Norma Jean LutzRecensioni

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What makes a Christian?

This story was interesting. In the beginning of the book, "A Note to Readers" explains that the Morgan family is fictional, but the events are real. In 1896 schoolchildren helped move the Stevens house to Minnehaha Park. Also, the problem of alcohol abuse was a serious problem, as it is today.

The story starts in the Fair Oaks neighborhood of Minneapolis in the spring. Heber Meeks was asking Peter Morgan how long it would be until they could go to the clubhouse. Peter was beating the last rug that he had to do. When Peter's sister, Carol, arrived, asking why he should have a day to play while she had to work, Heber looked worried. Peter asked Heber to help carry the rug back into the house. Stella heard them as they took the rug into the house. Stella's maid apron was dirty from the work she had been doing. Once the boys had rolled out the rug in the parlor, they hurried to the toolshed where they grabbed paint & brushed, then headed toward the empty lot on Shady Lane. Avery Norton, their other friend, was waiting for them at their clubhouse. There wasn't much in their clubhouse since it was only a couple weeks old. They had built it themselves from scraps of lumber they picked up, with some help from Heber's older brother, Martin. They decided to name their club The Shady Vinewood Club. Then they proceeded to paint their signs & fix the roof. As Peter painted the sign he was thinking about the blue bicycle he wanted. He decided to ask his father if he could have it for his birthday in September. When he realized that there was paint on his clothes, he was afraid his mother wouldn't allow him to get the bicycle.

I really enjoyed the way this book tells about the Civil War & the people involved in it.

In the beginning of this story, the Allerton's were having a New Year's Eve Celebration the fourth year of the War Between the States. Elise Allerton & her friend Vera Latham were helping Berdeen Obanion, the Irish maid, serve the guests with heavy trays of food. President Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation a year ago, and now freed slaves, known as contraband, were being allowed to fight in the war. Elise heard people discussing this and other aspects of the war as she walked through the people. Afterward Elise went to the playroom where the children were gathered. She had them line up from the oldest to the youngest. Elise had chosen humorous recitations for all the children to present tot he adults. She made sure they all knew their parts before telling Berdeen that they were ready. First Cleve Bayless, then Adam, next Daniel sounding like he was already an attorney like his father, each of the children had a part. At times they had to wait for the laughter to subside before continuing. The grand finale was to be a recitation entitled "How We Hunted a Mouse", which she had copied so that Daniel would be able to read it. Instead Daniel recited, "Our Flag", an essay by A. L. Stone, which reminded everyone of the war! Daniel had memorized it months ago, and by the end everyone was standing. The women's faces were covered with tears. It ended with "Rally round the flag" and several voiced the opinion that this should be the year the war ended. Despite that everyone thought her a heroine for ending the program that way, she had wanted everyone to laugh & be happy, because "Laughter is the best medicine."

In the note to readers, we're informed that the Fisk & Allerton families are fictional, but the situations are not. The families of the men who went to fight struggled to survive. The threatened attack on Cincinnati by Southern troops during the summer of 1862 became known as the Siege of Cincinnati.

In the story,m David was working with his baseball glove. He was pitching to Ross, who was learning to bat. David told Ross to keep the bat level. Most of the boys didn't want to play baseball now that the war had started. David tried to defend the way he was instructing Ross. David's twin sister, Daria, was a liked by all his pals. Ross liked pretending to spy of the troops, pretending that the troops were Rebs, but they were Union. They had to take their baseball things home, but if Mama saw them, she'd probably have things for them to do. After dropping their things off, they went to the park to watch the local regiments. They crawled on a roof to "spy" on them. The troops had no military order. They pretended to shoot the "enemy" when the owner of the shed came up & chased them off. They planned to go to Camp Harrison after school was out and Ross commented that he heard of a boy who was barely 13 who had joined up as a drummer. Ross thought he looked 13 & wanted to try joining up. When they got home, Lieutenant Enoch Stevenson's horse was hitched near the carriage house. He had been courting their older sister, Tina, but not at this time of day. Ross left for home, but David & Daria went to find out what the lieutenant was doing there at that time of day.

This story starts with Meg Allerton going to an art exhibit at the Ohio Mechanic's Institute. Mr. Foote, president of the Society for Promotion of Useful Knowledge, wanted to arouse community interest in fine arts & mechanical arts. Meg loved art! She loved the paintings & wondered how they were made, until she & her friend got in trouble for lagging behind. While at the exhibit, she noticed another young man on the grounds that she had never seen in school. Meg's brother, Fred, always made fun of her for not paying attention, but she refused to speak unkindly of him. Meg's friend Susannah encouraged her with her art work.

Sammy Joe & Fred Allerton are working on a steam-driven engine. It nearly filled the basement of the Allerton Furniture Factory. Fred had just finished installing improvements in it. The engine helped turn out parts for the furniture, but Fred's father didn't like the noise. Fred had installed 2 fireboxes, and Sammy Joe was shoveling coal. Fred's frugal father was glad it was working properly, given what the improvements had cost. After going over the boiler, Fred went to check on the rest of the machinery. Alroy, an Irish worker, commented on how well it ran. Fred also had installed a whistle to mark the noonday break. During his break Fred did experiments with chemistry & electricity...when he knocked over a container with water & phosphorus in it, & burnt a hole in the floor! Fred's father was NOT happy!

This book is a story of how dry weather effected towns along a river. It also contains lessons on judging by appearances.