It’s been a wicked winter in many parts of the country, but life has gone on apace in Holling’s hometown of Leslie. Joan Hoffman has been wonderful about keeping me up-to-date on events there. She wrote a few weeks ago, “The little country church that the Holling's ancestors helped build at Holling Corners in 1900 probably will close soon. Their average attendance has been only eight members and they are running out of resources…. I have a picture of one of the stained glass windows in memory of the Holling family.
Two of Holling's nieces came to Leslie not long ago. The niece from California, Patricia, was there to visit her 99-yr.-old aunt. The Michigan niece, Linda, brought along some things for the museum as she was downsizing her home, Joan reports. Among the items was the plaque presented to Linda in 2000 as the Leslie High School honored her uncle posthumously at a class reunion. “Linda accepted it on behalf of the family. The Leslie mascot for their athletic teams is the Blackhawk, which is what the figure represents,” Joan explains.
The California niece goes by the last name of Clancy now, according to Joan. “Her given name was Patricia (Pat). Holling actually suggested naming her Patricia, an Irish name to go with her maiden name Clancy. The family seemed to have a habit of changing names.”
A final news note has to do with composer, musician and scholar Andre Myers. Mr. Myers, a native of Ann Arbor, composed a piece for narrator and orchestra entitled “Paddle-to-the-Sea.” It’s on an album called “Magical Tunes and Marvelous Tales” A link to this album, performed by the Plymouth Canton Symphony, can be found at http://www.michiganphil.org/Media/CD.html. His work has been called “intense and lyrical…combining narrative drama, poetry, and color.” His performances have also been an educational event for school children. Joan recalls attending a concert in which Mr. Myers narrated the piece before an audience of hundreds of fourth grade children. She recalls that this was made more memorable by having lunch and a conversation with the composer.
Hi Walt. Thanks for the Holling updates. I just took delivery of a first edition of Pagoo. I ordered it online from a bookshop in Salt Lake City. They posted it to me in NZ and it arrived in perfect condition. This was the only book in the series that I have never seen here in NZ.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear it! It's wonderful finding old books. I just found a copy of "Little Black Sambo," and the dealer said it's rare because it's "racist" and Bill Cosby the actor is buying the copyright to ensure it will never be republished.
ReplyDeleteHello! I'm delighted to have found this blog! I first became acquainted with Holling's work when I read "The Book of Cowboys" in elementary school. Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase a copy of that book on eBay. I would deeply appreciate it if sometime soon you could do a blog entry about "The Book of Cowboys," along with its predecessor, "The Book of Indians." Thanks and keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nudge. I don't know that much about "Cowboys" and "Indians," which means I'd better start doing some research. So glad you enjoy the blog. It's my labor of love and a tip of the hat to good people in Holling's hometown and at the museum there.
ReplyDeleteMy used copy of "The Book of Indians" has arrived from Amazon and I'm reading/critiquing it now. So curious to see the Holling's writing was so less polished in '35 than it was a decade later.
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