And a Little Child Shall Lead Them: Only Child by Rhiannon Navin

Zach is seven years old when his world collapses. A mentally ill man enters his elementary school with a gun. One of those murdered is Zach's ten year old brother Andy, a bright and vivacious child with Oppositional Defiant Disorder whose management had already stressed their parent's marriage. They are unable to agree on anything now: the mother bent on revenge, the father showing understanding of Zach's regression while he goes to work and carries on.

Zach is left on his own to deal with the conflicting feelings he is experiencing. In his secret hideout in Andy's closet he colors his emotions on separate paper; they are easier to handle this way. Red for embarrassment for peeing in bed like a baby. Black for for being scared and the bad dreams at night in which he relives the day of the school shooting. Green, like the Incredible Hulk, for anger. Gray for the sadness, like clouds on a rainy day.

He also returns to his favorite book series in which children learn the secrets of happiness.

Rhiannon's debut novel Only Child is written in Zach's voice, told from his perspective. The adult world feels distant and nearly unmindful of his existence. As adult readers, we understand the hints that pass over Zach's understanding. And we are heartbroken for Zach and for his parents as well.

It is marvelous that Zach is the moral compass of the story. He demonstrates a wisdom that the adults lack; caught up in their own pain they are oblivious to each other's needs. Zach seeks for healing and wholeness, and as the novel ends with Christmas time arrived, he is truly the light which comes to show the way to salvation for his broken family: forgiveness, kindness, thinking of others, and clinging to love.

The journey into the horror of a school shooting resolves by showing us how to live in this world. In the end, I was glad to have read this book, even now in mid-December when others turn to light holiday fare.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through First to Read in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Only Child: A novel
By Rhiannon Navin
Hardcover $25.95
Knopf
Publication Date: Feb 06, 2018
ISBN 9781524733353

The Which Way Tree: Revenge and Obsession in the Old West

The Which Way Tree by Elizabeth Crook commanded my attention from the fist page. I loved the voice and the story kept my interest.

In 1866 Texas, Ben is called to testify about a murder incident that occurred three years previous. The judge hopes to determine if  Hanlin murdered eight Union soldier prisoners. Ben said he had come across Hanlin at the scene of the crime and that he was also at Hanlin's death.

A natural story teller, the boy's statement starts at the beginning of his life and the circuit judge, needing to move one, asks the boy to write down his testimony and mail it to him.

In a series of letters the boy relates a tale of single-minded vengeance.

Ben's mother died when he was a few years old. His father brought home a former slave to take care of the home and children; Sam was soon born.

When Ben was eight a panther attacked Sam. Her Sam's mother fought the cat and hacked off several of its toes. She died saving Sam's life, but the girl was left hideously scarred.

After the death of their father, the children struggled on their own. The nearby Civil War prisoner of war camp have cleared out ready game. Ben must travel far for game and one day he happened upon Hanlin pick-pocketing the bodies of dead Union prisoners.

Sam is obsessed with killing the panther. While stalking the panther, the children come into conflict with Hanlin. They rescue his prisoner Pacheco. Hanlin now holds a grudge against them, but in Pacheco they have found a friend.

Ben's Testament is told in a series of letters, showing a fatalistic acceptance of his hard life in a hostile environment filled with danger from Secesh, Indians, and bandits. He works a job and takes care of their few livestock but Sam is idle and defiant. Her obsession with killing the deadly panther takes the children on a journey fraught with danger and filled with colorful characters who have lived ungodly lives.

Preacher Dob warns Sam that vengeance belongs to the Lord, and she replies, only if he can beat me to it. Preacher Dobs found religion and seeks to expiate his sins. The Mexican Pacheco knows all his mistakes are behind him.

Ben's life is filled with loss and hardship but there is something noble and perfect about him. He is unassuming and grateful and earns the judge's esteem. And the readers. He is a marvelous creation.

Ben is a natural story-teller and the judge comes to appreciate the boy's love of writing. When Ben requests more paper and ink, the judge readily provides them. When Ben complains about his worn quill pen, wishing he had a modern pen, the judge sends that as well. The judge's gifts increase, sending Ben books including Tristram Shandy.

When Ben threw ears of corn over the fence to the Union prisoners someone in return threw back his treasure: a copy of Moby Dick. The novel enthralled the boy and he mentions the book twice in his Testament.

Ben's tale is inspired by Melville's novel. There is Sam's single-minded obsession with revenge on the beast called El Demonio de Dos Dedos--the Demon of Two Toes. I also noted how Pacheco face scarred by pocks of black gunpowder parallels Queequeg's Maori tattoos. I had to wonder if Ben has embellished his Testament, writing not subjective truth but transforming his tale. Isn't that what writers do? Take life and tweak it, giving it meaning and form?

An Act of God, or nature, brings Ben's tale to a nail-biting conclusion, revealing at last what the judge wanted to hear at the beginning: why Ben is convinced that Hanlin was a murderer and is deceased.

In her Acknowledgement, Crook states that her manuscript came to Robert Duvall, who played Gus McCrae in Lonesome Dove. (A marvelous movie and book!) I can imagine Crook's book as a movie. Here's hoping!

I received a free e-book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

From the publisher:

Early one morning in the remote hill country of Texas, a panther savagely attacks a family of homesteaders, mauling a young girl named Samantha and killing her mother, whose final act is to save her daughter’s life. Samantha and her half brother, Benjamin, survive, but she is left traumatized, her face horribly scarred. 

Narrated in Benjamin’s beguilingly plainspoken voice, The Which Way Tree is the story of Samantha’s unshakeable resolve to stalk and kill the infamous panther, rumored across the Rio Grande to be a demon, and avenge her mother’s death. In their quest she and Benjamin, now orphaned, enlist a charismatic Tejano outlaw and a haunted, compassionate preacher with an aging but relentless tracking dog. As the members of this unlikely posse hunt the panther, they are in turn pursued by a hapless but sadistic Confederate soldier with troubled family ties to the preacher and a score to settle. 

In the tradition of the great pursuit narratives, The Which Way Tree is a breathtaking saga of one steadfast girl’s revenge against an implacable and unknowable beast. Yet with the comedic undertones of Benjamin’s storytelling, it is also a timeless tale full of warmth and humor, and a testament to the enduring love that carries a sister and brother through a perilous adventure with all the dimensions of a legend.

The Which Way Tree
by Elizabeth Crook
Little, Brown and Company
Pub Date 06 Feb 2018
ISBN: 9780316434959
PRICE: $26.00

Helen's Heir Finds Me! The Diary Is Going Home!

In 2001 I found a 1919 diary in a South Lansing antique/flea market and brought it home. The writer's personality enchanted me but I did not know who she was until December 31 when she signed off as Helen Korngold.

Helen Korngold photo from Normandy H.S. yearbook where she taught

Since that time I have researched to know more about Helen and to understand the people and places and activities she talked about in her diary. I held off sharing the diary and her story, wanting to fill in some gaps, including how Helen, a career teacher in St. Louis, meet and marry a brilliant mathematician who was teaching at Cornell University in New York?

I had decided to begin sharing the diary and my research on my blog this year as part of my Saturday posts on family histories, and was preparing my work to be shared.

Then--This week I was contacted by a woman who told me I had her great-aunt Helen's diary! She, like most of us do, was noodling around the Internet seeing what popped up when she typed in family member names. And my blog post about the quilt I made for Helen came up.

The quilt I made for Helen included scanned diary pages

I am learning so much about Helen and her husband Fritz Herzog. She was as lovely and fun to be with in real life as she appears in her diary.

Today I will be mailing the diary to her family, along with copies of my typed transcription and research. Helen is finally going home to her family.

Read my posts about Helen:

https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2012/03/helen-korngold-quilt-close-to-10-years.html
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2013/11/researching-helens-diary-on-ancestrycom.html
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2013/11/researching-helens-diary-on-ancestrycom.html

Helen Korngold photo from Normandy H.S. yearbook

Tilda Sewing By Heart: New Patterns and Fabrics from Norway

Tilda Sewing By Heart cover with patchwork pumpkins 

These fresh quilts and sewing projects from Norway are ADORABLE!  

Tone Finnanger is the founder and sole designer of the internationally recognized Tilda brand, which she started in 1999 at the age of 25. She was at the 2017 Quilt Market in Houston, TX and won "Best Newcomer."

Bumblebees quilt on left. 

The book features 7 full-size quilts plus smaller sewing projects such as pillows, pincushions and  soft toys.

All the projects use the Tilda fabric lines including Cabbage Rose, Bumblebee, Circus, Harvest, and Cottage lines. You can view the fabrics at https://www.sewandso.co.uk/category/saq-tilda-crafts-tilda-fabrics?TRE00049.

Sewing From the Heart is the first Tilda book in English. Expert technical editing from Linda Clements, bestselling author of The Quilter’s Bible, offers in-depth instructions. The photographs are gorgeous and the book is filled with illustrations showing construction and fabrics used.

The instructions are detailed. There are 21 pages for The Bumblebee Quilt, 55" x 73," including:

• multiple full and close-up photographs of the quilt
• swatches of fabrics used and yardage chart
• preparation and cutting instructions
• overall quilt layout illustration
• cutting instruction with illustrations
• block construction instructions with color illustrations
• border construction with illustration
• and assembling and finishing the quilt instructions

I love love love this soft fox

The patterns have some unusual methods. For instance, the stuffed Santa doll's legs are made with pieced fabric. To construct, one sews the various widths of fabrics into one unit. The leg pattern is laid over the pieced unit, traced, and cut with seam allowances. Each leg has two pieces which are sewn and turned.

Projects include

• Bumblebee Quilt, pillows, pin cushion, and stuffed bees
• Flower quilt, pillows, and fabric flowers
• Circus Quilt
• Tree Pillow
• Applique Elephant quilt
• Cabbage Rose Quilt
• Patchwork squirrel and rabbit stuffed animals
• Birds and Sunflowers quilt and pillows
• Patchwork Fox stuffed animal
• Pumpkin Harvest Quilt and pillow
• Patchwork Santa and stocking

Cottage Quilt

Visit the website at https://www.sewandso.co.uk/product/tilda-sewing-by-heart/402389

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Tilda Sewing by Heart
by Tone Finnanger
F+W Media
SewandSo
ISBN: 9781446306710

The Winter Station by Jody Shields

The Winter Station by Jody Shields was just the read I needed. I was experiencing a lack of motivation and knew it was time to pick up a book that would sweep me along into it's world.

Based on a "true story that has been lost to history," the atmospheric setting is beautifully detailed, the mystery revealed with a slow build up of suspense, the characters fully realized and sympathetic.

The story takes place in the winter of 1910 in a remote Manchurian city built as a train station and hub of the railroad that brings freight and passengers across Asia. Divided into quadrants, each with its own character and government, Chinese and Russian, with Japan champing at the bit to invade Manchuria, the city's peace is precarious.

The Baron has rejected the life of wealth and privilege to become a doctor. He embraces Manchuria, marrying a Manchu woman and learning the customs and language. He is more comfortable with smugglers and misfits than with his own class. He is open to new ideas, including modern medical practices such as hand-washing and the use of masks.

The Baron is a student of calligraphy, struggling to find the calm center which allows the brush to lead his hands. He enjoys the formality of the tea ceremony, boiling water poured over a hand turned, unglazed clay teapot to warm it, the rolled leaves set inside and steeped three times, each steeping of tea offering a new experience. His lovely young wife is his refuge, and he marvels at his happiness with her.

In the bitter snow of winter the dead appear, frozen and blood splattered. As the weeks go on, it is clear there is an epidemic of monstrous proportions. Dr. Wu, the Baron, and other doctors clash over methodology, and the Baron argues against the orders of secrecy and the disposal of the deceased. The Baron seeks a balanced path between East and West, the interests of state and business versus medical practice and wisdom, considering needs of the poor and rich and even the quick and the dead.

Scenes of unimaginable hell become commonplace, and every decision made could mean life or death. The historical plague took 40,000 to 60,000 lives over the winter of 1910-11.

Shields' novel brings alive a city and place that was totally new to me. I loved the descriptions of the tea ceremony and calligraphy lessons, although some readers may complain that these scenes impede the plot. I say, bosh, the scenes make the world come alive. My only disappointment was the open ending. I had invested a great deal in the lives of the characters and I was left stranded on the ice.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

The Winter Station
by Jody Shields
Little, Brown  & Company
Publication January 30, 2018
$27 hard cover
ISBN: 9780316385343

See photographs of the historical plague at http://hahn.zenfolio.com/manchurian_plague_2
Viewer discretion advised.

Lynne O. Ramer's Memories: Lt George H. Ramer

Last week my grandfather Lynne O. Ramer's article referred to Maude Shannon Ramer and her husband Harry W. Ramer. Today I am sharing the 1963 article which appeared in Ben Meyer's We Notice That column of the Lewistown Sentinel about their son George W. Ramer. George died in the Korean War. Ben wrote the article based on a letter received from my grandfather.

*****

Honors for Lieut.

George H. Ramer

A former local school teacher whose son was killed on Hearbreak Ridge, Korea, has been notified that a new combat training facility at Marine Corps Schools, Quanitco, VA., is to be named in his honor.

The mother is Mrs. Maude D. Ramer of 424 Burnley Lane, Drexel Hill. Her son who died in the Korean War was Second Lieutenant George H. Ramer.

Mrs. Ramer has received notification from Lieut.-Gen. F. L. Wiesman of the U.S. Marine Corps that his command is planning a dedication of a new building, naming it Ramer Hall as a memorial to her late son.

“We believe that naming this facility after Lieutenant Ramer will be both decorous and appropriate since the facility will primarily serve newly-commissioned lieutenants in the Marine Corps, says the notice received by the mother.

“Mrs. Ramer, you are most cordially invited to attend the acceptance and dedication of Ramer Hall. Your travel expense to and from Quantico can be provided for, if you desire.

“I hope that you can accept this invitation and that we may have the honor of your presence with us Oct. 4, 1963.”

Scholar at 3 Yrs.

The Ramers formerly lived in Milroy. George, or Bud Ramer, the Marine lieutenant mentioned above, was the only son of Mr. And Mrs. Harry Ramer. The father died some time ago, and the mother is now residing in Drexel Hill with her daughter, Mrs. Ethel Coulter.

The then President, Harry S. Truman, awarded Lieutenant  Ramer the Congressional medal posthumously.

News of the dedication of the new building at Quantico to be known as Ramer Hall comes to us indirectly by way of Mrs. Ramer’s nephew, Lynne O. Ramer.

No doubt some of our teachers will recall the episode concerning Mrs. Ramer and her daughter Ethel, related for this column by Lynne Ramer some time back.

It seems that Mrs. Ramer was substituting for an ill teacher in the Burnham schools during the 1915 era. She had taken the assignment at the urgent insistence of the school board, which was unable to secure a regular substitute.

Well, Mrs. Ramer not only took the assignment, but she took her three-year-old daughter Ethel along to school with her—in her crib! Believe Ethel was the youngest “scholar” ever to matriculate in the Burnham district.

“Ethel and I plan to accept the invitation and be in Quantico for the dedication,” says Mrs. Ramer in her letter.  “Naturally we are thrilled, but after all we will have mixed emotions during this experience. Harry’s branch of the Ramer tree ended with Bud, but his name will go on at Quantico.”

Maude Pearl Ramer, Evelyn Ramer (Lynne's wife), and Ethel Ramer

at Lynne and Evelyn's home in Royal Oak, MI. 1960s.

‘Polly Kicks Bucket’

“Vacation is over—back to work”, continues Mrs. Ramer’s letter to nephew Lynne. “You speak of Mackinac Island. We have never been there, but have ferried across from Upper Michigan twice. Of course, at that time no bridge.

“We hope to get back into that country some time. Our trip this year took us down one side of Cape Cod and back the other. From there to Nova Scotia along the coast. It was fascinating and we want to go back to ferry across the Bay of Fundy from Maine and drive around to Nova Scotia.

“The ferry trip is 100 mile and takes six hours, but it cuts off about 700 miles of driving through Maine and New Brunswick. Polly (her car) chirped right along for over 2,000 miles but kicked the bucket after we got home, causing Ethel to be late for work after having to get a new battery.”

‘O How Good!’
Lieutenant Ramer was among the 434,000 U.S. Marines engaging in the Korean War. Of his number, there were battle deaths consisting of just about one per cent—or 4,267 to be exact.

According to records revised by the Department of Defense, the ratio of Marines slain in combat in Korea during what President Truman called “a police action” was about twice as great as the combined battle deaths of all branches of the service being engages—Army, Navy, Marines and Sir Force—over the three year period extending from the mid summer of 1950 to the same time of year in 1953 when the armistice was signed and fighting ended within the next 12 hours.

We’ve included Mrs. Ramer’s address in the story today so that any of her old friends who might desire to get in touch will be able to write or send her a card. We are inclined to believe that she would like this very much.

Word from the old home always comes as a refreshing breeze in the heat of summer or as the old proverb goes: “A word at its right time is O how good!”

*****

Lt. Ramer was a real hero.

This branch of the Ramer tree traced its mutual ancestor to Nicholas Romer.

The Ramer family tree:

Matthias Roemer (1746 Germany-1828 Berks Co, PA) Matthia served in the Revolutionary War.
   Nicholas Roemer (1791-1867). He is the mutual ancestor with Lynne O. Ramer
      Isaac William Ramer (1829-1869) He was a blacksmith and served in the Civil War
        Charles Maurice Ramer (1855-1920)
           Harry Webster Ramer (1883-1944)
                George H. Ramer (1927-1944)

A January 8, 1953 article in Stars and Stripes noted that Second Lietenant George H Ramer, 24, was a Bucknell University graduate, who was killed while covering the withdrawal of his platoon in an assault on an enemy held hill. Medals were presented to his wife Jeanne Grice Ramer.

Somerset.org website has a detailed story about George including newspaper articles and his genealogy:  http://www.somersetflag.org/BeyondTheCall/Ramer.pdf

HonorStates.org has this story: Second Lieutenant Ramer commanded the 3rd Platoon, Company I, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. On September 12, 1951, he led his platoon in an attack against a heavily fortified position. Although wounded he and eight of his men finally captured his objective. Upon an overwhelming enemy counterattack, he ordered his men to withdraw and singlehandedly fought the enemy to furnish cover for his men to evacuate three wounded comrades until his was mortally wounded. For his leadership and extreme valor.

George has his own Wikipedia page at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._Ramer

Building the Great Society: Inside's LBJ's White House

I was in Seventh grade in the spring of 1964 when I was asked who I was voting for in the mock election. I asked who was running.

"Well," I was told, "there's Barry Goldwater who wants war and may use the Atom bomb, and there's LBJ who wants to end poverty." 

I voted for LBJ, enchanted by his Great Society idealism.

I have been fascinated by President Johnson for years and have read multiple biographies him. My political awareness was formed under his presidency. I was a junior in high school when President Johnson gave his speech that ended announcing he would not seek reelection.

Building the Great Society by Joshua Zeitz is exactly the kind of book I enjoy, one that puts my personal memories into historical perspective, fleshed out with insight that I lacked at the time. I also appreciated learning how the Great Society programs impacted lives and the motivation behind their critics' desire to dismantle them.

*****

In 1963 America was at a pinnacle of economic boom with the rise of the Middle Class and a huge increase in the Gross National Product. It was a time of fast food restaurants and power steering, electricity in every home powering refrigerators and televisions and stereos. My family had just moved to Metro Detroit, Dad seeking employment in the auto industry. Getting that job gave my family economic stability and badly needed health care.

At the same time millions of Americans were left behind in poverty, including populations in Appalachia and rural America. One-fifth of the population lived at or below the poverty line of $3,000 for a family of four. The majority of the impoverished were Caucasian, but a higher percentage of African Americans were impoverished--40%. And female headed households were 50% impoverished.

After assuming the presidency following the assassination of President Kennedy, President Johnson identified himself as a "Roosevelt New Dealer" who found Kennedy "a little too conservative." But his history of voting with the Dixiecrats against legislation addressing African American equality left many doubtful.

Zeitz paints a picture of Liberals' belief in the sustainability of the Great Society programs, writing that "the idea that the economy might someday stop growing rarely factored seriously into liberal thinking."

Government's impact in solving social ills was not a new idea. The programs envisioned by President Johnson were rooted in the New Deal public works programs of President Roosevelt. "The War on Poverty" was an term first used by President Kennedy in a 1960 campaign speech. "The Great Society" was the title of a book by Walter Lippmann. President Johnson used the term "Great Society" in a speech at the University of Michigan in May, 1964, drafted by Richard Goodwin.

According to Charles Roberts, Bill Moyers was the "Presidents' good angel, representing his conscience when there's a conflict between conscience and expediency."

The Great Society programs were not instituted predominately for urban African Americans; that stereotype came later from Republicans who were hostile to the programs.

Zeitz follows Johnson's presidency and the events of the time: the impact and legacy of the Great Society programs; the Viet Nam War siphoning money and energy away; Robert Kennedy's candidacy and assassination; riots and civil unrest at home; the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.; George Wallace and his platform of rage and hate (giving my little brother nightmares!); and Nixon's secret campaign to sabotage Johnson's peace talks.

Nixon did not dismantle all the programs; many continued to thrive while others did not. It was a time of environmental awareness, and Nixon established the EPA and NOAA and addressed clean air and water issues.

The economic theories of the early 60s did not pan out. Poverty is still with us. But the Great Society programs have impacted society for the better, especially in areas of equality, access to food and health care. Zeitz warns that the Trump administration's dismantling the Great Society programs may cause a backfire: "When the pendulum swings back, it may swing hard," with a more radical approach.

More than 'just' a history lesson, this book also informed me about the changing attitudes and policies concerning social issues and especially how we got to 'here', a time when Republican leaders are determined to dismantle the Great Society legacy.

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Building the Great Society
Inside Lyndon Johnson's White House
by Joshua Zeitz
PENGUIN GROUP Viking
Publication January 30, 2018
ISBN:9780525428787
PRICE $30.00 (USD)