MSI Press Blog

Precerpt (excerpt prior to publication from the forthcoming memoir,  In with the East: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life  by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver The Lilac Bush Across the driveway from the apple orchard and in front of the house—facing the winding rural roadway that snaked up and down the hills of Acton—stood the lilac bush. That old road wandered off in one direction toward Milton Mills, New Hampshire, and in the other toward Lebanon, Maine. In fact, the road itself divided Maine from New Hampshire as it crossed the river and passed the tanning mill. The state line was unmarked, but the family whose house straddled it knew exactly where it lay. The township boundary, they told us, was decided by the location of their master bedroom. One year, when they became fed up with Acton, they simply switched the master bedroom with another room and thereby "moved" their house to Lebanon. They have lived in Lebanon ever since. The lilac bush—lavish with purple lilacs, the state flower of Ne...

  Precerpt (excerpt prior to publication from the forthcoming memoir,  In with the East: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life  by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver Animals of Acton: Sanctuary, Scavengers, and Sentiment Acton had its share of animals—some wild, some domesticated, all woven into the rhythm of our lives. The deer were the most majestic, but in a humbler way than the moose. During hunting season, they’d gather in our swale, grand creatures with 8-point racks among them. Somehow, they knew our land was safe. It was posted  No Hunting , and so was my uncle’s. But that didn’t stop the out-of-town fools from skulking in the woods and firing into the fields. One year, one of them shot my uncle’s prize Guernsey cow—brown, unmistakably not a deer. My uncle caught the man trying to make off with the carcass, certain that he had just bagged a deer, and grabbed him by the ear. And then the captive had to listen to a tongue-lashing! We paid a price for being a deer sanctuary. The deer...

  Precerpt (excerpt prior to publication from the forthcoming memoir,  In with the East: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life  by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver Acton Fair               Every summer, the Acton Fair transformed our quiet Maine town into something electric. For a few days, the dusty roads led to carnival lights, livestock ribbons, and the unmistakable scent of fried dough. It was the social event of the year—part agricultural showcase, part family reunion, and part theater of the absurd.              The fairgrounds buzzed with energy. Farmers displayed their prized heifers, kids clutched cotton candy like currency, and all over the grounds unknown people appeared; those would be the folks from all over Maine who made the trek to Acton each year for its famous fair. The fair was pure Acton: 4-H, farmers, livestock, produce, homemade articles; local, proud, a...

  Precerpt (excerpt prior to publication from the forthcoming memoir,  In with the East: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life  by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver The Pea Pickers Not only did we six to eight siblings—two arriving after I’d already left for college—harvest produce from our own truck farm in the valley swale, where we grew corn, beans, peas, and berries with me as the designated berry picker (thanks to an allergy that kept me from sneaking bites), but we were also “farmed out” to the big truck farm at the top of the hill.  It was a lot of work, and the pay was measly—three cents a pound for beans, five cents a pound for peas—but we were kids, and the money was ours to spend as we pleased. And there was plenty we were pleased to spend it on. Every morning, after finishing our own farm chores, we would hop up on the tailgate of Farmer Hobbs’ truck, legs dangling, hair blowing in the wind, singing and chattering the short way to the top of the hill—half a mile, maybe a little...