Traverse City Record-Eagle

Books

July 19, 2008

On Books: Rural Michigan backdrops frame several new memoirs

Antrim County, bus and mail routes set scenes

BY AL PARKER

Humorist Will Rogers noted, "There ain't nothing that breaks up homes, country and nations like somebody publishing their memoirs."

Despite that observation, plenty of authors have put their lives in print, causing a number of memoirs and biographical projects to hit my desk recently.

"Building the American Dream" (AuthorHouse, 468 pages) by northern Michigan broadcaster Gary Knapp is his rags-to-riches story of a boy raised on a small rural farm in southern Michigan who not only accomplished his career goal of becoming a broadcaster, but built his own network of TV stations. It's a hefty book, but one that reads well and is liberally sprinkled with informal photographs of Knapp's career.

Northern Michigan physician Dr. Eileen Schweickert has penned "Funny Farm" (BMS Publishing, 184 pages), which humorously details how a rural lifestyle helped her cope after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. In a radical career change, she's gone from being a small-town family doctor to raising bucking bulls. Schweickert uses humor to share her MS experiences and details how running her ranch has been vital in recovering her health.

"How to Remodel a Man" (St. Martin's Press, 270 pages) is by Petoskey native W. Bruce Cameron, who explains that there are millions of people trying every single day to do the impossible: change men. Cameron has a name for these people -- he calls them "women." Best known as the author behind "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," Cameron offers some chuckle-worthy tips and techniques for making a man more manageable.

Mancelona native Joe Allen looks at two decades of life in Antrim County from 1938 to 1958 in "The House on Leonard Road" (Xlibris, 140 pages). As Allen writes, "It was a time when the Prairie Chicken was plentiful and the deer fed in the daytime with our cattle in the open fields." If you yearn for that nostalgic era, this book might be for you.

Another Antrim County writer, Jerry Newland of Central Lake, has written "The Military Is Like a Cold Shower: Somebody Should Tell You About It Before You Get In" (PublishAmerica, 56 pages). A Coast Guard retiree who also served in the Navy and Marines, Newland offers tell-it-like-it-is advice for anyone contemplating joining the military. This slim book would also be valuable for the spouses, sweethearts and parents of those already serving in our Armed Forces.

"Adventures of Mr. Bill: Humorous Tales from the Life of a School Bus Driver" (Yellow Bus Publishing, 94 pages) is from northern Michigan author Bill Parrish and illustrator Dick Evans. Here's a fun read for anyone who ever rode a school bus, sent a child off on a school bus or piloted one of those big yellow schooners. It's filled with one-page anecdotes about Parrish's adventures behind the wheel.

On a similar note is "Once Upon a Mail Route" (EDCO Publishing, 48 pages) by author John Mooy and illustrator Wendy Anderson Halperin. Mooy's father was a rural mail carrier in Marcellus in southwestern Michigan. This book pays homage to those who perform this important service.

Al Parker, of Traverse City, is an award-winning writer and lifelong bibliophile. He can be reached at aparker48@aol.com

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