Page 15 - Newsletter_Winter_2021
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The four books I’ve chosen to highlight all take 1976. Billed as a “Northern Maine Crime Novel”,
place in the Shiretown. Two are novels and two are Ferguson’s Trip offers a great deal of familiarity,
memoirs. These are four out of many. They are very especially if you grew up telling or hearing stories
different, but united in a common bond. They are about the Haynesville Woods. Snowmobiles, hockey
all available on Amazon, where you can find more games against rival teams from New Brunswick,
information on the authors as well as their other hanging in Market Square during snow storms…this
books. I hope you will enjoy reading them as much was the landscape when we were growing up.
as I have.
The main character, Thane Ferguson, is planning a
cross-country trip to the Grand Canyon. Thane lives
at his family’s cabin in Haynesville. He and his wife
Show Me Good Land are not divorced, but live apart. She has an apartment
Shonna Milliken Humphrey in Market Square across from the restaurant they own,
Down East Books the Black Hawk Diner. For a multitude of reasons,
2011 he just can’t seem to get his trip started. While his
This was the book that got me started. The story takes trip is the central focus of the story, there are many
place in the fictional town of Fort Angus, fictional in other things happening which lead to a dramatic and
name only as anyone who has lived in the Shiretown exciting climax. Much of the action in Houlton takes
will instantly recognize it as Houlton. It’s interesting place at the diner. I imagined that the diner was what
that all other towns in the book are identified by their many of us would call Dana’s or Cleale’s.
actual name and only Houlton has been changed. This book is dedicated to the proprietors and patrons
Although the story starts with a murder, I wouldn’t of Sadie’s Bakery.
call this a murder mystery. It’s more of a story of The following two books are very similar. Both
returning to our roots and the realization that our authors are 1951 graduates of Houlton High School.
memories are often much better than the reality. The Both books are memoirs of growing up in the
story shows a darker side of Houlton and shows a 1930s and 1940s. And while they have much in
town in extreme poverty that is struggling to find common, they are very different perspectives. I highly
its identity. The animosity between different socio- recommend reading them both.
economic groups exists in any small town and is
very evident in this story. You may not know the
characters by name, but you will certainly know
them by personality. They are your friends and your Letters to Lyla
neighbors and despite challenges, they are what give a Bob Fields
small town its character. CreateSpace
2012
Shonna is an outstanding writer and this novel has
received critical acclaim. Her descriptive narrative will Bob Fields has become a favorite among Houlton
take the reader into a familiar world which time may readers. He has published both novels and memoirs.
have glossed over. One thing that is very obvious in his writings is that
he really enjoyed growing up in Houlton. I’ve read
several of his books over the past year, but this one
was my favorite. It was inspired by the birth of his
Ferguson’s Trip great-grand daughter, Lyla. He set out to document
Trevor Holliday his coming-of-age years knowing that when she would
Barnstork Press read this book, she would be the same age that he was
2020 in the stories. Each chapter represents a different
This is the only featured book by an author who did adventure and is addressed as a letter, Dear Lyla. The
not graduate from Houlton High School. Trevor left chapters are short and easy to read. My favorite stories
Houlton in 1971, but says that he is still in close were the ones about the “Charles Street Gang”. It
contact with some of his classmates in the Class of may have been a different time, but the experiences
www.houltonalumni.com PAGE 15
