|
Hello --
Only five more days 'til Christmas! I hope you will spend it with your loved ones close. Christmas Eve, 1941, the Japanese Army marched toward Manila, set to conquer the Philippines. American Army Nurse Hattie Brantley and two dozen other military nurses had been ordered to join the army convoy retreating from the city. "Girls, pack your bags," the medical commander told them. "You're going to Bataan tomorrow." "Some of us had never heard of Bataan," said Hattie. "On the morning of Christmas Eve, we loaded into buses and open trucks, dressed in our white duty uniforms, a World War I helmet on our heads, and a gas mask ear our sides and headed for the Bataan Peninsula." Hattie was from Jefferson, Texas, and had only arrived in the Philippines that summer. The group headed for Bataan became the first group of American military women ordered into combat. |
|
Read More
|
|
|
Abrams Will Publish My Next Book |
I'm so excited to announce I have signed a new book deal. It's a biography of Fannie Sellins, a labor organizer shot down in cold blood in Pennsylvania's Black Valley in 1919. I know this is not news to some of you who have been hearing me talk about this book project since 2008, but there is something about signing the actual papers that makes me want to shout from the rooftops. The book will not be published for another two years, but meantime, let me tell you a little about Fannie. Fannie Never Flinched Fannie was an ordinary American girl, who grew up in a time like today-a time of rapid change and economic crisis that called for extraordinary leadership. She lived in the early 1900's, the Gilded Age of
American Industrialization when the Carnegies and Morgans wore jewels and their workers wore rags. Fannie Sellins dreamed America could rise to its ideals of equality and justice for all. When immigrant women earning poverty wages in St. Louis sweatshops voted to strike, Fannie Sellins was there. When destitute coal mining families dared to
unionize in West Virginia, and were thrown from their homes, Fannie was there. When miners in Pennsylvania walking the picket line were threatened, beaten and shot by hired gunmen, Fannie was there. On the eve of the Great Steel Strike of 1919, mine operators in Western Pennsylvania would have paid any price to get rid of Fannie. But even though they threatened to kill her, Fannie refused to go away. As long as she lived,
she walked the picket lines and helped others find the courage to walk with her. Here's the part that made me love Fannie. During a coal miners strike in Colliers, West Virginia, a federal judge threatened to arrest anyone who spoke in favor of the union "in their homes or on the streets."
Fannie didn't flinch. The strikers threw a huge rally to show their strength. Townspeople came out to support them. Fannie knew if she spoke out, she might be arrested. She climbed right up on the platform. "I am free and I have a right to walk or talk any place in this country," Fannie said. "The only wrong I have done is to take shoes to the children whose bare
feet are blue from the cold of winter. And if it's wrong to put shoes on those little feet, then I will continue to do wrong as long as I have hands and feet to crawl and do it." Fannie's philosophy on union organizing was simple. "Men won't strike if their families are hungry," she said, and put her efforts into procuring food and clothing for women and children in the desperate
coal camps. I'm in the last stages of writing the manuscript now. It's due January 15th. So, I better get back to work. Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear
from you. I know your time is valuable and endeavor to honor that. I will never spam you or sell your email address, you can unsubscribe anytime with a single mouse click. If you know anyone who might enjoy this newsletter, please forward it. I have a passion sharing for stories about people facing great adversity with courage. Through my writing and research I have learned that our darkest moments offer the opportunity to
discover strength and our own inner compass toward the greater good. To find out more about my books, my calendar or how I help students, teachers and librarians visit my website. www.MaryCronkFarrell.com Thank you! Mary
Questions? Comments? Contact me at MaryCronkFarrell@gmail.com Click here to subscribe to this newsletter |
|
