First Cousin Craig Little
My cousin Craig called last night from his home in upstate New York. Craig Little, PhD; recently retired sociology/anthropology professor from SUNY (State University of New York) Cortland; the eldest of my father’s two nephews and, in one of those genetic anomalies, dad’s (almost) spitting image! I hadn’t heard his voice for ten or more years and haven’t seen him since our 2004 Oysterville Sesquicentennial.
He and his wife Elaine have been spending time in Hartford, Connecticut, settling the estate of Elaine’s mother. It’s a long process, apparently, and has given them a chance to get to know the town. Among other discoveries are a number of recently restored murals done under the auspices of FDR’s WPA projects. But, the real reason Craig called is that, somewhere along the way, they ran across a small book called Oysterville: Poems edited by Laurel Peterson.
Oysterville: Poems
“Really? Oysterville not Osterville?” I asked. Osterville on New York’s Long Island has been known to be confused with ours. But, no. This was Oysterville: Poems and Craig was pretty sure there had never been an Oysterville, Connecticut. (There is an Oysterville Vodka, however, distilled in Florida and distributed throughout the eastern U.S. Who knew?) Craig had searched “Oysterville” on his computer and what came up was “Oysterville Daybook” by me. And my most recent entry (yesterday’s!) had included mention of the WPA. Wow! That might be only one or two degrees of separation…
I’m eager to communicate with Laurel Peterson, an English Professor at Norwalk Community College. I have a few questions for her. But first I want to read the poems. The book should be here tomorrow.
What a fascinating discovery. Hope you’ll keep us apprised of your discoveries.