King's Mountain

 

Happy 250^th birthday, United States of America!  This is a good time to remember the role our region played in the American Revolution. In September of 1780, troops gathered under a tree known as the Pemberton Oak which stood near what is now Highway 421.  They marched to North Carolina where they met the British in battle at a place called King’s Mountain.  Their victory there is often cited as the turning point in the Revolution.

In honor of this heritage, the Bristol Public Library is excited to present the VA250 Community Read:  King’s Mountain by Sharyn McCrumb. As many will know, McCrumb is known for her novels about our region which focus on our history and culture.  She is a New York Times best-selling author and is known for her fascinating and informative presentations.

John Sevier, like many living in the mountains, had been more concerned with everyday survival than with the dispute brewing between England and her American colonies.  Then an arrogant British officer, Major Patrick Ferguson, sends a message: join the British or I will “lay waste your country with fire and sword.” His words have the opposite effect and soon the mountain men are rallying to meet Ferguson and his troops.

McCrumb tells the story from multiple viewpoints, most notably from John Sevier on the rebels’ side and Virginia Sal, a woman accompanying the British and Loyalist troops. Her vivid portrayal gives readers a “you are there” feel and truly brings to life this important battle.

The library has a limited number of copies of the book to give away as well as bookmarks, while supplies last.  Copies will be available for pick up at both the Avoca Branch Library and at Bristol Public Library.

McCrumb will be leading a book discussion of her novel at Main on Thursday, September 24, at 6 p.m. This is definitely an evening you won’t want to miss! No registration is required; just bring your curiosity and a love of good stories.

The library would like to thank our sponsors, The Bristol Public Library Foundation, The Friends of the Bristol Public Library, and Arts Alliance Mountain Empire for making this program possible.

Nevermore: Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here, Alarm of the Black Cat, Noel Letters

 

Reported by Rita

Everyone Who is Gone is Here: the United States, Central America, and the Lives in Between by Jonathan Blitzer

An epic, heartbreaking, and deeply reported history of the disastrous humanitarian crisis at the southern border that tells the story of the migrants forced to risk everything and the policymakers determining their fate.

Well-researched. It is a good book about a horrible situation.    – DC     5 stars

 

The Alarm of the Black Cat by Dolores Hitchens aka D. B. Olsen

This classic mystery features a family feud, feline intervention, and the spirited septuagenarian sleuth from The Cat Saw Murder.

I didn’t care for it.      – WJ     2 stars

 

The Noel Letters: From the Noel Collection by Richard Paul Evans

The best-selling series by the award-winning author of The Christmas Box explores themes of faith, love, and redemption during an illuminating holiday season.

I thought this was a fun book. I really enjoyed the quotes from famous writers at the beginning of each chapter.     – WJ       5 stars

 

 

Other Books Mentioned

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

Lincoln: a Novel by Gore Vidal

In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face-to-Face with the Idea of an Afterlife by Sebastian Junger

Murder in Georgetown by Margaret Truman

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

Blink: the Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

New Books

Before We Forget Kindness: a Novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Invisible Kitties: a Feline Study of Fluid Mechanics or the Spurious Incidents of the Cats in the Night-Time by Yu Yoyo

A Walk in the Park: the True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko

The American Plate: A Culinary History in 100 Bites by Libby H. O’Connell

Reviewed by Christy

 

            In The American Plate, Libby H. O’Connell travels throughout America’s history to tell our story with food. While the “bites” aren’t always literal (she covers canned foods and Coca Cola among other things), she helps paint a picture of how our eating habits and taste buds evolved throughout the centuries.

            O’Connell begins with the most important foods to the Native Americans: corn, beans, and squash – which were referred to as the Three Sisters. These hearty foods created the foundation for their diet. It may be no surprise that corn makes multiple appearances in our history. Whether she’s discussing the first mass produced snack in the United States (Cracker Jacks) or why Heinz uses the number 57 (they just liked that number!), O’Connell’s history book is an absolute delight. It is filled with fun facts sprinkled throughout as well as actual, significant history. She attempts to link the foods of an era with major historical events to varying degrees of success. I can easily see the link in including peanut butter when discussing the Great Depression because it was cheap and nutritious with protein and healthy fats. Naturally, moms loved it and so did kids. (And peanut butter sandwiches have never gone out of style.) But including a section on quiche because it was served at meetings during the Second Wave Feminist movement? Eh, seems like a stretch. The author even admits as much.

            But that’s a minor quibble. I loved learning the backstory of certain foods, especially as we moved into the 1950s and more commercial food products. (Yes, Jell-O is included!) And while I may have tuned out a little bit during the wine section, I immediately perked up during the following section on cheese. The fact that over 100 different foods are discussed keeps it fast-paced and interesting. O’Connell also includes a few recipes readers can try out for themselves. I’m not particularly interested in making roasted beaver tail but a recipe for oatmeal cookies sounds simple enough. And it has ties to the suffrage movement! Since 2020 is the centennial of the ratification of the 19^th amendment, it felt appropriate to share here.

Oatmeal Lace Cookies

This recipe is similar to directions found in the suffrage cookbooks sold to raise money for the cause.

· 1 cup light brown sugar

· ½ cup butter (1 stick)

· 1 egg, lightly beaten

· ½ teaspoon vanilla

· 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

· ¼ teaspoon baking powder

· ¼ teaspoon salt

· 1 cup oatmeal (not instant)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix the sugar and butter; cream well. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and oatmeal in a separate bowl, and stir into the butter mixture, making sure all ingredients are well combined. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Drop ½ tablespoon of batter per cookie onto the sheet. Leave plenty of room between cookies because they spread a lot. Bake 8 minutes; edges should be brown. Slice cookies apart, if necessary, while they are still warm on the cookie sheet. Cool well before removing cookies from foil. They should be thin, crispy, and delicious. Store in tins, which you can bring to the election booths and share with your fellow voters.

Don’t Make Me Pull Over! An Informal History of the Family Road Trip by Richard Ratay

Reviewed by Kristin

Richard Ratay sets out to take readers on a trip across the United States and through his childhood memories, and he succeeds admirably.  Part memoir of growing up in the 1970s, part Technicolor history lesson, this book provides a nostalgic look back at the author’s own experiences when the interstate system was new, the station wagons were wood-paneled, and the seatbelts were optional.

Richard was the youngest of four children and often ended up wedged in between his teenage brothers Mark and Bruce in the backseat while his prone-to-carsickness-sister Leslie took refuge up front between their parents.  Of course, staying in your seat was not exactly required in that decade.  Richard would often end up lying on the shelf in the back window waving to state troopers as they passed, and often getting a friendly wave in return.

The elder Mr. Ratay was a very economical man, constantly trying to save time by leaving their home in Wisconsin at 3:30 am (thereby missing the Chicago morning rush hour) and trying to save money by skipping meals on the road.  Dad often encouraged the kids to take a nap shortly before their hunger kicked in, therefore giving him a chance to eat up the miles and avoid spending money on lunch for six.  When the family did drive through a McDonald’s, they performed a speed drill worthy of the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote, or perhaps The Three Stooges.

Between all of the family anecdotes, Richard provides quite a history of United States transportation.  Did you know that the construction of better roads was strongly influenced by bicycling clubs in the late 1890s?  Another proponent of smooth roads were health professionals who were big fans of riding bicycles and later driving the horseless carriage, simply because of the health problems that piles of manure created on city passageways.  An overview of popular destinations such as amusement parks and the world’s largest ball of twine—also all included in this book.  Billboards, motels, CB radios, videogames—all are discussed with gentle humor that took me back a few decades as well.

I remember well my family’s 1976 bronze Chevrolet cargo van.  The shimmery metallic interior was soon covered by custom installed wall-to-wall shag carpeting.  A bench seat which folded down into a bed (and may or may not have had seatbelts—I don’t remember!) provided a place to lounge whether on our way across town or on our way to visit family in Arkansas.  Behind the bench seat and accessible from the back doors was a storage compartment with a flat top, allowing for one child or another to lie against the back windows.  Between the backseat and the storage compartment was a small gap which my little brothers dubbed “the basement,” always a good place to hide away.

We had a citizens’ band radio and CB nicknames for everyone in the family as well.  Perhaps we were caravanning with friends or perhaps my dad was chatting with the truck drivers, but I can remember him using his handle of “Third Baseman” on the radio.  My mother was “Mayflower,” I was “Woodstock,” my middle brother was “Pickle Jar,” and my baby brother was “Fuzzy Bug.”

As for the golden age of family road trips, all good things eventually end or at least undergo significant transformations.  The Airline Deregulation Act of October 1978 (Thanks, Carter!) triggered changes in the air travel industry.  Fares, routes, and schedules were no longer set by the government, allowing the free market to push prices downward and to open new transportation possibilities for the average American family.  No longer were airplanes filled with only the upper class and business people with hefty travel allowances.  With less time spent together in the car, family vacations necessarily changed.  For the better?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  A hundred years ago there were surely people arguing that it was much better to ride in horse-drawn buggies instead of those infernal motorcars.

I recommend this well-researched and nostalgia filled social commentary/memoir to anyone with fond memories of family road trips.