Bittersweet Beginnings: A Sketchbook of a Great Depression Boyhood by James V. Wyman
Bittersweet Beginnings: A Sketchbook of a Great Depression Boyhood by James V. Wyman
A newspaper editor’s memories of his Depression-era boyhood in New England has been published by Plaidswede Publishing Co. of Concord, N.H. “Bittersweet Beginnings,” by James V. Wyman, retired executive editor of The Providence Journal, is a chronicle of a boyhood overshadowed but not overwhelmed by the Depression. Comprised of 23 essays, with prologue and epilogue, it offers readers insightful reflections, observations and snapshot images of one boy’s odyssey through the economic nightmare that was the Great Depression for his family and millions of others.
Ironically, the journey brought the author considerable joy, even as it schooled him in despair and the grimmer facts of life along the way. And, occasionally, it led him into wayward activities that tried the patience of his parents and his teachers.
For eight years, until he approached 12 in 1935, Marshall's Corner, a rural neighborhood on the western outskirts of Brockton, Mass., was young Wyman's beloved universe. And the setting for "Bittersweet Beginnings." From this stage, readers are introduced to the boy, his home and family, his inner thoughts, concerns and interests, his favorite haunts and games. They also meet an arresting array of relatives, friends and neighbors, who enriched his life in varied, often enduring, ways. The story is told in the clear, often lyrical, voice of an author familiar with his subjects and the landscape they inhabit.
In "Hard Times Shared," readers learn how the boy, concerned about mounting family debt and his father's lack of steady work, vowed to share his parents' worries in silence, day by day. Among his concerns and regrets was the fact that he seldom saw his parents smile or laugh aloud.
But he embraced pleasure where he found it. In "The Brockton Fair," Wyman subtitled the chapter: "A Fence Climb Into Paradise." And he and his friends made annual pilgrimages to that "paradise," scaling the fences of their heaven on each occasion.
Wyman worked for The Providence Journal for more than 44 years as a reporter and in a succession of editing and administrative roles. He retired in December of 1995 as vice president and executive editor. In 1989 he received the Yankee Quill Award from the New England Chapter Society of Professional Journalists and the New England Society of Newspaper Editors for contributions to excellence in New England journalism. He is a graduate of Boston University and a veteran of U.S. Army service in New Guinea and the Philippines during World War II. He lives in Wakefield, R.I. with his wife, Viola.
"I had to publish this book," said Plaidswede publisher George Geers. "During my years as the editor of daily newspapers in New England, I served on committees with Jim and always admired his views on the newspaper industry. He served as a role model not only for staff at The Providence Journal but for editors throughout the region. That I was given the opportunity to publish ‘Bittersweet Beginnings' just continues the journey of two editors," said Geers.
Boy, would I like to go “point-counterpoint” with Mr. Smith. I am the author of “Year of the Hangman: George Washington’s Campaign Against the iroquois” (Westholme 2005).
The review was going fine until the last line. One has to remember the Six Nations of Iroquois were not some kind of eighteenth century Sierra Club.
Washington’s orders to Sullivan never said (as I recall) to “extirpate” the Iroquois. In fact, the primary mission was to “not merely overrun but destroy” their towns and cornfields.” this was done for three reasons.
One: After more than two years of brutal raids by pro-British Iroquois warriors against lightly defended American frontier communities, it was an effort to “chastise” or “scourge (punish) those of the Six Nations as were hostile to the United States.” The mission was also to “countenance (encourage) the friendly ones”! Nowhere did Washington order, nor at any time did Sullivan’s army engage in, the massacre or indiscriminate killing of Indian men, women and children.
Two: The raid was intended to give the pro-British Iroquois an opportunity to revert to neutrality and show their sincerity by befriending the U.S. and turning away from the Crown.
Three: Another mission, overlooked by many historians, much less historical novelists, was to force the British pay a heavy financial and logistical price for enlisting Indian allies to wage a war of terror against American frontier communities, by forcing them to support their Iroquois surrogates with an already strained supply system.
Glenn
Mr. Williams,
Thanks for your comments. I’ve ordered your book and look forward to reading it.
My novel is written from the Seneca point of view.
Some of my sources:
“Sullivan’s orders were to destroy totally the villages of the Iroquois …” Anthony F.C. Wallace, “The Death and Rebirth of the Seneca.”
Washington would “‘extirpate them from the Country.’ They were to call him ‘Town Destroyer’.” . . . (Sullivan) received formal instructions for his expedition from Washington: ‘The immediate objects are the total destruction and devastation of their settlements…”
Washington wrote to Lafayette on July 4, 1779 about the need to extirpate the Iroquois. From “Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution, Selected letters..” is this from Washington Sept. 30, 1779: “By my last advices from Genl. Sullivan of the 9th. Instt. I am led to conclude that ere this he has completed the entire destruction of the whole country of the Six Nations, excepting so much of it as is inhabited by the Oneidas who have always lived in amity with us.” (And dozens of Oneida braves served directly under Lafayette).
Yours,
James Herbert Smith
I thoroughly enjoyed Wah-say-lan … its an engaging read. I’m a native of the Finger Lakes region making it even better. And I learned a lot of the history of the Senecas and the Six Nations even after studying it in grade school so many decades ago.
My particular interest is in the Senecas perspective of the giving land which is mentioned often. I’m interested as I begin writing a sequel to my first novel, Twisted Vines, which takes place in the Finger Lake vineyards. In my second book I’m hoping to reflect on the Native American heritage of the vineyard lands.
My congratulations to James Herbert Smith on bringing the history of the Senecas to life, from their perspective.
Frankly, the book is a better read than I expected … and many contemporary writers could learn from James on how to write a sensuous scene. (But, what happened to that island in Canandaigua Lake?)
Many thanks, Art Maurer