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The backstory of the town of Waitnsee:
How my real hometown became the fictional town in the book Waiting with Elmer
My grandparents owned a large boarding house in a bigger city (Ypsilanti) where I visited in the summers. I sat on the porch swing like Charles in my book, and talked to the men who boarded there. Blackie, like the Blackie in my book, was mysterious, secretive, slick. He kept a pack of Spearmint gum in his pocket and a toothpick in his mouth. Our town had a Carnegie Library, as many small towns did in those days, with elegant brass handrails, colored glass, and books, and a particular exotic smell I can still recall. It might have been the most elegantly appointed building in town! I hope readers will see and smell the library of my childhood as Willy explores the world with his library card.
We didn’t have a Union Mission in my town, but there was a hotel that seemed to be close to that. Men wandered in and out with their secrets and few possessions. I knew a man who lived there, as he was related to my cousins. He always wore a suit and vest, tie and a bowler hat, reminding me of a cartoon in the Sunday funnies. I wondered if he ever took the clothes off. The funny paper guy had striped pajamas; did he? I’ve given him life in my Union Mission, though I can still see him in his small room in the Hotel where I went with my cousin. We did have a monastery on the outskirts of our town. I would never have known that except my mother did the Priory’s ironing. It seemed mysterious to me then, quiet lives shrouded in gray hoods; a secret brotherhood I knew nothing about. Elmer takes us there.
There were no handicap-ramps in those days, but living in a special needs household as I did, I was aware of the need for them, even though no one had thought of them yet. Otherwise, the Harmony Street of Waitnsee is a lot like Main Street in my hometown. The Savings and Loan Building, the bakery with creamy triangles, the hardware where kids paid for their ball gloves on the lay-away plan, the grocery and fruit stand, the awnings, are all snapshots in my memory. I sat against the same mailbox Willy leans on to watch a parade.
I hope you enjoy the town of Waitnsee, and perhaps it will awaken pleasant memories of your own hometown. On Thursday I’ll tell you about some of the characters.