Quote of the Day: "The place [Iron Mountain] was alive with men and full of sin." Rev. W. G. Pufflefoot, describing the area during the 1860s. The Minute Man on the Frontier.1895.
Reviews
Compassion, Michigan: The Ironwood Stories by Raymond Luczak
This fine collection of short stories all take place in Ironwood, Michigan, and are told from the viewpoint of women. The stories are arranged in reverse chronological order from the present to the town's early history. The women tell of their lives (many of who have hidden their real selves from everyone but the reader) and their relationship with Ironwood. In the early years after the discovery of iron, the town boasted 30,000 inhabitants. But with the closing of the mines, the town began a slow decline until the present day with just 5,000 residents struggling to make lives for themselves amid the detritus of the town's glory days.
In one story a woman from LA who was adopted learns she was born in Ironwood and returns to the city of her birth searching for clues to her birth parents. She even picks through the goods for sale in a church's second-hand shop that is full of items chronicling the city's downward spiral. In another powerful story set in the Great Depression Ironwood is experienced and observed by a New York transplant who teaches ballet to the daughters of mine owners. In a more current story, a grandma and granddaughter make pasties together and the idea of a U.P. culture becomes a topic of conversation and grandma learns she is aYooper.
Each of the stories is anchored by distinct and wholly original characters who deal with loss, love, family, and personal crises ranging from living with a violent, alcoholic father who's a walking timebomb, to the deeply felt story of a gender-neutral person born a female who has to deal with being alone and different from everyone.
Powerful and moving short stories that reflect the human experience set amidst the history of a Michigan town in decline. One resident observes, "There's a lot of good-ol'-days residue in this town. It's in the oxygen we breathe."
Compassion, Michigan: The Ironwood Stories by Raymond Luczak. Modern History Press, 2020, $21.95.
The Star in the Sycamore: Discovering Nature's Hidden Virtues in the Wild Nearby by Tom Springer
In this fine book of essays, the author looks at nature, life, and the everyday common things around us in uncommon ways. Many of the author's musings focus on elements of life and nature that are often overlooked. There are essays on the difference between country dogs and city dogs and the elevation of the dogs' social status in recent years. The author maintains dogs now substitute for children or best friends. No, you say? Well, how many times have you heard a dog owner refer to themselves as the dog's mommy or daddy?
Other essays pay tribute to Serviceberry trees and their wonderful fruit that few if any appreciate. In the essay "A Young Girls Guide to Powers Tools" Springer rails and vents against chainsaws, snowblowers, leaf blowers, and rototillers. He praises hand tools because none of them have off switches, they just stop when you do. There are essays on stars, constellations, cross-country skiing, bird feeders, "Five Ways to Tell if its Winter in a Michigan Farmhouse," and a tribute to a good dog he had to put down. Springer includes a beautiful essay about his father on his death at 82. He was a man who led a "contented life."
Readers should have a highlighter handy when opening the book because there are so many great turns of phrase, unique and pleasing descriptions, and memorable sentences. A pickup truck is described as, "tastefully dented and rusted per farm truck specifications." He writes, "... italics, whether written or spoken are the last refuge of anemic writers and ineffective parents."And one of my many favorites is Springer's description of a nun ordering a fast-food burger with no ketchup, mustard, pickles, or onions. The author wrote, "For her, this small act of self-denial was condiment enough."
This book showcases a fine essayist at the top of his form. A delight to read.
The Star in the Sycamore: Discovering Nature's Hidden Virtues in the Wild Nearby by Tom Springer. Mission Point Press, 2020, $17.95.
Stories from the Attic by Marcina McKeon Foster
The author has taken a deep dive into her family's genealogy, sorted through an attic full of dusty family artifacts, nick-nacks, and memorabilia, and researched the history of the village of Fenton and the surrounding area to write this book. In a short forward the author says her, "...intent is to bring our family stories to life and introduce our descendants to their ancestors." She then admits the family members in these stories are real and events depicted are based on real events, but the "book is a work of fiction," What? She further tells the reader some events and secondary characters are pure fiction.
It was with some confusion and concern I turned to page one. The confusion and doubt evaporated within a few pages as I found myself immersed in an authentic recreation of small-town America from the Gilded Age through World War I. Some chapters take a dozen pages or so to tell of the courtship and marriage of grand or great grandparents' others are mere vignettes capturing important moments in the family's story. Some chapters are so brief they are literary snapshots.
I grew up on Lake Fenton, just north of Fenton, and my favorite chapter reads as if it was written by a participant on a day trip to the lake in 1893. The family boarded a narrow gauge horse-drawn railroad car that took them to the lake. There the family boarded the Belle of the Lake, a 200-passenger steamer, for a trip to Case's Island where they picnicked on fried chicken and the children cavorted in a playground.
More sober stories tell of a descendant who lost a husband and child to consumption, another recounts a fire that destroyed the largest employer in the village. As with almost all of the stories they are written as if the author is channeling one of her ancestors. The author has convincingly captured the feel, the temper, and the culture of a bygone age.
Stories from the Attic by Marcina McKeon Foster. Independently Published, 2020, $12.99 pb.
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