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This novel started with a conversation I had with my secretary's
husband, Worth Videto, sitting at their kitchen table one evening.
Worth shared with me a few examples of small-town medicine from the
life of his own grandfather, Dr. James Worth Townsend, of
Vandercook Lake, Michigan. Dr. Townsend's half-century of medicine
was very similar to that of my father, Dr. Walter E. Eells. But
what really interested me at the time was Worth's recounting of
some unusual experiences his grandfather had as a young man in the
summer of 1916. Here are the true elements of the story to the best
of my knowledge: James Townsend--as a young medical student at the
University of Michigan--did travel to the Rio Grande border with
Mexico that very same summer; he worked at a general store owned by
a relative in Los Indios, Texas; during the summer the Texas
Rangers "commandeered" him for some medical assistance near the
border, and his service occasionally meant wearing a pistol; he did
shoot a rabbit on the first try; he reported in a letter on the
murder of a Mexican by a Black man; as a result of the murder was
told to order mourning cloth at the store for the funeral; he
mentioned a bad drought in his area of Texas; and was offered a
part ownership in the store if he decided to remain in Texas. In
the novel James Townsend becomes the fictional character, John
McFarland. Just about everything else in this novel is also
fiction, or historical fiction, since I try to honor the overall
historical context and have my fictional characters interact with
real historical actors. For example, the governor of Texas at this
time was, in fact, named Ferguson; Pancho Villa's raid into New
Mexico had just occurred; the border between Mexico and Texas was
violent and chaotic; Texas Rangers had a tough time guarding the
border and keeping the peace; and German spies were present in
Mexico doing their best to keep America from entering the war in
Europe. In sum, Worth shared some stories with me which I chose to
expand, embellish, and turn into a novel. Readers will have to
decide if it works.
Humorous and poignant true stories about a physician (and his wife)
who with an office in his home and his own private hospital across
the street practised in a small town in upper New York State for
over sixty years.
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Paperback
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R398
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