Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We’re so pleased you could stop by. Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
Let me assure you, my life isn’t very exciting. I was born in Laurel, Maryland and have lived here all my life. Despite the proximity to our nation’s capital, I’ve only been to Washington a handful of times. I was sixteen when the stock market crashed, and our family did the best we could to get through the depression. Then my father died, and Mother took ill. Fortunately, I was able to secure a job at the public library while being her caregiver. It was challenging, but others have difficulties, too. Mother passed shortly before the end of the war.
I love books. What is like to be a librarian?
I’m no longer at the library, but it was a joy to work there. We were very blessed with copious donations, and it was my job to process them. That may sound tedious, but I was able to meet each book as it came through the door. I wrote down the ones I wanted to read, {smiles}but realized nearly all of them ended up on the list. I also answered people’s questions or recommended authors or titles they might like, and of course, I checked out the books to the patrons. A wonderful job.
Where do you work now?
I am Fort Meade which is just about equal distance between Baltimore and Washington, DC. The facility was put in place in 1917 to prepare the men for going overseas during the Great War. Nearly 400,000 of our soldiers trained there, but for this last conflict over three and a half million of our boys passed through. At 70,000 men and women currently, the fort is like a small city. I type the discharge paperwork for the men. It’s not exactly doing something for the war effort, but I feel I’m making a difference.
Tell me a bit about Ray Fisher?
{blushes} I, um, met him at Meade. He was one of the men who came through my line. He was a Seabee, part of the Naval Construction Battalion…CB, get it? Anyway, he ended up helping very dear friends of mine, the Feeneys. They’re an elderly couple, and Ray is an experienced general contractor. He had, er, has his own business. He has performed many repairs for the couple. Even though he’s a brawny man and can seem overpowering, he’s quite gentle. He helped Mrs. Feeney during one of Mr. Feeney’s episodes.
Rumor has it that Ray is German. Doesn’t that bother you?
Ray’s ancestry is German, but that doesn’t bother me in the least. His parents emigrated to the U.S. after the last war. They were destitute and anxious to make a new start. Ray was a young boy when they arrived. Being German doesn’t make one a Nazi. I wish more people would realize that fact.
What is one thing you’d like readers to take away from your story?
Joy is possible in spite of our circumstances, not because of them. Too often we base our happiness on what is happening in our lives. Joy is not happiness; it is an inner gladness, one that comes from our faith in God. We can have joy no matter what is going on around us, even war.
About Francine’s Foibles
She’s given up hope. He never had any. Will they find it together?
World War II is finally over, and America is extra grateful as the country approaches this year’s Thanksgiving. But for Francine life hasn’t changed. Despite working at Fort Meade processing the paperwork for the thousands of men who have returned home, she’s still lonely and very single. Is she destined for spinsterhood?
Grateful that his parents anglicized the family surname after emigrating to the United States after the Great War, first-generation German-American Ray Fisher has done all he can to hide his heritage. He managed to make it through this second “war to end all wars,” but what American woman would want to marry into a German family. Must he leave the country to find wedded bliss?
Linda Shenton Matchett writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame) and has lived in historical places all her life. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII and a former trustee for her local public library. She now lives in central New Hampshire where she explores the history of this great state and immerses herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors.
Novel PASTimes 