First a little background. Before Mr W and I moved to PA, we belonged to the YOUMC - The York/Ogunquit United Methodist Church in York, Maine. I had heard that the United Methodist Women at the church were going to read The Spruce Gum Box for one of their book club meetings. Well, they did it in January and I just received this note about the evening. It took my breath away. They even decorated the table for the night with items from the book. As I read this to my daughter, I realized just how much love was wrapped up in the note paper. Believe me, I blubbered. My heart is filled with appreciation for their support of my work. I share their words.
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Dear Betty,
If a small book club meeting goes on for two and a half hours, that's a sign of a good book. If the meeting ends with the question, "okay, which was your favorite part?" and continues on until we've retold most of the story ... that too is a good sign! That is just what happened at our U.M.W. meeting that took place in January. What a wonderful way to start the new year! Great fellowship and a renewed appreciation of living in the state of Maine. Now we are excited to share the story with friends and family as our books are being passed around and the discussion continues.
Our discussion covered everything from the history of Maine, to U.S. history, to the hardships of early settlers and how we would have coped. We continued with character studies, relationships, and reflections of ourselves. A 4th grade teacher longed for a revised version of the book to use as a teaching tool. She is currently teaching the history of Maine to her students in York.
We must admit, we did in fact marvel as we remembered our lost, but not forgotten dear friend Betty. We're so thankful for your taking the time to write and share this story with all who have the privilege of reading it. We picture our demur friend Betty with the sparkly eyes, sweet smile and quiet nature. Who would have known of the creativity and great knowledge swarming in your head and needing to be shared? We can't wait until your next book comes out! Keep those stories coming.
In keeping with the theme of the book, we set our table with a centerpiece made of two Ball jars with birch bark ribbons tied around the top. The jars were filled with yellow eyed beans with a candle on top. These were surrounded with sprigs of pine. Lumberjack cookies were a treat that everyone wanted the recipe for. We also enjoyed maple leaf cookies and maple sugar candies. We didn't have time to build a birch bark canoe ("with seats") as suggested. Maybe next time.
Thank you from your friends at the United Methodist Church in York, Maine.
When we hear the "Chick a dee dee deeeees" , we'll reply, "Hi Betty and Cal!"
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What more can I possibly say?

