Black Beauty

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. H. M. Caldwell Company, New York, 1894. 227 p. 4.5 x 6.5". Binding olive green with silver design, plus pink 5-petal flowers. Illustrated. Bookplate: Private Library of C. E. Weybright [my grandparents]. There's no information inside on who used this book, but it is in good condition with no loose pages or wear.

When I was a girl, I read primarily horse and dog stories. Never read those children's titles in series (Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins, Elsie Dinsmore*), with the exception of the "Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, which my mother first read aloud to my brother and me as we curled up with her in the big overstuff chair. But today, I don't know if I could do it. Animal stories are always so sad and the older ones contain a lot of moralizing. Poor Black Beauty had a tough life. But Anna Sewell has messages for children in it, plus a strong appeal to treat animals kindly as other creatures made by God:

"One day when there was a good deal of kicking, my mother whinnied to me to come to her, and then she said: "I wish you to pay attention to what I am going to say to you. The colts who live here are very good colts, but they are cart-horse colts, and of course they have not learned manners. You have been well-bred and well-born; your father has a great name in these parts, and your grandfather won the cup two years at the Newmarket races; your grandmother had the sweetest temper of any horse I ever knew, and I think you have never seen me kick or bite. I hope you will grow up gentle and good, and never learn bad ways; do your work with a good will, lift your feet up well when you trot, and never bite or kick even in play." I have never fogotten my mother's advice; I knew she was a wise old horse, and our master thought a great deal of her. Her name was Duchess, but he often called her Pet."

*My sister Carol received a set of Elsie books to pass the time when she was recovering from polio, and I think I did eventually read them in my early teens. Somehow the box of Elsie (a complete set, I think) got put in the trash and we lost her. I have one now that I bought in a sale just so I'd have the memory of the little girl all the educators and critics loved to hate because she was so goody-two-shoes.

I'll race you back to the farm--memoirs from home

This week I received a copy of "I'll race you back to the farm" written by a high school classmate of mine about her growing up and maturing years living and working and having fun on her parents' farm near Mt. Morris, Illinois. Very few small towns have as much written about them as Mt. Morris because the printing industry, first for the Church of the Brethren, then for Kable Brothers, then for Watt Publishing and for smaller independents like Murray's dad really supported the community and surrounding area for many years. A number of residents and locals have written their memoirs about growing up or living there. I think I own at least 12 books, plus I have my 4 high school year books and old church directories, plus my old photo albums and some of my parents. This will be a wonderful addition to my collection.

Nancy kept a diary many years, so I found out things about my friends and school life that either I'd forgotten or never knew--like details about the local hang-outs (where was I?) or tricks played at school. She has carefully selected photographs to illustrate her memories, so that if you grew up in the 1940s or 1950s in the rural midwest, you'll enjoy this book even if you didn't live there. You might also think, as I did, "Wow--I missed so much by not living on a farm." In a way, it's everyone's story of a time that was more quiet, but still complex and multi-layered. Today's helicopter parents will be horrified at some of the tasks children, especially farm children, used to do. Mucking stalls, digging thistles in the hot sun, driving tractors, baling hay, etc. And the discipline! Oh. My. Goodness. Our teachers actually swatted us and expected respect and good behavior.

Nancy and I were friends in grade school and we both had horses. I didn't even realize she had four horses (couldn't believe she actually sold Flicka!) because we pretty much settled into separate groups when we got to high school, and only recently through class reunions have reconnected.

This is a huge accomplishment--don't miss it if you grew up in the area! You will need to contact Nancy personally to get a copy--she has them printed as she gets orders.

With Nancy (center) and Lynne last April.