking. Not Ex-Library.

N° de réf. du vendeur 8970

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: A Gift to the Future from Leisure Village Writers. Universal Wisdom from Aroostook County Historians
• Éditeur: Bright Star Publishing, Chapman, Maine
• Date de parution: 2017
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 0998376906
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9780998376905
• Reliure: Soft cover
• État de l'article: Very Good
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • History

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

What was it like for a first train ride to be an emergency trip to a hospital, to ride to school in a horse-drawn “school-bus,” to regularly feed hobos who come to your door, and to own and cook for a northern Maine hunting lodge? How did children amuse themselves before the advent of television and computers? What was it like to see your mother cry at the news that America was at war, again? A Gift to the Future is a collection of stories and poetry that takes a nostalgic—sometimes comical, sometimes tragic—look at life in Aroostook County during the Great Depression, World War II, and beyond. The writers of Leisure Village, a retirement community in Presque Isle, Maine, have a vision: to share their stories with future generations. A Gift to the Future is the result of that vision. It is a treasure trove of local history and personal anecdotes about logging, potato farming, homemaking, railroads, winter sports, nature, hunting, education, entertainment, family life, and more—none of it found in history books. Randomly open this volume and hear the voices of elders up to 100 years old, lacing their stories with humor, sharp insight, and awe of such things as modern plumbing, travel, and cooking. Peek into windows of the past and come away with a richer appreciation of life today. This book provides a picture of rural life in the twentieth century but it also poses a challenge to others, both old and young, to “write it down.” The lives we live hold important messages for others beyond our own experiences. For years, these thirteen writers recorded memories, wrote stories and poems, jotted down simple notes to themselves. Today those notes and stories form the backbone of A Gift to the Future.

À propos de l?auteur

Martha Brabant Pritchard, Martie, lives with husband Jim on an old dairy farm in Chapman, Maine. For twenty-two years the two have worked to save the century-old, post and beam, three-story barn which is central to their 200-acre farm—The Barking Barn Farm. Though not farmers by any stretch of the imagination, they keep a menagerie of creatures, some even purposely. Always looking for a good use of the farmland, the rich, abandoned acres jump-started “Farm for ME” a Catholic Charities venture that now provides thousands of pounds of locally raised, fresh and frozen produce for Aroostook County food pantries. Martie has always been open to new experiences and opportunities. For that reason, she varied her teaching career through all levels of elementary education, then seventh grade life science, and finally third through fifth grade self-contained special education. She was blessed with a wake-up call in the form of a minor heart attack at age fifty-nine and retired from the classroom to pursue a career in writing. In eight years she completed a not-yet-published biography, From Bombs to Babies, which is what she was doing when she found herself inspired to write this book with the Leisure Village Writers. “I hoped to find an audience who would help me fine-tune my manuscript and in the process I discovered this wealth of Aroostook County historians just waiting for someone to help them combine their collective storytelling voices.” The nonfiction works of thirteen writers, ages eighty to one hundred, are found within these 242 pages of pure nostalgic pleasure. Martie is well prepared for this interesting path her career is taking. She earned a BS from Mansfield State College, and an MS in Reading Supervision from University of Scranton, both in Pennsylvania. In 1996 she was named Outstanding Middle Level Educator by the Maine Association for Middle Level Education (MAMLE). She is convinced that history is held in trust in the hearts and minds of community elders. She is actively seeking book presentations, signings, interviews, and lectures or seminars to encourage others to become involved with seniors in their own towns and cities. As one Leisure Village Writer put it, “Martie opened a window for me.” It only takes a little effort to open windows, find hidden treasures, and record them for future generations.