From the Friends´ Mailbag:
West Coast Edition
by Kevin W. Parker
I wrote a while back about all the wonderful letters we received in response to the
New York Times Book Review
article printed last May. Well, in March of this year we got some support from the
other coast in the form of a very nice article in the Los Angeles Times,
and, not surprisingly, we got another deluge of letters. So here I am again to share
with you some of the more entertaining ones. (I might also mention in passing that,
thanks in large part to this publicity, Freddy now has about twice as many Friends
as he did 1-1/2 years ago: nearly 400 instead of about 200. Hooray!)
Once again there´s plenty of official stationery. Our favorite this time around came
from John Harris, senior editor in the publications department of the J. Paul Getty
Museum in Malibu, California. We also heard from someone who does stained glass and
someone else who is apparently in and of himself A Professional Corporation. But onto
the fun stuff.
Let´s start off with a tardy respondent from the Times
article, Sallie Barr Palmer of Largo, Florida:
I have been meaning to write to you for a year, ever since I came across [the Times
article]. However, at that time I had just returned to the U.S. after 30 years overseas,
and it has taken me this long to get settled and organized.
Among items which I unpacked after 30 years in storage were 16 Freddy the Pig books
which had been mine when I was a child. I had just finished reading--and enjoying--them
all over again when I spotted the NY Times piece.
Unfortunately, I don´t have a full set. The first in the series (To and Again
) was published the year before I was born, and the set had increased to half-a-dozen
or more by the time I discovered them in the public library when I was about 7. Most
of the earlier ones I simply borrowed from the library. Eventually my parents (who
also enjoyed the books) started buying the latest in the series every year for my birthday
or for Christmas.
Needless to say, I´d love to re-read all the books if I could find them. Now that I´m
back in the U.S., I´m keeping an eye out in second-hand bookstores and at book fairs
to try to expand my collection--so far, no luck, I´m sorry to say. Meanwhile, I´d like
to become a Friend of Freddy, and get in touch with other Freddy fans.
Now lets get to the Californians. (All cities are in California unless stated otherwise.)
Cathy Cole of Los Angeles writes a characteristic letter:
I was very pleased to know that there were other fans of the Freddy the Pig books.
I have loved these books ever since the mid-60s, when I discovered them in a branch
of the L.A. public library.
The record for longevity, though, goes to David Weiner of Piedmont : "I have been a
fan of F. the Pig for nearly forty years." How many of us can say that?
And Gloria Kwei of Walnut Creek: I recently received a clipping from an old friend
about FOF. I read voraciously as a child. Out of all the books that I read, the
Freddy series was by far my favorite.
Michael Wehner of Hawthorne:
I was very happy to read in the L. A. Times
an article on Freddy the Pig and saddened to hear of the struggle to get the books
back in print. I had no idea that they were out-of-print, and I believe that whole
generations of children are missing out.
While I already was a reader by the time I discovered Freddy, I loved his books and
read everything I could find. (Im sure that it wasnt all 28, though). I remember
my younger brother changing from a non-reader to a reader mainly due to Freddy; he
wanted to know what was making me laugh.
Please consider me a Friend of Freddy and add me to your mailing list. Im looking
forward to hearing more--and rereading a Freddy book or two.
We consistently get letters from those who are delighted to find that they´re not the
only Freddy fans in the world, such as this one from Cheryl Gordon of Winnetka:
I was thrilled to read about your group in the L. A. Times
a few weeks ago. Most people I talk to have never heard of him. I´ve loved Freddy,
and his wonderful friends, since I was a little girl.
And John Kroll of Sherman Oaks:
I was delighted to read in the Los Angeles Times
a couple of months ago about Friends of Freddy. I thought I was the only one.
From age 7 to about 12 I read all the Freddy books in our public library--and read most
of them over and over. The Adriance Memorial Library in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., had virtually
all of them, even the obscure ones and even, at least for a while, The Story of Freginald
. (That was one of the worst in the series; I only read it once.) The only one it
never had, as far as I recall, was The Clockwork Twin
and I´m not sure that was a Freddy book at all.
My favorites, in terms of number of times read, probably included Freddy and the Bean Home News
and Freddy the Politician
, followed by Freddy Goes to Florida
and Freddy Goes to the North Pole
. The final books in the series, the outer space books, were a distinct falling off
as I recall. Perhaps I was outgrowing the series, but I think Brooks was getting
tired. The plots were becoming too outlandish--literally.
I now own a copy of Freddy Goes Camping--not among my favorites, but its the only one I´ve ever found at a book sale.
You can find any number of people who want to talk about the Pooh books or the Oz
books, but in my experience, mentioning the Freddy books only draws blank stares.
So I am delighted to know a lot of us Freddy fans are out there.
One letter, from Marsha Mason of Beverly Hills, raised a question in my mind: "My husband
and I were discussing the Freddy books and how much we loved them as children." Does
Freddy have a romantic influence? Did Marsha and her mate-to-be bump into each other while skulking in the childrens section of the Beverly Hills library? Perhaps, as
they tussled over the single copy of Freddy and the Ignormus,
a certain spark ignited between them, and a match was made. Only Marsha or her husband
can tell us if it happened this way.
Lonnie Whitledge of Upland has a different mystery:
In 1970 I contacted Mrs. Brooks, who directed me to a fan in Selah, Washington, who
had a trunk full of Brooks material. I never followed up in correspondence--I was interested
myself in starting a newsletter. Do you know who I´m talking about?
No, we don´t. Well, I don´t, anyway. We have eleven members from Washington state, but
none from Selah. Is there someone out there with a treasure trove of Brooks material?
Does someone want to follow up on this? Lee? Michael?
To Wayne Parker (no relation) of Atlanta, Georgia, we seem to be a beacon of light
in the darkness: "Just to know that an organization exists to help keep Freddy alive
adds a bit of good in an evil world!" Though he later admits "Well, perhaps I´m going
a bit far with this."
Diane Wolfe of Carmichael came across Freddy in a very exotic location: "[I] read all
the titles in the school library in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia, 1960-1966."
Then there are those (thank goodness!) who are passing the torch to the next generation,
such as Janee West of Cypress: "I read every Freddy book available in our library
when I was a child. Later, as a teacher, I read them aloud to my class. Both times
were quite enjoyable."
Judy Pinegar of Loomis: "I grew up reading and loving Freddy bookswe have about 15.
Now I read them to my children, and they read them themselves."
And Norm Galston of Woodland Hills, who plans to pass the torch:
Several weeks ago I read an article about you in the Los Angeles Times.
Im 53 years old and hadn´t thought about Freddy in about 40 years.
As I was growing up, I loved to read, and I spent a good portion of my time in the
library. Somehow I came upon Freddy and his friends. It was love at first read!
Freddy was a good mix with Batman and Superman, etc. Now that I have a one-year-old
grandson, I think it might be a good time to start scouring the second-hand bookstores
for some of the Freddy books. Hopefully, when he´s of age for me to read to him the
simplicity of the Bean farm won´t be lost on him!
On the other hand, there are those to whom the torch has been passed, such as Stacy
Lynn George of Front Royal, Virginia: "My daddy has read some of the Freddy books
to me. We would like to know how we could get all of the Freddy books. (Wouldn´t we
all?)"
And Lois K. Benes of Irvine, who would like to pass the torch, but can´t:
I grew up with Freddy the Detective and his escapades on the Bean farm. I have told
my children (now ages 29 and 27) about Freddy but he was never available to them--what a pity. I talk about Freddy every time the subject of childhood books comes
around--and nobody I have met in the last 30 years has ever even heard of him. I just couldn´t
believe that these wonderful books only existed in the public library just down the
street from my elementary school.
I remember once where Freddy travels by houseboat, something I have yet to do. Another
time, Freddy rolled all the way down a hill and mused about the fact that rolling
stones don´t always gather moss (at least that´s the way I remember it). On occasion,
Freddy would get himself into trouble--something I could identify with--and yet he survived.
Thinking about Freddy now brings a lump to my throat. He was my friend at a time in
my life when I had none. He did things that I could only dream about. He took chances.
Freddy always found a way. I waited for the newest Freddy book the same way I wait
for Robert Ludlum today, although Freddy never disappointed me and, on occasion, Ludlum
has. What can I do? How can I help?
Lastly, I´ve heard of many cases where Freddy helped people through difficult situations,
but Hank Springer of Glendale is the first I´ve heard about to have gotten into
trouble because of Freddy:
I once found myself locked in the library in Lynn, Massachusetts. I was reading one
of the Freddy books! More To and Again,
I think.
I had to climb out the window. I was about twelve years old.
Thats it for this time. Keep reading Freddy, but don´t forget when the library closes!