Welcome to the official website of Martha Brabant Pritchard, author of War Stories for Children and facilitator of the books A Gift to the Future from the Leisure Village Writers and More Gifts: From the Leisure Village Writers and Friends.
- War Stories of Children
- Welcome!
- Return from Storytelling
- Fun with Owls and Monkeys Bread
- German Folktale from Book
We have good news!
Release Date: June 4, 2018
More Gifts: From the Leisure Village Writers and Friends
Gathered and Edited by Our Friend Martha Brabant Pritchard
Following the success of their first book, A Gift to the Future from the Leisure Village Writers, released December, 2016, this group of writers, ages 87 to 102, invited like-minded community members to join in their second anthology. Stories of Aroostook County harken to a time when the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad provided transportation for a Christmas shopping adventure in Presque Isle – seven miles away. Children of potato farmers earned a college education by working the fields, eating very little, and sometimes living in unheated, tarpaper shacks off campus. Big dreams and courage were the forces that drove them. Stories of the Aroostook River and other wilderness camp destinations from the early 1900’s entertain and inspire. Poetry, biographical sketches, and vintage photographs carry the message of joy, heartache, and perseverance that framed the past, making this a must read for any lover of Maine, Aroostook, and rural life.
A Gift to the Future is a collection of stories and poetry that takes a nostalgic—sometimes comical, sometimes tragic—look at life in Aroostook County during the Great Depression, World War II, and beyond. The writers of Leisure Village, a retirement community in Presque Isle, Maine, have a vision: to share their stories with future generations. A Gift to the Future is the result of that vision. It is a treasure trove of local history and personal anecdotes about logging, potato farming, homemaking, railroads, winter sports, nature, hunting, education, entertainment, family life, and more—none of it found in history books. Randomly open this volume and hear the voices of elders up to 100 years old, lacing their stories with humor, sharp insight, and awe of such things as modern plumbing, travel, and cooking. Peek into windows of the past and come away with a richer appreciation of life today. This book provides a picture of rural life in the twentieth century but it also poses a challenge to others, both old and young, to “write it down.” The lives we live hold important messages for others beyond our own experiences. For years, these thirteen writers recorded memories, wrote stories and poems, jotted down simple notes to themselves. Today those notes and stories form the backbone of A Gift to the Future.