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IN THE SHADOW OF THE COURTHOUSE: MEMOIR
OF THE 1940s WRITTEN AS A NOVEL (2003): Imagine coming of age in Clinton,
Iowa in the middle of the United States in the middle of the
century, and in the middle of this farm belt community of 33,000,
snuggled against the muddy Mississippi River during World War
II. It is in this working class climate that the author came
of age In the Shadow of the Courthouse, while the nation struggled
to come of age in the shadow of the atomic bomb. There was no
television, mega-sports, big automobiles, or manicured lawns.
There was radio, movies, high school sports, the Clinton Industrial
Baseball League, where men too young or too old to go to war
played for the fun of it. Clintonians had victory gardens, drove
old jalopies, took the bus or rode their bicycles to work. It
was a time when the four faces of the magnificent Clinton County
Courthouse clock chimed on the half hour, and threw a metaphorical
shadow over young people’s lives. This made certain they
would not be late for meals made from victory garden staples.
The courthouse neighborhood had most stay-at-home mothers in
two-parent families. Few parents managed to get beyond grammar
school, nearly all worked in Clinton factories, or on the railroad.
Divorce was as foreign as an ancestral language. It was a time
in hot weather that people slept with their families in Riverview
Park, left windows open, doors unlocked, bicycles on the side
of the house, and if they had automobiles, keys in the car, knowing
neither neighbor nor stranger would disturb their possessions.
In winter, schools never closed, even when snow banks were four
feet high. This is a narrative snapshot with core neighborhood
activities of young people against the backdrop of the courthouse,
St. Patrick’s School, Riverview Stadium, downtown Clinton
and Lyons, Bluff Boulevard, Hoot Owl Hollow, Mount St. Clare
College, Mill Creek, Beaver Slough, Joyce Slough, the churches,
schools, and hospitals throughout the city, U.S. Army’s
Schick General Hospital, which brought the war to this place,
tending battlefield casualties, the USO, Chicago & North
Western Railway, Clinton Foods, Dupont, and many other industrial
work places, which were working hard toward the war effort, as
seen through the impressionistic eyes of the author, as a boy
from age eight to thirteen. It was also a time when kids created
their own play, as parents were too tired or too involved in
the struggle to make a living to pay them much mind. Clinton
youngsters would never know such Darwinian freedom, or its concomitant
brutality again. This is not a history of the times, nor is it
a novel in the conventional sense, but rather the recollections
of a time, place, and circumstance through the author’s
self-confessed imperfect vision. In the Shadow of the Courthouse
promises to awaken that sleeping child in the reader of every
age.
READERS’ COMMENTS:
Tom Dunmore (Freeport, Illinois): This book is extra special
to me since my father, Jack Dunmore, my uncle, Dick Dunmore,
and my grandfather, the courthouse groundskeeper, are all part
of the story . . . This book will bring back memories to anyone
who grew up in a small midwestern city before video games and
100+ channels on TV.
Lynn M. Carr (Houston, Minnesota): While reading this book,
I felt nostalgia for a time and place that will never come
again. I, too, grew up in Clinton, although it was in the 50’s,
but I remember some of the same people. . . When Dr. Fisher
mentions that in recent years St. Pat’s was demolished,
the school and church he writes about, I remembered when I
was there last, at my Bray’s funeral. His coming of age
story reminds me so much of Frank McCourt’s books, and
no wonder, as they are both of Irish families with hardships,
tempers flaring, and the strong love of God and family. . .
Clinton has changed, but the warm loving embrace of a community
that fought for peace and lovingly raised their children hoping,
for a better life for them can be found in the pages of Dr.
Fisher’s book. I wish I knew what became of the boys
who spent their summers playing in the shadows of the courthouse
walls.
Cindy Rockwell (Iowa): This book prompted me to send a note
to the author, something I generally avoid doing. Here is that
note: I just wanted to drop you a line. The book is quite a
joy to read. There are only a few authors that I read on an
ongoing basis, it seems so few have the talent to really pull
a person into the setting that they are writing about. Stephen
King, I believe, is one who can. John Irving, at least in A
Pray for Owen Meany is another. And, although the themes of
those authors may not be compatible with yours, you certainly
have that same ability to really describe without being noticed.
I believe that an author who is able to both capture your attention
with the tale and then disappear, so that you, the reader,
can read unencumbered, has done a wonderful job of telling
the tale. That type of author is the one I enjoy the most,
and I would like to just say Thank You, it is a great read.
Donald E. Farr (Newhall, California): Having much in common
with Dr. James Fisher (both of us practiced industrial psychology
and had highly technical and scientific backgrounds, and both
graduated from Clinton schools the same year and both enjoyed
sports In the Shadow of the Courthouse) makes it understandable
that his personal account of people, places, and events would
help revive memories of my childhood. On the other hand, I
graduated from another Clinton high school (Lyons High, a small
school in the north end of town, and had a much different set
of friends, hobbies, interests, and events that molded that
period of my growth. Our parents were vastly different. What
I found in reading this book is a writing technique allowing
a remarkable capability through explicit detail, to COMPARE
family, friends, and events through recall even though vastly
different. I believe that even if you never heard of Clinton,
Iowa, this fine book will take you back to YOUR childhood.
It will have you remembering where you were and what you were
doing during a specific age or year in your own personal life.
A most wonderful stimulus and a gift of memories for our children.
A great read.
Barbara Hollowell Edgren (Portland, Oregon): Once I started
reading this book, I couldn’t put it down. It brought
back so many memories and triggered so many more. Some things
brought tears to my eyes just thinking of the wonderful and
sometimes sad times I remember as a child born in Clinton,
Iowa, and never leaving until I went to Iowa State . . . Just
reading the names of familiar people and remembering some I
haven’t thought about for many years was so exciting
to me. Anyone growing up in the Midwest can relate to Jim’s
book even if they didn’t grow up in Clinton or know these
people personally. There were so many “Clintons” in
the Midwest and we all had the same type of childhood – simple,
safe, and loving. I have decided to give each of my boys a
book for Christmas because this book depicts my life in the
40’s more than anything I could tell them. Thank you
Jim Fisher for bringing back some very special memories in
my life.
Richard R. Crider (Chula Vista, California): In the Shadow
of the Courthouse depicts an era that should be considered
historical. The trials and tribulations growing up with little
money or influence for most of the children of the time is
portrayed in an excellent manner. Credit was bestowed on those
who help guide us through those times, such as the Clinton
County Sheriff, his Deputies, and many others. It is as honest
as one could expect in trying to dredge up times, dates, places,
etc. It is one of the finest books I have read in the past
20 years. I am not an avid reader, but this book about Clinton,
Iowa, the Mississippi River, and most of all the beloved County
Courthouse and Courtyard, where all of us played baseball,
football, basketball, ice skated, and in general spent very
much of our time in good stead, and as my grandfather stated,
under the scrutiny of fine people. It points to Americans of
all ages and particularly those struggling through their adolescent
years with limited supervision and how they dealt with it.
This is such a book, and Dr. Fisher has done a very commendable
job of penning this story written as a novel.
Karen Ingram (La Quinta, California): I enjoyed this novel
very much and had ordered it from the author prior to its publication.
He is writing about his childhood in Clinton, Iowa and I, too,
was born and educated there. His characters feel very real,
some of them I actually knew, or heard of from older siblings,
but they could be people from just about anywhere during the
40’s. As midwesterners, we tend to appreciate the same
values and ethics, still respecting the views of others. Each
of the characters are “testing the waters” and
trying to find their own way. The visualization of his scenes
makes it easy to understand the times bringing back a period
of history when life seemed simpler, people less rushed, and
a dedication to sports and making friends, made life worthwhile.
Though the economy was tight and work was scarce, people were
creative and Family was very important. I would recommend this
book to anyone wishing to examine their childhood with friends,
and teachers, or mentors, who played such important roles in
shaping their lives. It reads very quickly and is refreshing
in light of today’s standards of behavior.
Jo Rogis (Clinton, Iowa): Really enjoyed reading this book,
course, being from Clinton and living in Clinton during the “era” that
the book was written about, I found it especially interesting.
How someone could write his memories from 50+ years ago and
be so accurate in “remembering” the good old days
of Clinton, Iowa, just amazes me. The author revealed his innermost
thoughts as a child, and some of them were very touching. I
think it must have been difficult for him to reach back into
his past and delve into childhood relationships. Kudos to Dr.
Fisher on the publication of his new book. However, Dr. Fisher
will always be “Rube” to those who knew him in
high school!!
Michael J. Kearney (Los Angeles, California): I was born in
Clinton and was a member of St. Patrick’s parish. I know
most of the people and places described in the book. Jim’s
narrative made it all come alive for me and embraced universal
experiences and feelings that should make this book interesting
to anyone.
Barry R. Greene (Iowa City, Iowa): I grew up just a little
further away from the same Courthouse in Clinton, Iowa as the
author. I am a college professor and must admit my bias early
in that I think I was able, to some extent at least, to look
at the book from the inside out. I knew many of the same people
and certainly all of the social, political and religious institutions.
This is an excellent book about one of the more interesting
times in our history, during and just after World War II. The
memories stem from a midwestern river town, but the most compelling
narrative for me related to the early priority of life’s
choices and circumstances. This is very good reading for anyone
with even the slightest interest in history and the joy and
anguish of growing up.
Sharon Holt (Longwood, Florida): This book was a nostalgic
trip back to my childhood, and consequently back to anyone’s
childhood who was raised in a small midwestern town in the
1940’s when the traditional values of family, education,
religion, sports, and deep personal friendships were the make-up
of common existence. The author has evoked every emotion that
is present in the maelstrom of growing up; creating a story
that touches one’s sensibilities to the core. This step
back into the past weaves a common thread about life during
WWII when we all clung together from necessity for emotion
and physical survival.
George Jensen (Edmond, Oklahoma): I am about four years younger
than the author, but growing up in Clinton I share the same
feelings for that time and for Clinton. Growing up as a Lutheran,
I did not embrace Catholicism then, but since my grandchildren
have grown up as Roman Catholics, I can appreciate what the
author is saying. Now living in Oklahoma, I think that anyone
growing up in a town of Clinton’s size can find something
to relate to. The picture of the courthouse is exactly as I
remember it and on a recent visit to Clinton, I verified that
everything is so accurate.
Ron McGauvran Clinton, Iowa): When you read In the Shadow
of the Courthouse, you will experience Clinton, Iowa and the
Midwest in a time far different from Clinton today. For Clintonians,
it will remind them of many things long forgotten. For others,
it will give them a sense of what it was like growing up when
their parents and grandparents were children. For everyone,
it will reacquaint them with their youth and how they dealt
with growing up, the naiveté and fumbling for an understanding
of life. The author literally grew up in the shadow of the
Clinton County Courthouse, and attended St. Patrick’s
parochial school through the eighth grade. The book focuses
on those WWII and postwar years (1942 – 1947) in Clinton
as he deals with adolescence, parents, poverty, Catholicism,
and friendships. The book promises to stimulate nostalgic recollections
and to hold interests from the first to the last scintillating
page.
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