tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216489322024-03-13T04:49:20.749-07:00Nancy Drew SleuthNancy Drew Fans: Here You'll Find Collecting Vintage Nancy Drew & Series Books, Nancy Drew Crafts & Projects, Nancy Drew Merchandise and Party Planning, Nancy Drew Convention Info and Many More Mysterious Things!
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Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.comBlogger808125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-53817505742239991242023-12-30T19:01:00.000-08:002023-12-30T19:01:52.597-08:00Nancy Drew Books 1-7 First Printings Signed by Mildred Wirt Benson<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvFDHKq710IrV7d2AiEjlnlJlLLH-Tm53rwq07-OFGPTffzyrzylNCLb9CQi4-AsxDVRleoPKP2QYMR7bKz31QFDEUPq3A6I45X-V_Dl-z3yNko6zzW3M3fSO3pqDgc2FMSnuBC5PfcDG5uTh6M84_fFzQtuRMeLQOIfc3MFJpn3kZj9Jhci0JlQ/s672/363395842_10230888261455067_1193154166125991841_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="563" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvFDHKq710IrV7d2AiEjlnlJlLLH-Tm53rwq07-OFGPTffzyrzylNCLb9CQi4-AsxDVRleoPKP2QYMR7bKz31QFDEUPq3A6I45X-V_Dl-z3yNko6zzW3M3fSO3pqDgc2FMSnuBC5PfcDG5uTh6M84_fFzQtuRMeLQOIfc3MFJpn3kZj9Jhci0JlQ/w335-h400/363395842_10230888261455067_1193154166125991841_n.jpg" width="335" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When I got into <b><a href="https://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/anatomy.html" target="_blank">Nancy Drew collecting</a></b> back in the late 1990s, my main motivation was to read the books of my childhood again. That meant, I needed to fill in gaps! I'd discovered a 1930s <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew</a></b> book - <i><b><a href="https://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mysterystories.html" target="_blank">The Hidden Staircase</a></b></i> - in an antique mall and I had no idea Nancy Drew had gone back that far in time. When I was reading them, they were the yellow spine picture cover editions and more modern paperbacks and spinoffs. My books were the revised texts for the first 34 books. I had no idea there was an original text version. I also read a lot of my books from the school library and so had gaps in what friends had given me as gifts or the many books my Mom got for me at Waldenbooks and other bookstores.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, my mission was to fill in gaps and read them all again. I got all my childhood books from home and I went to area used bookstores and antique malls in search of missing ones. Then in 1997, I joined eBay and the world of Nancy Drew books and collectibles was open wide for me. I spent over 20 years amassing a collection of books, paper ephemera and collectibles when I donated a few thousand items to the Toledo Public Library in 2019. Books of all types, formats and styles. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One thing early on that piqued my interest was collecting first printings of each of the books. When I first got my books from my childhood home and brought them to Texas where I was living around 1997, I went through them trying to figure out what printings they might be. I put these post-its inside with "circa x year" printing on them. I thought to check lists on back or inside to see what the last book listed was and when it was first printed and that gave me a ballpark date. I could also see how many of mine were not even close to being any kind of first. My yellow spines had mostly double oval endpapers and were early to mid-80s printings. My paperbacks, however, I was buying as they came out so mostly those were first printings of those from #57 onward and spinoff Files books, etc. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I met other collectors who showed me the ropes on firsts and some sellers would list and describe them as firsts on eBay and I became interested in getting firsts of each classic book 1-56, so began over 20 years to add those to my collection. I was on a budget for most of my collecting over the over 20 years, so always looked for a bargain or a good buy it now book. I resigned myself to the fact that I would most likely never afford a first printing of the first seven books in their original 1930-1932 format - at least not for the foreseeable future. I found a first of <i>The Secret of the Old Clock</i> early on in the late 1990s without a dust jacket as is often the case with these early books and bought that at eBay. I took that book to Toledo, OH in the spring of 2001 when I met the original ghostwriter, <b><a href="https://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mildredwirtbenson.html" target="_blank">Mildred Wirt Benson</a></b>, who was still alive in her mid-90s and working at the <i>Toledo Blade</i> newspaper. She signed that book for me, and it was and continues to be a treasure. Soon after, someone e-mailed me to offer me a first of <i>Hidden Staircase</i> and I jumped at the chance as the price was very low, the book arrived in good shape and was a verified first. It would be another 20 years nearly before I would be able to purchase another, <i>The Secret at Shadow Ranch</i>. At that point I managed several years ago to find a 2nd printing of <i>The Secret of Red Gate Farm</i> - the dust jacket matches that of a first but the book was a 2nd printing. Last year I managed to acquire the book in a first to match to the dust jacket and that was a thrill. But that left <i>The Bungalow Mystery, The Mystery at Lilac Inn</i>, and <i>The Clue in the Diary</i> to find someday. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even in recent years I had resigned myself that I might not find the rest in a first with dust jacket or at least afford them. A collector began to downsize her collection and she had firsts of books 2-7 - not only that, but they were also signed by Mildred Wirt Benson! An opportunity presented itself to purchase these and so over the last year I did just that. It really is a collecting mission accomplished but with a wild ending - I had no idea I'd ever be able to get signed first printings by Millie, so to be able to bring these home into my collection, was rather surreal. I'm enjoying them so much as they sit on a shelf by my writing desk as I research and write <i>The Real Nancy Drew</i> - my <b><a href="https://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mwbbook.html" target="_blank">Mildred Wirt Benson Biography</a></b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I do have first printings of <i>Hidden Staircase, Shadow Ranch</i> and <i>Red Gate Farm</i> <b><a href="https://nancydrewfans.com/collections/nancy-drew-books?sort_by=created-descending#MainContent" target="_blank">for sale at our Nancy Drew Fans Shop</a></b> - ones I upgraded with the signed copies if anyone's interested in acquiring first printings in DJ!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmg_HcBRhJ9AWe8qx8Q-YOIxWWoAyLADLt8aVT2xCqid7Rc2EfVYA4XlFJ_5AZbTXnyP4mwt3QjLVCaGTLgN4-rEFvaT4WyvSWXKJ29Vk-uzvSSVhROU4-Z9QSwlIRGAIkRtOmh3mgV6Zpf9dXZEqmKWL_gHdYPVa8D6hEAqg9EHaqKghB_ChOw/s1026/jfcstairsigned.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiog3dduYdtyu7SHU81rPJQWvGEt3yt1CT9mFzIyANvu4ZiuVERfTY10k6nf4KrfnDW2dDaBsrZ_nR2m8-Jrd6GWBnWOVwAGJH8FJSKUAk-e2yNOdURKuuR-riTj3t8R9cRrsrvwUVmIgkFLGK5UaIHNz0J_1Tq1YXsKjwXezSdkyQR3BUKgY8wDA/s991/jfcmwbsigdiary1st.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="991" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiog3dduYdtyu7SHU81rPJQWvGEt3yt1CT9mFzIyANvu4ZiuVERfTY10k6nf4KrfnDW2dDaBsrZ_nR2m8-Jrd6GWBnWOVwAGJH8FJSKUAk-e2yNOdURKuuR-riTj3t8R9cRrsrvwUVmIgkFLGK5UaIHNz0J_1Tq1YXsKjwXezSdkyQR3BUKgY8wDA/w400-h340/jfcmwbsigdiary1st.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-5481474247002161642023-12-16T17:23:00.000-08:002023-12-16T21:19:52.018-08:00The Nancy Drew Cookbook – Fifty Years of Clues to Good Cooking<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC2NU_-TuaQgb31Z9Evgs2YPxmymJyyqlr9Vtl0Ae68yXrhNkyEaGKM3WKQA9GF7abaPofEaPnNAF1ERJex1IgyJLum8MH1yOW8jIHrSaPDUqtVLz1UuK8TCsyVE0tSIWOocNb7_CNiiI-P6YzmUxczZv52zPaYIJiPsTO6mMZxQ0sHzapmSTkCA/s1491/17017084_10212082705687926_2276179224609432871_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1491" data-original-width="1003" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC2NU_-TuaQgb31Z9Evgs2YPxmymJyyqlr9Vtl0Ae68yXrhNkyEaGKM3WKQA9GF7abaPofEaPnNAF1ERJex1IgyJLum8MH1yOW8jIHrSaPDUqtVLz1UuK8TCsyVE0tSIWOocNb7_CNiiI-P6YzmUxczZv52zPaYIJiPsTO6mMZxQ0sHzapmSTkCA/w269-h400/17017084_10212082705687926_2276179224609432871_o.jpg" width="269" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The Nancy Drew Cookbook</i>:</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Fifty Years of Clues to Good Cooking</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew</a></b>, intrepid sleuth, always up for a bold and daring adventure. Dark alleys. Musty old attics. Skeletons popping out of wardrobes. Bound and gagged and locked in closets. Kidnappings. Threats to stay off the case, OR ELSE! Or else, what? Kitchen conundrums and measuring tips? Possibly exciting for those of us who like to cook and whip up some tasty treat, but for Nancy Drew and some of her <b><a href="https://www.nancydrewfans.com" target="_blank">fans</a></b>, that must have been a bit…deflating all considered. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Nancy had Hannah Gruen – master baker – who could whip up the most calorie-laden snacks at the drop of a hat. Comfort food after a midnight stakeout or Drew home burglary appeared with a flourish! Cocoa, cookies, pies, cakes, oh the bane of poor Bess Marvin’s constant diet plan. However, with a little Sleuthercize, they mostly all stayed “slim and attractive.” </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In 1973, on to the market came not one of Nancy’s most exciting mysteries. Not one of her more baffling puzzlers. No, it was <i><b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/cbfood.html" target="_blank">The Nancy Drew Cookbook – Clues to Good Cooking</a></b></i>. Nancy was serving up some recipes for brunch, lunch, dinner, even picnics – all categorized by time of day. Then there were holiday recipes and international delights. Giveaway treats too. Every section had tips for the young cook like tasty substitutions, tangy twists, and the saucy “tart touch.” The introduction commanded readers to come up with a “mystery ingredient” of their own.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I did not originally own this cookbook as I was born in 1973, the year it came out. I eventually collected it as an adult when I transitioned into a <b><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/nancydrewexpert" target="_blank">full-blown collector of all things Nancy Drew</a></b>. I proceeded to <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/cbfood.html" target="_blank">roast it a bit in a section</a></b> of my <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Sleuth website</a></b> as some of the recipes definitely have some sinister ingredients! Some recipes are not too bad and have turned out to be pretty yummy. The Nancy Drew Sleuths have had several occasions to test recipes and try them out. The cookbook was even re-released by Penguin in 2007 with an updated look. I have acquired several Nancy Drew Cookbooks signed by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams as Carolyn Keene. They are definitely treasures and she would even put in cute quips with her inscriptions like “Here’s to good cookin’!”</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As a nostalgia piece, it’s kitschy though the cover is not very mysterious in the typical Nancy Drew vein. Throughout the cookbook there are many line drawings of various food items to illustrate the recipes which are named after characters or mysteries that Nancy solved. What’s lacking are recipes based on foods from the books themselves which would have made for a more interesting tie-in to the books.</p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXM3u4d7sNhzDHZCoOilF87wEidWKgWsL2TKzK-G54izSTHeXAvXplnlteLnQPRkRzFrxA6FBL9YwhRm1bpvz6KQkN6lKadI1xMqdV5mN4WTaDMOtWuvtoT05j3sTzqTrP4CzVZv96aIldl-6E8edQpUeEnotD9csyL9honcpsbYQBqmk8Fg35sA/s1200/16ndpc17ck.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1200" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXM3u4d7sNhzDHZCoOilF87wEidWKgWsL2TKzK-G54izSTHeXAvXplnlteLnQPRkRzFrxA6FBL9YwhRm1bpvz6KQkN6lKadI1xMqdV5mN4WTaDMOtWuvtoT05j3sTzqTrP4CzVZv96aIldl-6E8edQpUeEnotD9csyL9honcpsbYQBqmk8Fg35sA/w400-h291/16ndpc17ck.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIRI_lxkPFvyq_kRpwHEnyRDRgb3gF6zRj9GlcaE6tiXV-JB1kxiuWhFsJMLrclgKXghM2wRXAjkRGtqDNYi37RbiJQQbUzp_IXDHAhG-laDCNPKWt1eTORipsaPqagB7ONel-7gokq09rvHonTktbqwsSEfzJwWlg31ZPrUB7zhgjH8SQL0jFw/s1151/17097370_10212082705727927_2929276292987245717_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1151" data-original-width="987" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIRI_lxkPFvyq_kRpwHEnyRDRgb3gF6zRj9GlcaE6tiXV-JB1kxiuWhFsJMLrclgKXghM2wRXAjkRGtqDNYi37RbiJQQbUzp_IXDHAhG-laDCNPKWt1eTORipsaPqagB7ONel-7gokq09rvHonTktbqwsSEfzJwWlg31ZPrUB7zhgjH8SQL0jFw/w343-h400/17097370_10212082705727927_2929276292987245717_o.jpg" width="343" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">How was this cookbook received by fans? It was marketed to kids in the usual age set of the <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mysterystories.html" target="_blank">Nancy Drew mysteries</a></b>. Grosset & Dunlap advertised on the backs of the regular Nancy Drew Mystery Stories editions with a stylized cookbook ad. Order forms inside the book afforded each reader the opportunity to send off for it among other books in the series. But what about older fans and their reception? My guess is the more critical reception likely came from older fans of the books, who might have felt that this was rather out of character for their heroine Nancy Drew. To be fair, Nancy did do some cooking in the Nancy Drew series on her own – assisting Hannah from time to time and even making a fabulous walnut-studded chocolate cake in the revision of <i>The Secret of Shadow Ranch</i>, though this revision was from the 1960s. The original Nancy Drew – who broke the mold thanks to ghostwriter <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mildredwirtbenson.html" target="_blank">Mildred Wirt Benson</a></b> in the 1930s and 1940s – wasn’t generally in the kitchen. She was out rounding up crooks and having adventures. Throughout the classic series between 1930 to 1973 when the cookbook debuted, generally speaking, cooking wouldn’t have been considered Nancy Drew’s signature skill. It wasn’t her cooking skills that had inspired generations of fans to do so much more in their lives. Reviews in newspapers ran the gamut from generic reviews to more critical askance and puzzlement over this new direction. Some brought up feminism and bemoaned Nancy’s fate. The Hardy Boys had their own <i>Detective Handbook</i> – published in 1959. Where was Nancy Drew’s Girl Detective Handbook? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Why a <i>Nancy Drew Cookbook</i>? That’s the real puzzler. It's the historical background behind items like this cookbook that are always fascinating to me and how these kinds of projects came about and the Stratemeyer Syndicate files at the New York Public Library reveal some clues. What we can learn about this <i>Nancy Drew Cookbook</i> is rather interesting. Did this come from the <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/history.html" target="_blank">Stratemeyer Syndicate</a></b> – Harriet to be exact? Like Nancy Drew, Harriet was not really known for her cooking skills. In fact, one contribution she did make to the cookbook was <i>A Keene Soup</i> – a peanut butter based soup. She is said to have “horrified” her personal chef with her foray into the kitchen to come up with the recipe. So, who was behind this project and how did it come to fruition?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grosset & Dunlap had apparently been throwing around the idea of doing a <i>Nancy Drew Cookbook</i> - likely using the Nancy Drew name and brand to sell something novel, much like the Nancy Drew “Favorite Classic” volumes they put out using Nancy Drew as a selling point to market various classic literature tales. By the summer of 1970, Harriet noted in an August 26 letter to her sister Edna Squier, that “the idea has been pro and con for some time but now Grosset & Dunlap are planning to go ahead with the project.”</div></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVJqg9hbMsh3UJFegVXiCxScmWhf1gYLcthIkQH08sojcxM6ddJzIG9Gem-NCC8Hz1i0-dXvUqMXc09909XPNdT2t3mp4QP5tK3Zn3tIeXnvmK0mCejCRXU2jYoTcRmOS2NSBoT5wKq5wZnj0si6_V_FcWtxwjTk4BwyxZTi1UU1nQLYek76B9UA/s1892/patsybogle.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1892" data-original-width="1312" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVJqg9hbMsh3UJFegVXiCxScmWhf1gYLcthIkQH08sojcxM6ddJzIG9Gem-NCC8Hz1i0-dXvUqMXc09909XPNdT2t3mp4QP5tK3Zn3tIeXnvmK0mCejCRXU2jYoTcRmOS2NSBoT5wKq5wZnj0si6_V_FcWtxwjTk4BwyxZTi1UU1nQLYek76B9UA/w278-h400/patsybogle.png" width="278" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Everyone always loves a good Carolyn Keene unmasking. It turns out, that the ghost behind this cookbook was a woman named <b>Patsy Bogle</b>. By November 1970, a memo between Harriet and partner Andrew Svenson discusses a meeting with Bogle that Harriet had. We find out that Bogle was a cook book editor for Fuller and Dees, who among other business ventures, sold cookbooks. Harriet notes in the memo, "I met with Patsy Bogle, Cook Book Editor for Fuller and Dees and had a most enlightening conversation with her. This is the information I gleaned: A loose leaf cook book would be 100% better than the regular story-book binding. Mrs. Bogle foresees a general cook book to be followed by one on cookies and candies, then perhaps on other specialties.” Bogle had quite a vision for Nancy Drew – one that didn’t pan out past this cookbook. Bogle had been an avid reader of Nancy Drew as a child. Harriet added, “Mrs. Bogle thinks a Nancy Drew Cook Book could be great." Bogle’s price for doing it? She'd charge $1,000.00 for 200 recipes in children's language to be edited by the Syndicate instead of the publisher. Bogle signed a release on November 20, 1971 for providing the recipes and content, for the consideration and payment of $1 and other “considerations” – she had provided 104 recipes. Harriet had taken up Bogle’s suggestion that the cookbook be a spiral bound one and urged Grosset & Dunlap to do that. Of course, as we’ve seen, the cookbook was bound like the regular Nancy Drew books.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By 1971 they had a full green light on the cookbook as Grosset & Dunlap were asking for twenty sample pages before giving a final go-ahead. In a September 28, 1972 letter from David Lande, Vice President, and Director of Marketing at Grosset & Dunlap, he told Harriet very enthusiastically that “I think this can be a real winner and we are very enthusiastic about the sales possibilities.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Aside from these and other perfunctory back and forth communications on the cookbook, there was quite a storm brewing. While kids and their families were learning clues to good cooking and noshing on <i>99 Steps French Toast</i> and <i>Old Clock Ice Cream Pie</i>, the shenanigans behind the scenes were about as sinister and stinky as the <i>Tolling Bell Tuna Rolls</i>. About as flimsy as those <i>Leaning Chimney Cones</i>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By 1973 when the <i>Nancy Drew Cookbook</i> was published, Harriet had some rather unflattering things to say about it. In a March 28, 1973 letter to Grosset & Dunlap President Harold Roth, she noted, that she was relieved to know that changes would be made to the cookbook for the second edition and that she was “ashamed of the first edition." She had planned to give many as gifts to friends but because she was ashamed, she couldn’t bear to do that.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then she really let him know how she felt. "The book is a disaster and unworthy of being a companion to the Nancy Drew series. The fault rests with the Art department and the layout person. From the beginning I was disappointed with the picture situation. I did not want sticks of butter or disproportionate milk cartons but sketches with some originality and cute quips, some of which we supplied but they were brushed off.” She refers to comments being sent into the Syndicate – likely from readers and journalists lambasting it in various articles that were coming out - and includes some examples with her letter, telling Roth to “read them and weep” as she has been doing. <b>"My dream of a ND super duper cookbook ended in a rude awakening."</b> I’m picturing Sally in the <i>It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown</i> special after she’d been cheated out of tricks or treats and like Sally, Harriet was a woman scorned and on the warpath with her pen. Harriet definitely felt cheated, the cookbook was not what she felt like she’d been promised.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Still on a roll with Grosset & Dunlap, Harriet sent a zinger off to the art department at Grosset & Dunlap in an April 25, 1973 letter to Kay Ward. She pointedly asked, “I am wondering why the art work on the Nancy Drew series has been deteriorating in the past couple of years. It seems to me that Grosset & Dunlap would want the best selling juveniles to have superior, not inferior pictures." To Harriet, and frankly the rest of us really, the book illustration figures of this time period looked more like “fashion manikins than live people” and are “expressionless.” Rarely are any Syndicate suggestions followed, she noted. "You have heard how aghast I was at the sketches in the Nancy Drew Cookbook. Having been promised by Mr. Paturzo and yourself that the pictures would be original and whimsical…it was an added shock to see the cookbook with mundane flour sifters and egg boxes which any third grader could have drawn." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She noted that editor Doris Dunewald had said the second edition would be “greatly improved” and she hoped it would be “a far better looking one than the original.” She felt complaining was regrettable, but it was necessary.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So how did the second edition fare? Unfortunately, not so great. A comparison of the first and second editions shows some spacing differences in layout, some titles or chapter names being moved around or disappearing and then the exact same pictures – those not-so-whimsically third-grade level flour sifters, egg boxes, milk cartons and more just appearing and disappearing in various places as if they were playing musical chairs. Nothing whimsical about it whatsoever. It was as if the much-maligned art department at Grosset & Dunlap just wanted to sneak into Harriet’s home and “short-sheet” her bed, move her furniture around and gaslight her. Figuratively of course, just a test of wills in the cookbook instead. Whether Harriet was pleased with these…efforts…or not, we don’t know for sure, but I imagine it rankled her quite well. Did she deign to give out the second edition to any family or friends? <i>Another mystery to be solved…</i></div></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2b6QPZxtedF7m3MJYjXBi-FBaL7rOKRFCdoJQUjZ6jFD-2jscLNOvEYCC0xEAIOHkn1IQ5oXOBgQlcCJa6xpdMhEkEEGICJR7b8qTtZOT67FQrWqxk1pw2p4tF5dm0K9LzIlCgVAqEH5eXDqPAnRjbhyphenhyphen6n0WnZ0S2rMxl8Kl3iolvWBHlet3pw/s2820/410830230_1019454309285538_8627364038718612518_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2742" data-original-width="2820" height="389" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2b6QPZxtedF7m3MJYjXBi-FBaL7rOKRFCdoJQUjZ6jFD-2jscLNOvEYCC0xEAIOHkn1IQ5oXOBgQlcCJa6xpdMhEkEEGICJR7b8qTtZOT67FQrWqxk1pw2p4tF5dm0K9LzIlCgVAqEH5eXDqPAnRjbhyphenhyphen6n0WnZ0S2rMxl8Kl3iolvWBHlet3pw/w400-h389/410830230_1019454309285538_8627364038718612518_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Aside from this drama with the layout and images and what was promised but not delivered, how does this cookbook fit overall logically with being related to an infamous mystery loving, adventuresome sleuth who trailblazed her way through generations, doing the opposite of the usual norm for women, especially back in the 30s and 40s? Does it align more with the nesting and domesticity of the 50s housewife? How does it sit with all the second-wave feminists in the 60s and 70s who claimed Nancy as a standard bearer? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A reviewer for the August 3, 1973 <i>Daily News</i>, Georgia Smith, gave her intriguing opinion in “Nancy Drew, Detective, Moves into the Kitchen.” She interviewed Harriet for this piece and noted, “Instead of cracking secret codes, our plucky girl…has been reduced to cracking eggs and stirring up things like ‘Sleuth Soup’ and ‘Hidden Biscuits.’” She was a little disappointed to see Nancy Drew being so…domestic. Harriet credited publisher Grosset & Dunlap with the cookbook idea. Harriet stated that the recipes were developed in consultation with three of her 11 grandchildren at home on her “cow farm.” I’m not sure if Patsy Bogle was an “honorary” grandchild in her version of the story, but to be fair, Harriet was in keeping with the usual story about her being Carolyn Keene, I suppose. Harriet also thought the cookbook was “dandy.” Publicly, Harriet was very praiseworthy and the perfect cheerleader, even though behind the scenes, things were not so grand.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even Eric Svenson, youngest son of Syndicate partner Andrew Svenson who ran bookstores in the Carolinas, wrote to the Syndicate on April 30th of 1973, a little dismayed about the cookbook. He noted, "I think the Nancy Drew Cookbook is a cute idea and we are selling them here in Charlotte. But I also think, from women's liberation point of view that we may be relegating the famous girl detective to the kitchen. I feel that a better selling book would be a Nancy Drew Detective Handbook type of project." He even suggested a title for it, "How to Become a Girl Detective."</div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguuMnTl4fGK0pU4sJvymdcxSIOLuiv-W9Cl5J3Msh_4W3Bah0DKQUz6TUlizIK5ldae3sYWvP7o0i9pyCD4Uxxlp5tIvq6cYeEPYLn1zd001KmQVKkpab6wdWxa4oMrtS0yAisivOy-rbzONA2rPWNTFZDJoj4WANigoVCakqvU3LMYxP2AqHX8Q/s617/jfcbookc23.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="504" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguuMnTl4fGK0pU4sJvymdcxSIOLuiv-W9Cl5J3Msh_4W3Bah0DKQUz6TUlizIK5ldae3sYWvP7o0i9pyCD4Uxxlp5tIvq6cYeEPYLn1zd001KmQVKkpab6wdWxa4oMrtS0yAisivOy-rbzONA2rPWNTFZDJoj4WANigoVCakqvU3LMYxP2AqHX8Q/w326-h400/jfcbookc23.jpg" width="326" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Eventually of course Nancy Drew had her own sleuthing book, aptly named <i>The Nancy Drew Sleuth Book: Clues to Good Sleuthing</i>, published 6 years after the <i>Nancy Drew Cookbook</i> debuted. In it, Nancy Drew forms her own Detective Club of girl detectives in her circle of friends. They learn all sorts of good sleuthing tips from fingerprints to identifications, to palm prints and even palmistry and solve mysteries on various subjects in each chapter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a cook and someone who likes good cooking, I find the cookbook to be charming and retro and some of the recipes have turned out to be quite good. I think some of the fuss over Nancy Drew having a cookbook was a little dramatic, because mystery or no mystery, a family must eat – so says Hannah Gruen! But I suppose considering the trailblazing Nancy Drew had done for decades, considering her talents at mystery solving and how much she inspired kids and was a role model for self-reliance and forging one’s own path out in the world and getting things done, having saddled her with a cookbook, rather than a <i>Sleuth Book</i> could be seen as relegating her to the kitchen, as Svenson put it. I think though, that kids should learn to cook and those kinds of skills are very important as we grow up. Perhaps Nancy Drew wasn’t the one who should have been used to help kids forge those skills. But you have to wonder, as much of an inspiration as Nancy Drew was to her fans, did she inspire others in the kitchen to solve recipe mysteries with all her clues to good cooking? I suppose it’s not a huge stretch to think she might have. After all, one of her famous fans, Martha Stewart, went on to make cooking and domesticity a trendy artform.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Resources used:</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The Nancy Drew Cookbook: Clues to Good Cooking</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>New York Public Library: Stratemeyer Syndicate Archives.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>James Keeline – research and documents in his collection and image of Patsy Bogle.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Are you Game to get Clues to Good Cooking? </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As we celebrate the close of 2023, here’s a good holiday recipe from the <i>Nancy Drew Cookbook</i>. Hang up your magnifying glass, hop in the kitchen, kick off your shoes and make someone the <i><b>Haunted Bridge Log</b></i> on page 102. It’s delicious, and the hint about mint, it’s a keeper!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ingredients:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 package chocolate wafers (round type for icebox cake)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 pint heavy whipping cream</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 tablespoons sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Green food coloring</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Directions:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Whip cream until it forms peaks. Fold in sugar, vanilla, and a few drops of green food coloring.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Stack 3 or 4 wafers together at a time, putting a teaspoonful of green whipped cream between each one. Save one wafer for later. Place the stack sideways on a dish to form a log. Cover the log with the rest of the cream.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Crumble the wafer you have saved and sprinkle on top. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Cut diagonally at a 45 degree angle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Serves 10.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>A Mint Help:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Add a teaspoon of mint extract to the cream while whipping.</div><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-22002828737522298832023-12-11T23:00:00.000-08:002023-12-12T01:00:31.269-08:00A Merry Super Sleuths! Christmas from Harriet Stratemeyer Adams<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAEF5Fhz1FhYtbfzWv-5WqnEA72yqSrG8cYLLFl6gm3Et1Cvk-ERYXFju9iZ7uW8mtfyOEAp-cF_jKhVzAZzkgIuEnNo3BRLHCAKaTak-tcCebwz2h_MJhY8Y99zAm3oFB-RZw0QwDx5FGzRmfWwGMUHDPBCaVWTOEaYzxF9VYnlEeBsrvWVBY2Q/s2091/hsanewsimage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2091" data-original-width="1671" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAEF5Fhz1FhYtbfzWv-5WqnEA72yqSrG8cYLLFl6gm3Et1Cvk-ERYXFju9iZ7uW8mtfyOEAp-cF_jKhVzAZzkgIuEnNo3BRLHCAKaTak-tcCebwz2h_MJhY8Y99zAm3oFB-RZw0QwDx5FGzRmfWwGMUHDPBCaVWTOEaYzxF9VYnlEeBsrvWVBY2Q/w320-h400/hsanewsimage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Happy 131st Birthday to Harriet Stratemeyer Adams!</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/history.html" target="_blank">Harriet Stratemeyer Adams</a></b> was born in the late 1800s - 1892 to be exact, on December 12 and we're still reminiscing about her in 2023! Her charm and wit, stubbornness and Nancy Drew Sleuth-ability - kept her father, Edward Stratemeyer's company - The Stratmeyer Syndicate - going for decades after his death in 1930. As we remember Harriet today for her birthday, let's also think about her this Christmas season! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Dec. 16, 1980 issue of <i>Family Circle </i>magazine featured a story written by her as "Carolyn Keene" - "Solve a Christmas Mystery." In it, <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew</a></b> and the Hardy Boys solved a fun Christmas Mystery, and this story was later published in the <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/digestspinoff.html" target="_blank">Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Super Sleuths!</a></b> paperback as the short story, "The Secret of Mountaintop Inn."</p><p style="text-align: justify;">If you don't have this Super Sleuths! volume, you can find a copy of it on a site like eBay. If you're on the <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/nancydrewfans" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Book Fans Facebook Group</a></b>, you can search the posts for "family circle" to see scans of the story from Family Circle that <b><a href="https://www.stratemeyer.org" target="_blank">James Keeline</a></b> posted. One is shown below. Click on the image for a larger view.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The "Solve a Christmas Mystery" begins with this paragraph introducing it, <i>"Here's a special Christmas story that everyone who has ever read the well-known Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books will love. It was written especially for FAMILY CIRCLE by Harriet Adams (her pen name is Carolyn Keene) who has been writing these series for fifty years."</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The story begins in a blizzard where Nancy's friend Karen is driving them to "Mountain Top Inn." The Hardy Boys are to be there as well and then they get entangled together in solving a mystery. In the end, mystery wrapped up and order restored, they celebrate by singing Christmas Carols and Nancy says,<i> "A Merry, Merry Christmas to you all!"</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'll also think fondly of Harriet today on her birthday as I recently solved a fantastic behind-the-scenes mystery in Cooperstown, NY of why Harriet and her family had a connection to the town and what led her to write the 49th classic Nancy Drew mystery book, <i>The Secret of Mirror Bay</i> and set it in the town of Cooperstown. One of my better sleuthing efforts in searching out Nancy Drew's history behind the mystery! If you didn't get a chance to hear about all of our sleuthing and adventures behind the scenes, check out my <b><a href="https://nancydrewsleuths.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-secret-of-mirror-bay-secrets.html" target="_blank">blog post</a></b> on that adventure:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://nancydrewsleuths.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-secret-of-mirror-bay-secrets.html" target="_blank">The Secret of Mirror Bay - The Secrets & History Behind the Mystery</a></b></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZwxvQuWf1NZERJAaJtIm-JltqSoq5Xz_y_rVnuuqOlLWOIMJYNLkHqMMbYsZ-7mG-rtqJHQombl8tjR0jfeBrsrrvXMgenC5693wYMbst0f3Fc6Jst0g4kEobHxtZC8tML2iEvK5n_gtv1axoZ_eBKcLUn9jsPXujZY1s2U-iZjs1jSyUifTkQ/s957/jfcfamcirmag1980.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZwxvQuWf1NZERJAaJtIm-JltqSoq5Xz_y_rVnuuqOlLWOIMJYNLkHqMMbYsZ-7mG-rtqJHQombl8tjR0jfeBrsrrvXMgenC5693wYMbst0f3Fc6Jst0g4kEobHxtZC8tML2iEvK5n_gtv1axoZ_eBKcLUn9jsPXujZY1s2U-iZjs1jSyUifTkQ/w301-h400/jfcfamcirmag1980.jpg" width="301" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mdPKtKyPzWkrTDtrrJ_Q1i2O73RrUNx_cNWBVVPvRaWJn4X4ROBDoWIHnRh3gMpslVNLqyJ1j3_MPW065hvqh6MwYHkxyNJHoohLIyaGSdWsMbHHg7W-EHrx8JaUmAdC2vYavdMS2i4yM2ekClZGQlartUCrFUU4xYbAkl0dT3ohUPubhMe-Yw/s2048/25075154_10155059577975978_6452638778797326125_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1458" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mdPKtKyPzWkrTDtrrJ_Q1i2O73RrUNx_cNWBVVPvRaWJn4X4ROBDoWIHnRh3gMpslVNLqyJ1j3_MPW065hvqh6MwYHkxyNJHoohLIyaGSdWsMbHHg7W-EHrx8JaUmAdC2vYavdMS2i4yM2ekClZGQlartUCrFUU4xYbAkl0dT3ohUPubhMe-Yw/w285-h400/25075154_10155059577975978_6452638778797326125_o.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrEpyG0TSYHyvK291ugNTJIG1xJVnNLybg49TFIzVGKj7DpifCwjufSwbiYtN3Cnh78o3X0Zq29iVd9On0fLmtH3Isie3aSoG2LTK4q3mU1S1IC_TnaFcVMCrVgn-hCyLAzCVf54DKWZhZBuwuD7LBUEbaARnNjr-xkSsgHOGRHkRypo4ONNW2A/s331/digsupers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="225" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrEpyG0TSYHyvK291ugNTJIG1xJVnNLybg49TFIzVGKj7DpifCwjufSwbiYtN3Cnh78o3X0Zq29iVd9On0fLmtH3Isie3aSoG2LTK4q3mU1S1IC_TnaFcVMCrVgn-hCyLAzCVf54DKWZhZBuwuD7LBUEbaARnNjr-xkSsgHOGRHkRypo4ONNW2A/w273-h400/digsupers.jpg" width="273" /></a></div><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-3708031547615619002023-11-26T15:54:00.000-08:002023-11-26T15:57:40.309-08:00Nancy Drew CW TV Show Memorabilia in The Jennifer Fisher Nancy Drew Collection<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1dgc0CXMl0m9EBD_obE87NUYR3CoWf1cOgM4ovi2_lhvZYJRV2Gy8RmjFXIK7E5KEhMnAoPQ71tO6T6CwC-K-q2dj1mh6Qo0GYF3pdJRauOABt5Y_2kQO0J-_irwh6PNe96ZuQwsxIrhSIh7PMB7sRYcrOyvkG5EcHrRcme-3Ti380pMLIMfeQ/s1187/jfccwscript111bonnyscot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1187" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1dgc0CXMl0m9EBD_obE87NUYR3CoWf1cOgM4ovi2_lhvZYJRV2Gy8RmjFXIK7E5KEhMnAoPQ71tO6T6CwC-K-q2dj1mh6Qo0GYF3pdJRauOABt5Y_2kQO0J-_irwh6PNe96ZuQwsxIrhSIh7PMB7sRYcrOyvkG5EcHrRcme-3Ti380pMLIMfeQ/w364-h400/jfccwscript111bonnyscot.jpg" width="364" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Nancy Drew</i> debuted on the CW Network</b> in fall of 2019 and then ran for 4 seasons. In the last year or so, items from the show were sold off to various sellers including crew merchandise, props, scripts, various paperwork for scenes/prop/set/blueprints/etc. There were dozens of auctions over time from at least two sellers that included things like decor pieces from The Claw restaurant, uniforms, aprons, signs, photos, books and you name it. Even jewelry pieces. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I bid on a few things (pictured in this blog) that were available but tried to approach it with an eye to history/behind the scenes production items to tell the story behind the scenes for my <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank">Jennifer Fisher Nancy Drew Collection</a></b> that now resides at the <b>Toledo Public Library</b>, downtown main library in <b>The Mystery Room</b>. In addition to items in these auctions, since 2019, I have acquired promo items like posters, pop sockets, coasters, flashlights, t-shirts, a Halloween costume, the DVDs of each season, a crew backpack, a crew hat and more - you can view all of my CW Nancy Drew TV memorabilia at my <b><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/nancydrewexpert/nancy-drew-cw-tv-show/" target="_blank">CW Nancy Drew TV Show Pinterest Board</a></b>. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From these specific auctions, I purchased several scripts, scene paperwork, vintage Nancy Drew books used for reference and as a book prop (<i>Red Gate Farm</i>), a photo of Nancy with her parents, and a crew bag w/ the CW Nancy Drew logo on it. Since I'm a Nancy Drew book collector, it made sense to collect some of the books used. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm going to make a post at our <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/nancydrewfans" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Book Fans Facebook group</a></b> about my acquisitions and see what everyone else got in the auctions - always fun to see everyone's goodies.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL8cimzw10u2AX8OqEaqRIyUO9cgVkwegU3KYMR27xqeWiZVKwWaeylzh63CgQZ598-EJkZp_yIUvnMVVg5NfDIqN3j2W86bCN8v8RBoYAIITjLCpBTx4Fy3XR4UhwkzaCNE26RyLlTBH2w74T6RVFdjPPPMBM5l1jYuWAPpZucx7UufX2cw44Og/s1080/jfccwtv34refbook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1080" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL8cimzw10u2AX8OqEaqRIyUO9cgVkwegU3KYMR27xqeWiZVKwWaeylzh63CgQZ598-EJkZp_yIUvnMVVg5NfDIqN3j2W86bCN8v8RBoYAIITjLCpBTx4Fy3XR4UhwkzaCNE26RyLlTBH2w74T6RVFdjPPPMBM5l1jYuWAPpZucx7UufX2cw44Og/w400-h259/jfccwtv34refbook.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="1080" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-cNPmuEU3Sq9ltAR7bvjzzR0AAQ1z2hsFhTJmxfdTInFWSh5z5xzn5_pTx_6Wh7Jii_hJCInX5Cd8DE9hc9QZ9Li8LCVE7ZyFRI6tgwANjScqswjU2xWD_-_rVZtSkmS9an7wCmihCl77n5gtHe3vQWmE-LyNuIQH-CPQv4wbUcoxXgsGP43PA/w400-h321/jfccwtvsetfloorplan.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6BMMXPyTnngxX5aoaAQiGw0ct7WncHykpZ2eHESVE6MUQ-nqN5v2EtyXOg8H2cQP8VHJ-7fT_E5WC9hlUcZaamgNxzHM0fllMVZQdwdJVgB_qr1Ri4KWDdI5hO-2S4DxykyoqtBca9BavI9xYLuiIUaRASqTmmvz5OMbd7-6y0SvGFauLDBP_ew/s1181/jfccwscript107fallenseaqueen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1181" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6BMMXPyTnngxX5aoaAQiGw0ct7WncHykpZ2eHESVE6MUQ-nqN5v2EtyXOg8H2cQP8VHJ-7fT_E5WC9hlUcZaamgNxzHM0fllMVZQdwdJVgB_qr1Ri4KWDdI5hO-2S4DxykyoqtBca9BavI9xYLuiIUaRASqTmmvz5OMbd7-6y0SvGFauLDBP_ew/w366-h400/jfccwscript107fallenseaqueen.jpg" width="366" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1162" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCb7Anu-2cbYD-VlVOQq2WtNlyTm8axYOaeZx1nxRY67Z-Rk718pLUZCFAoZYUjIPnqX9qqyWgKlWIK6lWoDRHHbSgm5_GiDlYDxfJLPeMvhHCVH-p8XHrigFy4hEQAkYBZ44dkvOELdUOyyqJTolD1XrlP7HfHrJx_vyxOl55gGKR1qp4rKHYcQ/w371-h400/jfccwscenesschedule.jpg" width="371" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAH1dS_j0t5I2MyAFtHx9ka29AhHMLX35fma9zyUll2EpIvghspzOAbScP-hIq7vQxFIw1dSfDpiTd0m1B-eFzB6k9YjGN7jGx1quZHFqixV1AF3V16Dpc_39BjP-oaquMNuORvF5bIGjRMJ2F9FeGofbHOk_INfJkT0OGxxt5WAUYTOKXG_DJw/s1181/jfccwnetworkoutline.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1181" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAH1dS_j0t5I2MyAFtHx9ka29AhHMLX35fma9zyUll2EpIvghspzOAbScP-hIq7vQxFIw1dSfDpiTd0m1B-eFzB6k9YjGN7jGx1quZHFqixV1AF3V16Dpc_39BjP-oaquMNuORvF5bIGjRMJ2F9FeGofbHOk_INfJkT0OGxxt5WAUYTOKXG_DJw/w366-h400/jfccwnetworkoutline.jpg" width="366" /></a></div><br />Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-59173783056539248952023-11-11T17:12:00.001-08:002023-11-12T01:07:28.715-08:00The Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys Cracker Jack Halloween Set Mystery<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaheK_V0N3YOLjw1vSjwsQ4s__7aEdZBtCRpFOFEbXdupQbe2w2-3d6kHU2V5Wfg_Lt9lJ4XPnDB3ONzn3flc1Fc_2chY_adTSeDJ0AZ2zS4Yjv_OKFbParY5vK1t4hENwrRVP9OScq-5wWuyhEcNuJ7serjOAVwToglRWJAlNrJgWLY3oAvwHuQ/s1024/cj1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="724" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaheK_V0N3YOLjw1vSjwsQ4s__7aEdZBtCRpFOFEbXdupQbe2w2-3d6kHU2V5Wfg_Lt9lJ4XPnDB3ONzn3flc1Fc_2chY_adTSeDJ0AZ2zS4Yjv_OKFbParY5vK1t4hENwrRVP9OScq-5wWuyhEcNuJ7serjOAVwToglRWJAlNrJgWLY3oAvwHuQ/w283-h400/cj1.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b>Happy Halloween from Cracker Jack!</b> This neat gift set featuring <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew</a></b>, Hardy Boys, and <i>The Legend of Sleepy Hollow</i> book came out circa the mid-late 1980s. It appears to be pretty scarce for several reasons I'll detail momentarily. I first discovered it several years ago on eBay, and a friend was bidding on it, so I deferred, though I don't believe they won the set. I was determined to find the set and set up an eBay search alert. Another set - not the same as the one that sold several years ago - came up for sale several weeks ago and was snapped up quick and then resold to me. I do not know who won the set from several years ago, no one in the series book community has posted as to having it in their collection.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3gdlDFn_nDvfvArEvCCi8InODvYEXwsufsMwWS5obVKKET1ArzHfcxiLfCUg7CWGqcgJxVb30QDrunU0uQcVmd8TSH9WfMbphcqfPyLIoEPBY5yAtV1HoFBPC7uVr8WLcTl1S7sVpLiJdqYhkHvQ4pCrnU50Jf4OEM4T_TlPykjbEKcLyNouaQ/s1024/cj2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="739" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3gdlDFn_nDvfvArEvCCi8InODvYEXwsufsMwWS5obVKKET1ArzHfcxiLfCUg7CWGqcgJxVb30QDrunU0uQcVmd8TSH9WfMbphcqfPyLIoEPBY5yAtV1HoFBPC7uVr8WLcTl1S7sVpLiJdqYhkHvQ4pCrnU50Jf4OEM4T_TlPykjbEKcLyNouaQ/w289-h400/cj2.jpg" width="289" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The set from several years ago - see last 3 images in this blog - featured the <i>Sleepy Hollow</i> book plus <i>Nancy Drew Ghost Stories</i> and then the Hardy Boys book #63, <i>The Mummy Case</i> featuring a later cover art that came out around 1987. My best guess, therefore, is that these sets date to around 1987 or 1988 possibly. My set, featuring the first four images of this blog, has the <i>Hardy Boys Ghost Stories</i> instead of <i>Mummy Case</i> along with the same two Nancy Drew/<i>Sleepy Hollow</i> books from the other set.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Some clues about both sets - the packaging is identical. The number on the back - CJ 55 is the same on both. They appeared to be possibly box sets online, but there is no full box - it's only a thick paper/cardstock fold over with images of the Cracker Jack sailor boy/dog/pumpkin and cat and the ghost/etc. So, the bottom, top and the spines of the books are all uncovered. <i>Sleepy Hollow</i> is sandwiched in between the other two books. Both the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew ghost stories are not Wanderer imprints, they are Minstrel imprints further adding clues to the likely date of around 1987 or 1988 since Minstrel came after Wanderer. I do not know if there's possibly any paperwork or advertising inside this set since it's shrink-wrapped and I prefer to keep it that way so it's minty as it came. Following in Nancy Drew's footsteps, in looking inside with a flashlight and magnifying glass all around, I do not see any other inserts or pieces of paper unless they are underneath the fold over and can't been seen.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWNfT9nG_sSn7qGssjCqM20jcsyNLvjc_0JF4sNZN6hJt83LKPK2dkUI044UnBlIZECo_71573_Q9jM6Y0UcV-sm3VNOKW1xm6PXA2RdDwDB91pLRaX6bnVpR_JIM2eEQ7DeRNnnB64nayx54I-j6byQlZQgmlFUTzHKbzyDb25QlN6jMEhTKSIw/s3601/crackerjacksetspines.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2091" data-original-width="3601" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWNfT9nG_sSn7qGssjCqM20jcsyNLvjc_0JF4sNZN6hJt83LKPK2dkUI044UnBlIZECo_71573_Q9jM6Y0UcV-sm3VNOKW1xm6PXA2RdDwDB91pLRaX6bnVpR_JIM2eEQ7DeRNnnB64nayx54I-j6byQlZQgmlFUTzHKbzyDb25QlN6jMEhTKSIw/w400-h233/crackerjacksetspines.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXdTlHS2tSoXFLaUGtwHzlL52IjIHGKeH2lq0XrLYlfqTH4LrhtS_0Y-jaIl7Ms6k77zGQ1R4NHUrsl2lCxPzr1Vx_reKFVPVslxgz91-E4O-O7wBfcDuhWUzCC7SkouT3i9Y0uG2WFffXE2ULOdm48HLP1x5aUHtggQLLHN-iKPlm94SkiQ02FQ/s1280/cj4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="1280" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXdTlHS2tSoXFLaUGtwHzlL52IjIHGKeH2lq0XrLYlfqTH4LrhtS_0Y-jaIl7Ms6k77zGQ1R4NHUrsl2lCxPzr1Vx_reKFVPVslxgz91-E4O-O7wBfcDuhWUzCC7SkouT3i9Y0uG2WFffXE2ULOdm48HLP1x5aUHtggQLLHN-iKPlm94SkiQ02FQ/w400-h116/cj4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">I'd never heard a word from any other Nancy Drew collectors ever about this set before, nor any Hardy Boys collectors, so I decided to reach out to a Cracker Jack expert, one expert to another ;-) I found Alex Jaramillo, who has published a guide titled <i>Cracker Jack Prizes</i>, and he was very kind enough to reply back with a little bit of information that was helpful in understanding what this might be. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1cJ97wGW3M0XU9Qfwf9-N4u7otAgxYm8cqjaP-g9YZf6gvEe1CAoz6ByOf-N9qg-7FFslquEpcUj7qa9i9E_ceuOKnrSM9yWgLTLjuk625bg0nQQ5zvyzD87LUu_D8CPWgTEjyLgU4yNaBZ281NhsYbMK96FqhANxRW_LjsE8w_Smdhlsif4e4w/s1600/cjackcoll.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1533" data-original-width="1600" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1cJ97wGW3M0XU9Qfwf9-N4u7otAgxYm8cqjaP-g9YZf6gvEe1CAoz6ByOf-N9qg-7FFslquEpcUj7qa9i9E_ceuOKnrSM9yWgLTLjuk625bg0nQQ5zvyzD87LUu_D8CPWgTEjyLgU4yNaBZ281NhsYbMK96FqhANxRW_LjsE8w_Smdhlsif4e4w/w400-h384/cjackcoll.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">He wrote that this was likely a regional promotion, which would explain why he didn't ever know about it and so few seem to turn up. Since the books vary as to the Hardy Boys in both sets, it's possible it was in several regional areas. More than likely kids would have opened this up and the Cracker Jack fold over wrapper would have been discarded. Sometimes Cracker Jack would do seasonal or baseball promotions like this and sometimes they would be regionally offered. So that could explain very easily the scarcity of this item.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">My next goal is to find out how they were advertised - possibly on boxes in stores or perhaps in some kind of publication as advertising. Since I like to collect to tell the story and find all the puzzle pieces involved, finding the original advertising or a box featuring the promo would be fantastic, so everyone BOLO! If you have seen this before, have one of these, or have seen the advertising, please e-mail me with more details and clues at nancydrewsleuth@aol.com.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnOgZ0O52MFODjV_A7HtZIpbFj-BSS0OLt-cDC_iPtgohS87v6BkKESEXfITn55FjP1FBPA9z94fUnuHKG4sZXFz90vda7Qwpu-vL_2TZTRNJW187zaxCo6RG9HbrrbOVNwBkuJmLemFsiHm4Sfv722_7qUcmKgd5jalWoIpYbetG32pwbkiEww/s1440/401240796_10224169471200841_6155355469439609526_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1440" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnOgZ0O52MFODjV_A7HtZIpbFj-BSS0OLt-cDC_iPtgohS87v6BkKESEXfITn55FjP1FBPA9z94fUnuHKG4sZXFz90vda7Qwpu-vL_2TZTRNJW187zaxCo6RG9HbrrbOVNwBkuJmLemFsiHm4Sfv722_7qUcmKgd5jalWoIpYbetG32pwbkiEww/w400-h291/401240796_10224169471200841_6155355469439609526_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>UPDATE:</b> See image above, a fellow collector, Scott, found this ad in a Newspapers.com search - it doesn't appear to be for this full set of 3 books, you could just order the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys ghost story books individually and there was a Monsters book rather than the <i>Sleepy Hollow</i> book, this ad running in 1988. So, perhaps the ad for my set and the first set was run around 1987 or sometime soon after where a whole set could be acquired. But we're on the right track to finding the actual advertising! Very excited to see what else turns up!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiUcqTznMHt3wKy-3LwAmbLIzuWuMENVGlOoZrLqiQVLGDELr78XH-63VqzGN5TLHv8p-zBFNq-0aOkri7kzcprYnKMJIMd8slnszWdbdxYbEv5_V6FInmYHt4gB3P_5SQJCIR-JeSoXBRbzdugqK9qPUOKmtI_LN1XiAotZam0EZ9nQtg1sUPow/s1600/crackerj1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1463" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiUcqTznMHt3wKy-3LwAmbLIzuWuMENVGlOoZrLqiQVLGDELr78XH-63VqzGN5TLHv8p-zBFNq-0aOkri7kzcprYnKMJIMd8slnszWdbdxYbEv5_V6FInmYHt4gB3P_5SQJCIR-JeSoXBRbzdugqK9qPUOKmtI_LN1XiAotZam0EZ9nQtg1sUPow/w366-h400/crackerj1.jpg" width="366" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuxzHkUyr4M21unCBgMf5oUi_xIMfGnKZLQnX5Txlma8BWwL8Z_JW-3qxjZExnDhN0OPIob-rniI-LswHHT2XMwTmAWthmhf_hR9RUtApZv4n6kUAzHPlOsaEuePHqmUc2QFs6DLUbyfzfliTCIDjThcM8pdBl_fyLlQ4Pu3WLXMAHZb_QxUxng/s1600/crackerj2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuxzHkUyr4M21unCBgMf5oUi_xIMfGnKZLQnX5Txlma8BWwL8Z_JW-3qxjZExnDhN0OPIob-rniI-LswHHT2XMwTmAWthmhf_hR9RUtApZv4n6kUAzHPlOsaEuePHqmUc2QFs6DLUbyfzfliTCIDjThcM8pdBl_fyLlQ4Pu3WLXMAHZb_QxUxng/w400-h180/crackerj2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_FNbTEhn5p4tXX7nkITrB_d2VHZ0eYFSqDRVzYhYSBYB2LmQvXhJ2Is03w8xaWsA5rhfSGoEs9NV8v7EqNtdqDk1tpY_SEoCk5Zn7ZPclmt4_3QmYQcz_PoBexJVWvFyYcokLiyZUP7HbmVna_ZW9ynH-IjL4Uu29fFAelUjuwDlBTlU-VlKAA/s1600/crackerj3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1488" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_FNbTEhn5p4tXX7nkITrB_d2VHZ0eYFSqDRVzYhYSBYB2LmQvXhJ2Is03w8xaWsA5rhfSGoEs9NV8v7EqNtdqDk1tpY_SEoCk5Zn7ZPclmt4_3QmYQcz_PoBexJVWvFyYcokLiyZUP7HbmVna_ZW9ynH-IjL4Uu29fFAelUjuwDlBTlU-VlKAA/w373-h400/crackerj3.jpg" width="373" /></a></div><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-87101628845120398662023-08-08T13:42:00.021-07:002023-11-05T16:28:33.331-08:00The Secret of Mirror Bay - The Secrets & History Behind the Mystery <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDF_xRv3aATD3qtC-9zcnU5JbfAAdRt2A-0CfOnMcxTkKxLcIMJX7K4P-cs434ePpI2ZD9MfqzG7HZZ-Nm7SIaKCSAGudRT85vMI3P-D8Qde1IdY9KspH0Uc3LoaRbr0fLGPjcWd-WANrjFkOpD9-mMU3ZjCkQoyTkC0yr8eOkCvX8WEsth_qiQ/s1017/cooperstownndsil.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1017" data-original-width="725" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDF_xRv3aATD3qtC-9zcnU5JbfAAdRt2A-0CfOnMcxTkKxLcIMJX7K4P-cs434ePpI2ZD9MfqzG7HZZ-Nm7SIaKCSAGudRT85vMI3P-D8Qde1IdY9KspH0Uc3LoaRbr0fLGPjcWd-WANrjFkOpD9-mMU3ZjCkQoyTkC0yr8eOkCvX8WEsth_qiQ/w285-h400/cooperstownndsil.png" width="285" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Secret of Mirror Bay</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i>Click on the images in this article for a larger view...</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you want to know the real secret of "Mirror Bay" aka Otsego Lake, it’s
not about mysterious mountain sorcerers, fireflies, or poisonous centipedes. It is, however, about how Harriet Stratemeyer Adams came to visit Cooperstown in
the summer of 1971. She was there to do research for book #49 in the classic
<b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mysterystories.html" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Mystery Stories Series</a></b>, <i>The Secret of Mirror Bay</i>, which she
wrote. It was published in 1972. Harriet was head of <a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/history.html" target="_blank">The Stratemeyer Syndicate</a>,
the company behind Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys among other popular series.</span></p><p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In <i>Mirror Bay</i>, as the book’s synopsis reads, “Aunt Eloise Drew
invites Nancy and her friends to Mirror Bay Bide-A-Wee cabin near Cooperstown,
New York, for a visit and a chance to solve the mystery of the woman who glides
across the water. Upon their arrival Nancy becomes mixed up in a vacation hoax
because she resembles the young woman involved, and is nearly arrested for
fraud. On the wooded mountain near the cabin further exciting events await
Nancy and the other girls. There, in the deep forest, a weird luminescent green
sorcerer appears who threatens to cast an evil spell on anyone investigating his
strange activities. In a dangerous twist of circumstances Nancy finds that
solving one mystery helps to solve another. What happens when the young
detective and her friends uncover a cleverly concealed criminal operation makes
thrilling reading.” In the New York Public Library’s Stratemeyer Syndicate
archives there are quite a few documents and letters back and forth between the
Syndicate and Nancy Drew publisher Grosset & Dunlap on the creation of this
published book synopsis.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnEslDUmwwV7Ig9YZXr2qdksTtOFSOWek4VU-zbOGYIp4PlGB0Ocz24ZWAOgRSovIIOMMYORoTgiyITi9WF8hm45Pp6akEFxwciIWpiFBXVUw60DhKFpE5YFcjj0lcqX9kPhpJETLQDh35Y5xWOvJnhgvmL2z6b3cJ0z2RUH3SzyauIGyKYKfQA/s725/coopersint1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="567" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnEslDUmwwV7Ig9YZXr2qdksTtOFSOWek4VU-zbOGYIp4PlGB0Ocz24ZWAOgRSovIIOMMYORoTgiyITi9WF8hm45Pp6akEFxwciIWpiFBXVUw60DhKFpE5YFcjj0lcqX9kPhpJETLQDh35Y5xWOvJnhgvmL2z6b3cJ0z2RUH3SzyauIGyKYKfQA/w313-h400/coopersint1.png" width="313" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nancy brings along her pals Bess and George and they meet up with Aunt
Eloise and the shenanigans start off right as they arrive in Cooperstown – two
mysteries! Local characters Miss Armitage and Yo are introduced as well as the
host of villains who try to thwart Nancy when she gets too close to their
secret hideout on the mountain. Villain Sam the Green Man is the one who
dresses up to scare people. One of these crooks is Doria Sampler Hornsby who
happens to look similar to Nancy, except she has a harder looking face.
However, people tend to mistake Nancy for her and think Nancy’s up to no good
until corrected. Johann “Yo” Bradley is a local youth who knows the ins and
outs of Cooperstown and is always ready to help Nancy with her mystery solving
and even comes to her rescue several times. Yo likes to tell tall tales and
refers to Cooperstown as “Ghost Country.” Miss Armitage has ancestors who
buried a Russian child’s coach in Otsego Lake which she is trying to find using stilts in the water. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCijOiv5ZSZ7FsDOqUO4TEH5XWJS3EONvTl9YTsj3TD4KIquvzd-m_izslCiIdiKaV-jVgPm-Obw7Ol6dbZoF-KZLb6ewC1cN-_mGsQuxcxgYgO1_poGzQjCtWGUoTd8IUCpBh1UuCUPvBudoOq4aYoqcK1cH-FRsnsElHofRmki-DqPtvJX1LA/s615/coopersint2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="413" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCijOiv5ZSZ7FsDOqUO4TEH5XWJS3EONvTl9YTsj3TD4KIquvzd-m_izslCiIdiKaV-jVgPm-Obw7Ol6dbZoF-KZLb6ewC1cN-_mGsQuxcxgYgO1_poGzQjCtWGUoTd8IUCpBh1UuCUPvBudoOq4aYoqcK1cH-FRsnsElHofRmki-DqPtvJX1LA/w269-h400/coopersint2.png" width="269" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The book is similar to a 1970s style Scooby Doo
mystery in part with the sorcerer and his costumes the villains “haunt” the
mountain with, the strange vacation hoax, the poisonous centipedes, the
luminescent mushrooms, the visits to all the area attractions, and the
discovery of rogue scientists doing experiments in a secret underground lab in
the mountain, which all work together to make this a rather interesting and zany Nancy Drew mystery. <i>Mirror Bay </i>does provide a great
travelogue style story in that Nancy and her friends travel around to the local
haunts and you get a real flair for the Village of Cooperstown.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As always, when I pick a real-life location where
one of the Nancy Drew books is set so that fans can follow in Nancy Drew’s
footsteps and bring the book to life at one of our <b><a href="https://www.nancydrewfans.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Conventions</a></b>, I dive
in and research and sleuth for clues. Basically, I get to play Nancy Drew, but
it’s a much safer version of sleuthing without the chloroforming, head
knockouts and villain foibles thrown my way that Nancy often experienced. No
threats to stay off the case or else! No Cooperstown green sorcerer trying to
steal our thunder. In planning these conventions for over twenty years, I often
find some really neat real-life answers to the Nancy Drew book mysteries of our
youth. Sometimes though, things remain the stuff of mystery, which may be
fitting as this is Nancy Drew, after all. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I grab my magnifying
glass, hop in my proverbial roadster, and delve into the mystery like Nancy. I
re-read <i>Mirror Bay</i>, taking meticulous notes, made a list of real-life places
in the book and other things that happened or were interesting clues or what
seemed like possible real-life things and turned to Google. Looking up places
on Google, terminology used in the book, and using Google Maps helped to build
the logistics and lay the groundwork for our convention in Cooperstown. Then I
reached out to various places and people to create a great
itinerary for the fans to follow in Nancy and all her chums’ footsteps. Briefly,
in this book Nancy and her friends mention or visit some neat local places in
<b><a href="https://www.thisiscooperstown.com/" target="_blank">Cooperstown </a></b>including 5-mile point, 3-mile point, Glimmerglass State Park, Hyde
Bay on Otsego Lake, Shadow Brook, Mount Wellington, the Cooperstown docks, Kingfisher
Tower, Council Rock, The Farmer’s Museum and the Cardiff Giant, the “Fenimore
Museum” likely then “Fenimore House” home of the New York State Historical
Association (NYSHA) now called the Fenimore Art Museum, Natty Bumppo’s Cave, a
Toy Museum which is no longer open, Hyde Hall, the National Baseball Hall of
Fame and Museum, shopping in the Village of Cooperstown, the US Post Office,
The Otesaga Resort Hotel, and Hyde Hall. Researching and reading about these
places is one thing, experiencing them in real time is a whole different
ballgame.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhidsasf7VJea5SfEaF1ij9-15Wy-nfO9KYGPemZfUii0YyQ3taGelrD9WzqMeA9iwkOTHih0JfeNpN_2f_nvGuo2U_F9Fih7sdRsBHyBCZ3D-VY4EL7iNtQKbvyga1CNGnbfG5sj6or_naV74DviQq-sSIkeXDFkj9kS9W3nlxLqiJFOnYmpsClA/s1440/1a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhidsasf7VJea5SfEaF1ij9-15Wy-nfO9KYGPemZfUii0YyQ3taGelrD9WzqMeA9iwkOTHih0JfeNpN_2f_nvGuo2U_F9Fih7sdRsBHyBCZ3D-VY4EL7iNtQKbvyga1CNGnbfG5sj6or_naV74DviQq-sSIkeXDFkj9kS9W3nlxLqiJFOnYmpsClA/w400-h400/1a.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I traveled to Cooperstown with several close
chums in Nancy Drew Sleuths, Gina, Mary, and Kelly who are part of our fan
organization that puts on these conventions. We started out in Ohio and drove
up to Cooperstown over the course of two days doing research and book hunting.
The day we arrived in Cooperstown we could picture Nancy and her chums making
that same drive into Cooperstown. While we wound down the winding roads and
valleys, everything was green and lush. The distant woods in the spooky Cooperstown mountains were daring us to explore. Would there be a mysterious sorcerer
to tangle with or try and stop us from our sleuthing around Cooperstown? Time
would tell. As we drove into Cooperstown we were amazed with the picturesque
homes and buildings. It was like stepping back in time. Throughout downtown
Cooperstown, people were milling about and checking out the shops and
attractions, but we turned North heading toward the west side of the lake where
we were staying in a cottage for the duration of the convention. Our home base
was the Bayside Inn and Marina along the lakeshore. As we took the road on the
west side, I spotted Otsego Lake and everything fell into place – just as
described in the book and just as serene. As we wound around the lake, trees
densely populated the lake front in places and then views of the lake would quickly
come into focus as we whizzed by. The sun was starting to set and the colors and
reflections on the Glimmerglass were beautiful as we observed the lake from our
deck. I couldn’t wait to start out our adventure the next morning sleuthing out
the places from the book and real-life places from behind the scenes when
Harriet visited Cooperstown.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTQSCF23uneLoCnqjqFoLQeiqw2mU9jH1rBdWp5fIwfJfEOf_V3g1jrtPa6eM-yjBGZJ8BF6MaEyjAXzKHg-LDBH4d1DbGCa8US-MTkzS_idBRggnIXolIQGLb565lzOpHwstmfIArr7pO4_q-TmNOw3hvnzY4BXoD5Y9mtg-HTNFA-4e586_NQ/s3300/1a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3300" data-original-width="2550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTQSCF23uneLoCnqjqFoLQeiqw2mU9jH1rBdWp5fIwfJfEOf_V3g1jrtPa6eM-yjBGZJ8BF6MaEyjAXzKHg-LDBH4d1DbGCa8US-MTkzS_idBRggnIXolIQGLb565lzOpHwstmfIArr7pO4_q-TmNOw3hvnzY4BXoD5Y9mtg-HTNFA-4e586_NQ/w309-h400/1a.jpg" width="309" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Speaking of real life, what’s the mystery behind the writing of this
book, the real secret of <i>Mirror Bay</i>? Before we began our journey there,
I had turned from planning our tourist stops and real-life adventures around
Cooperstown to the history behind the mystery. Specifically, source material
that can be easily found that might reveal a few clues. I have notes from frequent
trips to the Stratemeyer Syndicate archives at the NYPL. I had made mention in
my notes of a couple of letters about <i>Mirror Bay</i> but hadn’t paid a lot
of attention to them, as I was focused on other subjects on my previous visits.
So, I reached out to Stratemeyer researcher <b><a href="https://stratemeyer.org/" target="_blank">James Keeline</a></b> who has quite a
database of letters and records on the NYPL Syndicate archives. He searched through
his files and came up with several dozen letters and documents in the NYPL
related to <i>Mirror Bay</i> that greatly added historical details to what I wanted
to share with fans at the Village of Cooperstown Library event where I was to
give a talk on <i>Mirror Bay </i>and the history behind it. These letters
included the two that I had taken notes on. Also, there was an interesting
reference on a written set of writing tips, a “Hint on Procedure for Writing
Children’s Books” that Harriet wrote. The procedures included this bit of
information under “Part III. Research” – “Libraries, museums. Children’s
coaches in Moscow palace now a museum. Used in story now laid in Cooperstown.”
In doing a bit of research online, The Grand Kremlin Palace serves as the
official working residence of the president of Russia. It also houses a museum.
The Armoury Chamber at The Grand Kremlin Palace houses a lot of historic and
ceremonial items including carriages and coaches. Harriet seemed to have an
interest in Russian cultural artifacts, as they appeared in several other Nancy
Drew mysteries. Was there something locally that Harriet spotted that inspired
her to create the Russian backstory and cultural artifact, the child’s coach,
that was hidden in the lake waiting to be discovered? I would soon discover a connection…</span></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9xE2Q2kDomlrKxVuTf0V4H_ceZLTYbyQ-fcAHr_KMMWBhLTW6-A1XZc5KwNRfa54suR_malFGdcOylY3pAHiiRyxKV8vS7MR0ffkLupu_1FEuqwTwUUEsJDA4N0cqw9tZHD70zgIsqmyv15eNaFZ8aOTe1-JcJFkrOmF6RQ-Z90vHnzlOCuUwUw/s4096/Edward1924CampChenango.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4096" data-original-width="3306" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9xE2Q2kDomlrKxVuTf0V4H_ceZLTYbyQ-fcAHr_KMMWBhLTW6-A1XZc5KwNRfa54suR_malFGdcOylY3pAHiiRyxKV8vS7MR0ffkLupu_1FEuqwTwUUEsJDA4N0cqw9tZHD70zgIsqmyv15eNaFZ8aOTe1-JcJFkrOmF6RQ-Z90vHnzlOCuUwUw/w323-h400/Edward1924CampChenango.jpg" width="323" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As I was working my way through the Syndicate
letters, notes, and memos for more clues, I discovered a curious piece of
ephemera that transcended way back before Harriet’s 1971 visit to nearly fifty
years earlier. Specifically, to 1924 Cooperstown in the midst of the Roaring
Twenties. Cooperstown was quite the enterprising village town. The historic Otesaga
Resort Hotel had opened in 1909. And Cooperstown was a place of many lakeside
camps for kids which were very rustic in nature, not for today’s glampers. Cooperstown
has been described as literary, cultural, recreational, and of course naturally
beautiful - and it has remained so for many years. As it turns out, the letter
I discovered involved Harriet’s father, Edward Stratemeyer of The Stratemeyer
Syndicate – inventor of Nancy Drew and other popular series including The Hardy
Boys, Tom Swift, The Rover Boys and The Bobbsey Twins. Stratemeyer had been to
Cooperstown in 1924. In a typed letter dated July 15, 1924, to “Camp Chenango,
Cooperstown NY”, addressed to a “Mr. Fisher,” he wrote of his time spent in
Cooperstown at the camp briefly. He was traveling with “Mr. Adams” – Harriet’s
husband Russell. “I shall long remember my visit to your camp and how royally I
was entertained there. It certainly is a beautiful spot and I do not wonder the
boys are enjoying every minute of their vacation. Remember me to all of them
and also to your wife and to the others.” He was sending Fisher a parcel of
Stratemeyer Syndicate books including some that Stratemeyer himself wrote up to
the camp for the boys to read, perhaps on rainy days. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Naturally I was curious about this camp! I
Googled “Camp Chenango” online to find a little bit of info, but not much, as this
was nearly 100 years ago that Stratemeyer visited and I wasn’t sure how long
the camp was in existence. I ran across something written about camps in the
area and it would appear that Camp Chenango was near the Pathfinder Lodge somewhere
on the east side of the lake described as a “woodsy maze.” In a June 1921 issue
of <i>Scribner’s Magazine</i>, an ad ran for Camp Chenango heralding “CAMP
CHENANGO ON OTSEGO LAKE, COOPERSTOWN, N. Y. For Boys 6 to 15. Give your boy a
vacation that counts. Self-Reliance, Happiness, Health. Wholesome Food,
Systematic Exercise, Mountain Air, Ideal Surroundings. Send for Illustrated
Booklet.” I also found a book –
“A Handbook of Summer Camps: An Annual Survey,” vol III by Porter Sargent, dated
1926, in which a description of Camp Chenango noted that the camp “is on the
east shore of the lake, four miles from Cooperstown and The Pathfinders’ Lodge
is a half mile beyond.” Camp Chenango was a boys’ camp, Pathfinders’ Lodge was
a girls’ camp. In <i>Mirror Bay</i>, Nancy stayed around 6 miles on the east
side out of Cooperstown, the Pathfinder Lodge is near there and of course Camp
Chenango. Located by Camp Chenango was Camp Otsego for girls also run by the Fishers
which opened in the 1940s. In <i>Mirror Bay</i>, Nancy and her friends walk
from their cottage toward Cooperstown and encounter a group of boy campers and
their counselor – no doubt likely from Camp Chenango, since it was a boys’
camp. They also run into a councilor named Karen who referred to her “little
girl campers” – likely from Camp Otsego. There were quite a few camps running
up and down the east side of the lake.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJH9vDCsKXLgEEUUdoLwOihv_2fyqgj-ojypZuCvvHmlSVqXhQdguccgDIXeMnQZDedvwmZF8phbYtmmWJxDmvHIMFAYVd2l-L-K8BBikp-6TF6FIKI9Rlgwxy1OzPgMbJvx8KQHkeT_Bde0nHqMNiZ6vKpmyOOKomXabAaSBkJMEsIBDR617jew/s1364/1523002_10201952944528715_855485111_o1922.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="1364" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJH9vDCsKXLgEEUUdoLwOihv_2fyqgj-ojypZuCvvHmlSVqXhQdguccgDIXeMnQZDedvwmZF8phbYtmmWJxDmvHIMFAYVd2l-L-K8BBikp-6TF6FIKI9Rlgwxy1OzPgMbJvx8KQHkeT_Bde0nHqMNiZ6vKpmyOOKomXabAaSBkJMEsIBDR617jew/w400-h238/1523002_10201952944528715_855485111_o1922.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Campers in a 1920s postcard of Camp Chenango</b></i></span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSm0mxfve85poW9AYgc07eNPW9V7kGjKZ_MlFAFFIYHt3t0WWpu2khvrtd4tdlOQIrY1peQpBOm9jeeF7SDWHDCizcCJl85_-9r6Z3yXqxwjoXRsukEPhWLCpYBB0RG0dJnApKcDe9L03B_uRB0qnOaWv6E905gupFe_ncF27vsOaNv_6RmzjZrg/s2016/image0%20(1).jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSm0mxfve85poW9AYgc07eNPW9V7kGjKZ_MlFAFFIYHt3t0WWpu2khvrtd4tdlOQIrY1peQpBOm9jeeF7SDWHDCizcCJl85_-9r6Z3yXqxwjoXRsukEPhWLCpYBB0RG0dJnApKcDe9L03B_uRB0qnOaWv6E905gupFe_ncF27vsOaNv_6RmzjZrg/w300-h400/image0%20(1).jpeg" width="300" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Map of Otsego Lake from Ralph Birdsall's The Story of Cooperstown</i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Copy from Suzan Friedlander with notes on camp locations</i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I ran across an article in the <i>Cooperstown
Crier</i> from 2013 with some information on a gathering of folks discussing
the lake camps. Several people were listed who presented about Cooperstown area
camps and I settled on one of them to contact - Suzan “Sue” Friedlander, Executive
Director & Head Curator at the Arkell Museum & Canajoharie Library, who
was happy to help share some information and I credit her immensely in helping
me find more information on the camps and to figure out where the real-life
location of the cabin in the book, Mirror Bay Bide-A-Wee, might have been when
Harriet visited Cooperstown in 1971.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sue was a fan of Nancy Drew and has her childhood
books including some of the Stratemeyer Syndicate’s Bobbsey Twin books one of
which is signed by the author through a colleague of her father’s. Sue shared a
map from a book by Ralph Birdsall - <i>The Story of Cooperstown</i>, first
published in 1917. You can get a reprint at Willis Monie Bookshop in downtown
Cooperstown. Sue had written notes on a copy of the map as to where the camps
were back in the day. Now I could get a sense of exactly where Camp Chenango
and Camp Otsego were located along the east side of Otsego Lake. Past Natty
Bumppo’s Cave and before Pathfinder Lodge. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So nearly 50 years later after her father
vacationed through Cooperstown with her husband Russell, Harriet in the summer
of 1971 ventures to Cooperstown to gather research for writing <i>Mirror Bay</i>.
This is where the mystery deepens. How did she come to go to Cooperstown and
more importantly, who drove her there? This could have been the stuff of
Syndicate legends never solved, but I gave it the old college try. I started
with Nancy Axelrad, the only surviving Stratemeyer Syndicate partner left who
had told me several years ago that a Jane Sanderson who was working at the
Syndicate went with Harriet to Cooperstown. Nancy noted that Jane had spent
summers camping in Cooperstown as a child and knew all the ghost stories around
there. So, my starting point to find out more info behind the scenes, was to
locate Jane Sanderson if possible. When you’re living in the present day 2020s
and you’re talking about people who were working at the Syndicate more than 50
years ago in the 1970s, sadly, many are not around today which throws a wrench
into sleuthing for more clues.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Not so for Jane Sanderson. My one big clue was
that she was, like Harriet, a Wellesley graduate. So, I reached out to the
Wellesley Alumni Association and they sent Jane a message for me and I got a
reply from Jane. Unfortunately, it was not the reply I expected. She was there working
at the Syndicate in the 1960s, but not the 1970s and didn’t know about
Cooperstown. So, dead end there, and then the plot thickened…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Going back to square one is a daunting place to
be at first. However, I never give up that easily. So, I compiled a list of
people I was aware of who were working at the Syndicate in the early 1970s to
try and figure out which one of them could be our “culprit.” Nancy had been
sure it was Jane, so she tried to think over who it could have and likely
couldn’t have been. Many on the list have already passed on. There was
Priscilla Baker-Carr, June Dunn, Ann Shultes, Mary Fisher, Julie Irish, Lorry
Rickle, Lilo Wuenn, Grace Grote, and others Harriet sometimes took trips with
from her own family including sister-in-law Jeannette Adams and granddaughter Dr.
Margie McClave. There were others too that worked at the Syndicate like secretary
Marjorie Flynn and Nancy reached out to Marjorie to see if she had a few clues.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Meanwhile, I started trying to find out more
about Julie Irish. Curiously, Julie was from New Paltz, NY – just a couple of
hours from Cooperstown. That seemed promising. However, a letter in the NYPL
files from Julie to Harriet stated that Julie was moving to Tucson, AZ in the
summer of 1970, so she wouldn’t have likely been around to go with Harriet and
she didn’t work in the office, she worked from New Paltz. I surmised that whoever
went with Harriet was likely someone working regularly in the office or living
around that area in New Jersey. There was a woman on the list – a Mary Fisher –
who I was curious about as one of the letters on <i>Mirror Bay</i> back and
forth from the Syndicate to Grosset & Dunlap included a secretary’s
initials “mdf” (turns out this is Marjorie Flynn) and another Syndicate letter
of the time period included initials with just “mf” – could that be Mary
Fisher? Alas, no it was also Marjorie Flynn. And then of course, there’s Camp
Chenango that Edward visited run by a family named Fisher. Coincidence?
Possibly. But another piece to the puzzle I needed to shake down.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Grace Grote worked for the Syndicate during the time period of <i>Mirror Bay</i> having been written, she’d been there over 10
years at this point and had written quite a few Bobbsey Twins books plus helped
revised some Nancy Drew books including <i>The Secret of Shadow Ranch</i> and <i>The
Message in the Hollow Oak</i>. She also helped with general research and had done
research on the two Nancy Drew books published before <i>Mirror Bay</i>. Her
husband Donald Grote, was an advisor on science related subjects, mainly for
the Tom Swift series. As of 2020, Grace had turned 100 and there’s a news piece
online about her church celebrating that milestone. Would I be able to get in
touch with her in 2023? Might she have the missing piece of the puzzle? I
reached out to her church to see if they could get me in touch with her. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ODwJd_JCO_z0ctYXZTZMf2Z4EPfKVXRZyhcg1L8aU7l4gOvKDjrTMRzzmBNzMrrBMvZ6Ud1e1A9hDRdUc5CmnQeI7_MZWFX5GuHLOjresEiP7G1vSu2TmvBIvEId5BeklLVVB42M2Pr-6CM95BDaK1vDagn52sk3tCFs1k8gqQPQXlZ85-8iTA/s919/Harriet1957CooperstownFuneral.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="919" data-original-width="871" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ODwJd_JCO_z0ctYXZTZMf2Z4EPfKVXRZyhcg1L8aU7l4gOvKDjrTMRzzmBNzMrrBMvZ6Ud1e1A9hDRdUc5CmnQeI7_MZWFX5GuHLOjresEiP7G1vSu2TmvBIvEId5BeklLVVB42M2Pr-6CM95BDaK1vDagn52sk3tCFs1k8gqQPQXlZ85-8iTA/w379-h400/Harriet1957CooperstownFuneral.jpg" width="379" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Then there was the eureka discovery in going manually
through the PDF files of the Grace and Donald Grote letters in the Stratemeyer
Syndicate archives at NYPL that James shared. It seemed there were little to no
hints there, nothing about <i>Mirror Bay</i> from the 1970s letters and as I
scrolled upward back through time, I got into the 1950s when I spied it. And I
can see why the “Cooperstown” search James ran didn’t find it originally as
Cooperstown was misspelled in the letter – it was spelled “Cooperstorn,” a
harmless typo at the time, but not so harmless in that it was nearly overlooked
70 years after the fact when trying to solve this mystery!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This letter that I
discovered in the Grote files, began the final unearthing of the rest of the
puzzle pieces I needed to solve this mystery. Harriet was dashing off this
letter to Grace’s husband, Donald, in 1957 about a Tom Swift he was consulting
on and she casually mentioned that she and her husband had unexpectedly made a
trip to Cooperstown for a funeral of “an old friend.” The letter was dated July
12, 1957. Looking up a 1957 calendar online, I surmised based on her mentioning
having gone there “last Sunday” – which would have been the 7<span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">th</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> of
July, that the funeral had to have taken place around that time. It was
exciting to see that Harriet had been to Cooperstown and that she knew someone
associated with the town. I felt like I was getting closer to solving the
mystery.</span></div></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYX_6r7Jv0V17t58Fpmew6W2jaNpaO4IohV55a3cBZ025lpbS7bdGw71vLkc0cNaCP0o083BulzfbupGd4HZqptSzH45rafBWhJZ1C7O3OqPmFjI6Cl7OCfjSyjl-hpDkI1-W3399JzWo0YwUz9B36mliRGna54VhCEXqxGtfbuandUV7NtQxWA/s955/thecoopobit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="819" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYX_6r7Jv0V17t58Fpmew6W2jaNpaO4IohV55a3cBZ025lpbS7bdGw71vLkc0cNaCP0o083BulzfbupGd4HZqptSzH45rafBWhJZ1C7O3OqPmFjI6Cl7OCfjSyjl-hpDkI1-W3399JzWo0YwUz9B36mliRGna54VhCEXqxGtfbuandUV7NtQxWA/w343-h400/thecoopobit.jpg" width="343" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Screen capture from The Oneonta Star - July 5, 1957</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I figured it was worth a try to search out 1957 obituaries
for early July. I searched online
for a Cooperstown area newspaper – <i>The Oneonta Star</i> – to see if I could
find an obituary for early July that matched the date. In a matter of minutes,
I’d found a “smoking gun” of sorts. There was a clipping of a July 5, 1957
entry about E. Lynn Fisher who had died on July 4 at his camp on Otsego Lake.
What are the odds that a Fisher – associated in some way with Harriet’s father
before her and his visit to Camp Chenango in 1924 with her husband, passed away
at around the same time Harriet was going to Cooperstown for a funeral?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The obituary mentioned that Fisher had
established Camp Chenango. Undoubtedly the same “Mr. Fisher” that Edward
Stratemeyer was writing to in 1924. The funeral was in the afternoon that same
day Harriet and her husband had hurriedly drove up to Cooperstown. Fisher was
living in NJ and was an English teacher in Newark, NJ. That sealed the deal for
me. The Stratemeyer family likely knew the Fisher family well based on not only
being based in NJ where the Stratemeyers had lived for years, but the 1924 visit
by Edward and Russell Adams and Harriet traveling to Cooperstown for the
funeral in 1957, and so that explains the travels to Cooperstown and likely the
connection to traveling there in 1971. I would soon come full circle with more
news about this connection between the two families.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now the real question became what inspired
Harriet to return for researching <i>Mirror Bay</i> in 1971 and was Syndicate
employee, Mary Fisher, the connection to the Fisher family in NJ and
Cooperstown and did she drive Harriet to Cooperstown in 1971?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In order to solve that mystery, I needed to see
about connecting with Grace Grote and running all these new developments by
Nancy Axelrad to see if that seemed plausible.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nancy revealed a connection between E. Lynn
Fisher and a Lynn Ealer who worked at the Syndicate during the 1970s and it was
a further eureka moment! Lynn Ealer Ritchkoff was a granddaughter of E. Lynn Fisher.
I recalled that in the obit of Fisher, one of his daughters listed was Mrs. George J.
Ealer. Nancy revealed that Harriet, her husband Russell, and some couples including the
Fishers formed a group called The Whirling Dirvishes and would get together and
ball room dance. I think like a graceful waltz we’ve now come full circle. I suspected
that Lynn might have driven Harriet or perhaps suggested the setting of the
book. But, was she the “culprit” who went with Harriet? As for Mary Fisher, not
a relation, just a red herring!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I needed to see if I could find Lynn to get answers to my questions. I found her daughter through
social media and messaged her hoping she could get me in touch with Lynn.
Meanwhile, in doing a Google search, I found an obituary for a woman that Lynn
had left a condolence on at legacy website where she reminisced about “beautiful
Otsego Lake and Hyde Bay” and “camping days on Otsego.” She fondly remembered
camp reunions. This was definitely the right Lynn.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I heard back from Lynn’s daughter, and she was
able to put me in touch with Lynn. Her daughter recounted the family trips to
Cooperstown and how cousins of theirs still live in the area. She related how Camps
Chenango and Otsego closed in 1976 and at one point the local family took over
running the camp from the Fishers before that after E. Lynn “Pop” Fisher passed
away. She related that Camp Chenango was located near Pathfinder Lodge. As for
the Stratemeyer Syndicate, her daughter told me how she spent “sick days”
sometimes from school curled up on a couch at the offices of The Stratemeyer
Syndicate reading the books when her mom Lynn was working there.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sDMKBLPKSq-glXjNDLPxDEma8S2wbHBqN5jmocKxfv5tWb-5wJ3MfykMu85fqBk59riNBRNnNyzl027HSoq1s36WbTAZKAUaGFOp7E1n4kKOT5z0tlriyW5MfXRWEAHRbQBqVwFnxGUDoBh61lozKakSAN5PHTiTXXdc2Bo_YyPqmo9lu4MXmg/s604/4583_1068218389187_6594951_nOtsego%201958%20-%20Tent%207LynnEalerCampCounselor.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="604" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sDMKBLPKSq-glXjNDLPxDEma8S2wbHBqN5jmocKxfv5tWb-5wJ3MfykMu85fqBk59riNBRNnNyzl027HSoq1s36WbTAZKAUaGFOp7E1n4kKOT5z0tlriyW5MfXRWEAHRbQBqVwFnxGUDoBh61lozKakSAN5PHTiTXXdc2Bo_YyPqmo9lu4MXmg/w400-h274/4583_1068218389187_6594951_nOtsego%201958%20-%20Tent%207LynnEalerCampCounselor.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Lynn Ealer Ritchkoff (far right) as a camp counselor, photo from a Facebook </b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>reunion group for Cooperstown camps - copyright held by owner of photo</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lynn and I had a wonderful time chatting - just
the stories and memories she could recount </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">about her time at the Syndicate and
knowing Harriet. The memories spent in Cooperstown at the camps were lovely to
hear about. Her grandmother, Jane Carr Fisher, was really good friends with
Harriet, the wife of E. Lynn Fisher of Camp Chenango. In fact, Lynn told me how
the Fishers lived just a few houses down from Harriet in Maplewood, NJ. She
spoke of Camp Chenango and Camp Otsego and how they were very rustic camps,
mostly tents and a few cabins. There was a bridge between the two camps and the
girls and boys would get together some for meals, beach cookouts, square
dancing, church on Sundays, but they also did a lot of activities on their own.
She reminisced about all the camaraderie among the campers and counselors who
came back for many years each year. So here it was, the connection complete
between how Harriet and her family came to travel and visit Cooperstown – she
was good friends and Maplewood neighbors with Jane and Pop Fisher. And the association ran deep - back at least as far as 1924 when Edward and Harriet’s husband visited
the Fishers at Camp Chenango. What a really neat and exceptionally quaint back story,
one I never expected to uncover when I began looking into the background of
Harriet researching for this book. I have no doubt that visits to the Fishers
and the camps was an inspiration and perhaps this was a touching way to
commemorate the long-lasting friendship among the families.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">After graduating from her grandmother Jane’s Alma
Mater, Elmira College, Jane suggested that Lynn work for Harriet and after the
interview, she was hired and worked at the Syndicate for a few years. Her
position was secretarial and she did a lot of typing. She recalled a small
staff in the office, the line of typewriters everyone worked on, how Harriet
was most pleasant, generous, and always had a smile. Parties in Maplewood and
Harriet’s Bird Haven Farm were a treat. Lynn recounted once they moved the
Syndicate offices from East Orange to Maplewood, how they had a wonderful
library in the office of all the books the Syndicate had produced.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My first question, after pleasantries, was to ask
if Lynn drove Harriet up to Cooperstown. Was she THE one I’d been searching
for? The answer was “no” – Lynn was not the one who traveled with Harriet. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lynn wasn’t sure if she had been in Cooperstown when Harriet visited in 1971, but she remembers Harriet saying she was going to go there and of course about her having traveled up there and then writing the book. Lynn</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> had a thought that it might have been June Dunn, who Nancy Axelrad had told me
often went on trips with Harriet. So, perhaps it was June, similar in name to
Jane, who went with Harriet to Cooperstown. Perhaps Jane Sanderson was being remembered
instead of Jane Fisher, Harriet’s friend. Two Janes and one June and I think
we’re on the right track. The one person left who might know, of course, was
Grace Grote. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">From Lynn I learned a little more about Cooperstown and Otsego Lake. Harriet visited Hyde Bay, located near the north part of the
lake, named after the Hyde family. Located in Hyde Bay is Glimmerglass State
Park with the Hyde’s mansion, Hyde Hall. There is a river called Shadow Brook,
a tributary which flows into Otsego Lake at the north end near Glimmerglass
Park that Harriet investigated. In fact, it’s the largest watershed in the Otsego
Lake basin. In the book, when the sailboat Nancy and her chums are using is
stolen, Yo suggests it might be found around Shadow Brook and they immediately
go there and find the sailboat half sunken in the Shadow Brook inlet. Shadow
Brook also flows under the historic Hyde Hall Bridge. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When I mentioned some of the details from <i>Mirror
Bay</i> to Lynn, including the sunken chest with the old child’s coach, she
wondered if some of the sunken cultural artifacts from the lake could have
inspired Harriet. Lynn recalled a particular sunken boat that is in the lake. I
did some research online and found there were several wrecks in the lake and an
aircraft that crashed in 1948. In August of 1940, there was a wooden boat, <i>The
Leatherstocking</i>, that caught fire and sank. There is also Sunken Island in
the north part of the lake that Lynn mentioned. These cultural artifacts and
the idea of something being sunken – like the island – all could have been
inspiration to Harriet.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Other things that clearly inspired Harriet were the
history and tales written by James Fenimore Cooper which Harriet mentions in the
beginning of <i>Mirror Bay</i> and in various places throughout the story.
Cooper’s 1830 novel, <i>The Water-Witch</i>, featuring a ship named
“Water-Witch,” likely inspired the name of the speedboat that capsizes Nancy’s
sailboat, named “The Water Witch.” Sleuth Gina found this gem in searching
about Cooperstown. Cooperstown was also called “The Haunted Lake” by Cooper’s
grandniece Constance Fenimore. In <i>Harper’s New Monthly Magazine</i> in a
volume from 1871 to 1872, there’s an article called “The Haunted Lake” which
discusses Cooper and the lake. Constance speaks of Cooper no longer being with
us but that the magic of his characters lingers on all around the area that he
“lovingly described.” She writes of the lake, “It’s points and bays are
haunted, and it’s forests are peopled with wraiths and shades.” There couldn’t
have been a better place to set <i>Mirror Bay</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lynn and I discussed where Harriet might have
stayed when she visited Cooperstown in 1971. She mentioned a place I hadn’t
heard of called Rathbun’s. In doing some research I zeroed in on the fact that
it was located nearly 7 miles on the east side of the lake near Hyde Bay in very close proximity to the place in the book that everyone stays at. I
discovered that it was sold in 1985 and is now the Hyde Bay Colony. Online you
can look up Hyde Bay Colony and learn more about these cabins that 13 families
collectively own and rent out. The colony is located near Glimmerglass State Park. It’s also just south of the Shadow Brook River and tributary
to Otsego Lake.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sharing the description of Mirror Bay Bide-A-Wee
in the book with Sue Friedlander, she agreed that it was likely the current
Hyde Bay Colony. A major clue in the book that didn’t seem like something that
would have been made up, was that Nancy’s cabin was a “cola stop” for hikers so
there was a coke machine on the porch. There’s a cottage today in the colony
that advertises that they keep a copy of <i>Mirror Bay</i> displayed in the
cottage. Looking online at photos of the cottages in the colony, the
descriptions, the lake being right there, a dock, the views north across Hyde
Bay and west across Lake Otsego, just south of Shadow Brook, it would appear to
be THE location. Whether Harriet stayed there or not while doing research for
the book, she certainly made that the location for Mirror Bay Bide-A-Wee when
writing the story.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In the book, once everyone gets to Cooperstown,
Nancy notes they will drive along the water to Hyde Bay and then walk down to
“Bide-A-Wee cabin.” It’s located “some six miles” from Cooperstown. The drive
to the cabin involves sites along the lake of various camps and campers -
likely Camp Chenango and Camp Otsego among others. They come to a parking area on
the left and park. They take their bags and head down a path toward the
waterfront. Though the cabin was on the bay, it was at the point where the “inlet
joined the lake proper.” The cabin was described as rustic and had a large
front porch with a view west across the lake and north across the bay. It had a
living room with a large fireplace, a well-furnished kitchen and three good
sized bedrooms. </span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHQYkwylZ2BGi4hLhvqlRPUOTtox_yY9ty0sKuoEOAMkd2a5NVwcrbwJqGye23qRUgg5Pt5W4_85LCZYOOf_ueb819LLRj5WQ-x5zBWRRVH5ClFNFF0oCgdCcxpN2_ad93tYHRv7jN-x-I5W0fx2Lw_gx5npCP-isyB5G_ADKQHA2Cv6MGYt8yEw/s4032/2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHQYkwylZ2BGi4hLhvqlRPUOTtox_yY9ty0sKuoEOAMkd2a5NVwcrbwJqGye23qRUgg5Pt5W4_85LCZYOOf_ueb819LLRj5WQ-x5zBWRRVH5ClFNFF0oCgdCcxpN2_ad93tYHRv7jN-x-I5W0fx2Lw_gx5npCP-isyB5G_ADKQHA2Cv6MGYt8yEw/w300-h400/2.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Former Entrance to Camps Chenango/Otsego</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">After we arrived in Cooperstown the next morning
we set off on a sleuthing adventure around the east side of the lake. Our goal
was to find the location of the former Camp Chenango and Camp Otsego and also
to check out the Hyde Bay Colony to see if in fact this could be where the
fictional Mirror Bay Bide-A-Wee cabin was located. I had a rather vague address
for Camp Chenango and a notation of someone mentioning a chain across an old
entrance. We watched our car’s mileage and drove about 4 miles until we soon
spotted a chain draped lazily across what was formerly a driveway. Overgrown
with greenery and vines, Gina and I traipsed down through the path, picking our
way as rain threatened to start pouring. There was an overgrown clearing and
then a “woodsy maze” as described in researching the camp. Nothing remained of
the camp, but you could picture the kids having a grand old time back in the
day with so much to explore and probably daring each other to run across on the
right side of the road up the spooky old “haunted” mountain.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrXcKBej4TMo8TLIGUSswi6JKr4OxAe3YzLqEHbWKGNKey9XNzb8Y-jzFK_BPSg__82ABQZC3l-MSArIJwtge3HgNhWfNMOGg9uhXbt1nzVKBx_KWxPaPW9Uw_ef1seMtx45GaUTs3kyJzljPlVWR-b0hUqtuGu7hT67QBOwrFlcxWAZo7oWjrCA/s4032/3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrXcKBej4TMo8TLIGUSswi6JKr4OxAe3YzLqEHbWKGNKey9XNzb8Y-jzFK_BPSg__82ABQZC3l-MSArIJwtge3HgNhWfNMOGg9uhXbt1nzVKBx_KWxPaPW9Uw_ef1seMtx45GaUTs3kyJzljPlVWR-b0hUqtuGu7hT67QBOwrFlcxWAZo7oWjrCA/w400-h300/3.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8w2JfOvpzclgiVGOq8rbc708UR41etn6brau6cBG31Ph9gfBOcdYZ5yFkM-R5AUTK_U7Y05aduhpRM1r0h9Jnn27ux2PRHJ0LCBJsdXkyt-pBCpsiRxd9-7uFCVu7UvNfR0xRRdXKBHQdVtNG3Tel-sB2GJwwJmBlpWyPY8f8hpoGEaQAs8_AFw/s4032/4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8w2JfOvpzclgiVGOq8rbc708UR41etn6brau6cBG31Ph9gfBOcdYZ5yFkM-R5AUTK_U7Y05aduhpRM1r0h9Jnn27ux2PRHJ0LCBJsdXkyt-pBCpsiRxd9-7uFCVu7UvNfR0xRRdXKBHQdVtNG3Tel-sB2GJwwJmBlpWyPY8f8hpoGEaQAs8_AFw/w300-h400/4.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw9PgaCmDqTZI6cTYgsKCH8xSMOznM2mlAgx5jTKytIxSe1UG00GULqs2GPlEUfuIqGy9Q-XzB56_4UC3bKuko94-HBq0Q9wmSXCMX_wEb1_ZqFM23RgD8gNC8cVdTUmTmcGOwZ2GdjXOzCg2AkDkuAECdduWjQdeIPr5t-q4ZmHJq4uWR_EXxNA/s4032/4a.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw9PgaCmDqTZI6cTYgsKCH8xSMOznM2mlAgx5jTKytIxSe1UG00GULqs2GPlEUfuIqGy9Q-XzB56_4UC3bKuko94-HBq0Q9wmSXCMX_wEb1_ZqFM23RgD8gNC8cVdTUmTmcGOwZ2GdjXOzCg2AkDkuAECdduWjQdeIPr5t-q4ZmHJq4uWR_EXxNA/w300-h400/4a.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvlVbOdWAGf-DUc5_Oc_nJyZoiRNSyRpXTG_Xw_z5buPUkcgWCkS8xubG0x-1nUfKmZ1q_eZiOc04UwWNGbyCky_37qunLbx9va49ngKTHmc1FUYbltB1m-0Ze8Qs0XpCUqbXL3tkOgch3BMcBYu49scJW37l1JY6iGvS2GfvaK99NG1hszBhajQ/s640/5.1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvlVbOdWAGf-DUc5_Oc_nJyZoiRNSyRpXTG_Xw_z5buPUkcgWCkS8xubG0x-1nUfKmZ1q_eZiOc04UwWNGbyCky_37qunLbx9va49ngKTHmc1FUYbltB1m-0Ze8Qs0XpCUqbXL3tkOgch3BMcBYu49scJW37l1JY6iGvS2GfvaK99NG1hszBhajQ/w400-h300/5.1.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We also doubled back to check out the hiking
entrance to the trail going up to Natty Bumppo’s cave – considered a rather
steep hike and by then the rain was coming. I walked a pathway among the trees
which provided some shelter and even checked the stumps of trees for mushrooms
as I went. Would they be luminescent? While we didn’t try to hike up to the cave,
Sleuth LuAnn and her husband Jim did – they didn’t spot any real sorcerers or
mushrooms, but they did discover the cave entrance. LuAnn noted that the path
up gets steeper as you climb up. She said “the cave is vertical and a small
person could probably squeeze in. Maybe
it has a lower opening, but it was too steep for us to check out.” It was
different as described in the book and of course Nancy and her pals had an easy
time getting to it for the sake of the mystery and convenience in <i>Mirror Bay</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRgGUerthzKezEcCgIPV4yBlK2_1pRh27ReZFw6EoYDxwGSj_EVthN6cCRgqoyGtE355j-LqYARX2SphDxnoEPNpnV_3ZiVbV1mDCStbueiKGSDseL6uSWwvl_wlvDJDb0Hxau5zxlbJMwjMzq-tafA_67-Cv-e-t-BcKcYQth0aHROoKw_xXJKw/s640/5.2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRgGUerthzKezEcCgIPV4yBlK2_1pRh27ReZFw6EoYDxwGSj_EVthN6cCRgqoyGtE355j-LqYARX2SphDxnoEPNpnV_3ZiVbV1mDCStbueiKGSDseL6uSWwvl_wlvDJDb0Hxau5zxlbJMwjMzq-tafA_67-Cv-e-t-BcKcYQth0aHROoKw_xXJKw/w300-h400/5.2.jpeg" width="300" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Pics of Natty Bumppo's Cave from LuAnn O'Connell </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b><i>taken during a hike with her husband Jim</i></b></span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmz9SROunweT4nPg0XEH3rqLkaiiK_fPQhbDQaXnVvMqvcEfJPR_voYLa-6IO5IjVXl9YjPIxWDv27K21zYISXRe1lO6S2xO_wOkWRmbR-8kmBMPMLHWgA6R0Xd7jiTaKxzwDvgRc6Bb3_m8oqCaAGMRFWduNZXo52a8tmqRo9KKSegL8yUGXMg/s640/5.3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmz9SROunweT4nPg0XEH3rqLkaiiK_fPQhbDQaXnVvMqvcEfJPR_voYLa-6IO5IjVXl9YjPIxWDv27K21zYISXRe1lO6S2xO_wOkWRmbR-8kmBMPMLHWgA6R0Xd7jiTaKxzwDvgRc6Bb3_m8oqCaAGMRFWduNZXo52a8tmqRo9KKSegL8yUGXMg/w400-h300/5.3.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHjoaoinOGE5ivGMIkajU0UmiWg7wHv07_0L43Y2zW5qDYRMoU0zmjQy4o8yqL_8CsigE5E-PdeYrhnw55K65xBdTohoTd6Ex395ZF7pGvQoq-72ZynEMeYrQuCKYLi3FzGP5wDh6VPaXNg4V3q72QU9lN4CeUppury6E0rFZD-PjwOjwAAqf9jA/s4032/6.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHjoaoinOGE5ivGMIkajU0UmiWg7wHv07_0L43Y2zW5qDYRMoU0zmjQy4o8yqL_8CsigE5E-PdeYrhnw55K65xBdTohoTd6Ex395ZF7pGvQoq-72ZynEMeYrQuCKYLi3FzGP5wDh6VPaXNg4V3q72QU9lN4CeUppury6E0rFZD-PjwOjwAAqf9jA/w400-h300/6.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We headed around the lake to a point of “some six
miles” to arrive at the Hyde Bay Colony. A sign on the road advertised and
rather beckoned us in and we drove down into a parking area surrounded by
cabins that spread down towards the lake. It was pouring rain at this point and
I grabbed one of Mary’s umbrellas determined to not let that detour me. Channeling
my inner Nancy Drew, I headed down with my phone tucked under the shelter of
the umbrella and started down a pathway. Just like in the book, you wound down
towards the lake and as I came around a bend, there the lake came into view, and
it was like I had transported myself into historical fiction – the book came to
life. The view! Oh, the view across Hyde Bay was spectacular. You could see
west across Otsego Lake, north across Hyde Bay to see Hyde Hall up on the hill.
To the right was Shadow Brook inlet and just north from there the Glimmerglass
State Park beach area. Down around the lake front were several cabins on the
left and right. They sported decks and like in the book had chimneys and
fireplaces. The dock ran out from the shore and there were several boats and
kayaks. I could picture Nancy and her friends swimming and diving and even Miss
Armitage “gliding across the water” on her stilts. I was a little awestruck as
the rain came down in torrents. I almost hated to leave the glorious view, but
we had more sleuthing to do. Turning around one last time as I headed back up the
path, I had solved one mystery. This was Mirror Bay Bide-A-Wee.</span></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcFikCwgsvZ5tT2-qlKIsBOaBKE34aFFcc34NfJDAy-7Kb4Ld0jAnfqaZrA4bZ-5g3BfvbbxLHn3vrDSWo4sfflzYzLP1QjUXqy-RWvGkuZN7Egj4WdgnjaHaTxXj4Z4wMW5FTo0ifSeM24kWvL_ysqblyx1OWy0vPeJchrUAPVlZ_t8GmGSioMQ/s4032/7.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcFikCwgsvZ5tT2-qlKIsBOaBKE34aFFcc34NfJDAy-7Kb4Ld0jAnfqaZrA4bZ-5g3BfvbbxLHn3vrDSWo4sfflzYzLP1QjUXqy-RWvGkuZN7Egj4WdgnjaHaTxXj4Z4wMW5FTo0ifSeM24kWvL_ysqblyx1OWy0vPeJchrUAPVlZ_t8GmGSioMQ/w300-h400/7.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b><i>The path down to...Mirror Bay Bide-A-Wee</i></b></span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixhckvcaHpn_Q8huPncu6GfmesKg6r32v-vqMTbal7OT0xl6XOriFCwO5ju36LFL_LzDIHFfg2okmr6d1BRSHQosPW_32eJuK21Ub_tC7mm0z7q11dMllnKuY7YYQKk-haIDsM6RlZg51SRcUkKYAZ8J19Ao3j8CzIQn_uOaldfCEyqYqJoMuUg/s4032/8.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixhckvcaHpn_Q8huPncu6GfmesKg6r32v-vqMTbal7OT0xl6XOriFCwO5ju36LFL_LzDIHFfg2okmr6d1BRSHQosPW_32eJuK21Ub_tC7mm0z7q11dMllnKuY7YYQKk-haIDsM6RlZg51SRcUkKYAZ8J19Ao3j8CzIQn_uOaldfCEyqYqJoMuUg/w300-h400/8.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmBeaKqTgSJO5bhJ_YrSyJ5s8dd0CgfBAQtaB_IWcxUyq0OddqQusBDpkrvYQJ0f3h43IADQcG31znz35HuT7pLkijc4RDgQJfhKhVBShtbodIau8MYAmBVcyIClqM_o_rDMOTGN254PrTRXQiMiJ4yXAQn14miWoELmFknow-G4Vdgp0uOk0Tw/s4032/9.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmBeaKqTgSJO5bhJ_YrSyJ5s8dd0CgfBAQtaB_IWcxUyq0OddqQusBDpkrvYQJ0f3h43IADQcG31znz35HuT7pLkijc4RDgQJfhKhVBShtbodIau8MYAmBVcyIClqM_o_rDMOTGN254PrTRXQiMiJ4yXAQn14miWoELmFknow-G4Vdgp0uOk0Tw/w400-h300/9.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8pG3lQoK06WkEGTZhGvcsmKWPysQqx1SDyta5HHhPTSmuMdRgfezcCkCg98YBXNVmpO0krfoZV8NLkI66zHJntbwWBQl3V3wISsxSXxN_LRYgoJM7-gVecBVHveoDOQBv3hBtiiiiw6Z2F3NRlssuwgrbE7FNE1xP56NeK-DCMthz3lDzsRHDw/s4032/10.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8pG3lQoK06WkEGTZhGvcsmKWPysQqx1SDyta5HHhPTSmuMdRgfezcCkCg98YBXNVmpO0krfoZV8NLkI66zHJntbwWBQl3V3wISsxSXxN_LRYgoJM7-gVecBVHveoDOQBv3hBtiiiiw6Z2F3NRlssuwgrbE7FNE1xP56NeK-DCMthz3lDzsRHDw/w400-h300/10.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBG1U6lOY5WuzF0-w-4ggAS5B1-pq0ByHvYLCM48DIqCO886oZwAyMMICFJhd4Q2H0De20siZa4oaYdnMQuvU3mrgMUkQx4IGLtJ_2NXznA00o3EM4Yjt7AI-E8SRRSAcTy-4_3xPkyIQ6fzVh9TlMEIkvYV7MaeLELVZPhUzcWNHuw_A17glqxA/s4032/11.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBG1U6lOY5WuzF0-w-4ggAS5B1-pq0ByHvYLCM48DIqCO886oZwAyMMICFJhd4Q2H0De20siZa4oaYdnMQuvU3mrgMUkQx4IGLtJ_2NXznA00o3EM4Yjt7AI-E8SRRSAcTy-4_3xPkyIQ6fzVh9TlMEIkvYV7MaeLELVZPhUzcWNHuw_A17glqxA/w400-h300/11.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUSjDff7khPgT-emdPGLS7mGDg7_MUxPDMNPZiWv4om83iEoKgLFjS_Sc16KY5GIvCX1U4RyzbyOg4obQ93jKDcGhUqQM4AfytUXIZ1P5JyyvLCqqPFgicd52srGuhdxifp_4oxWrhyf4LuUo5cMLdQNDMyhEysJFaOwXxT4TPKBikR6IV9S1jRA/s4032/12.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUSjDff7khPgT-emdPGLS7mGDg7_MUxPDMNPZiWv4om83iEoKgLFjS_Sc16KY5GIvCX1U4RyzbyOg4obQ93jKDcGhUqQM4AfytUXIZ1P5JyyvLCqqPFgicd52srGuhdxifp_4oxWrhyf4LuUo5cMLdQNDMyhEysJFaOwXxT4TPKBikR6IV9S1jRA/w400-h300/12.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZEJb8w4rjTZ6BfV8iPgB3gcbf8CQoks4dzHSUHr6_ktawLX8yVa1FjnAu6tL0i7163F1Ic6VH9_NaiC4lB9rLd5O2ydkRwEOWsl9gYSQJSFME1Uy58MC7bH4GIFIecj2-nCro7R4VpMr8KH710I0k_B0KLwg15Hc3hznf-SDMvyI2RuYVSDAhQ/s4032/13.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZEJb8w4rjTZ6BfV8iPgB3gcbf8CQoks4dzHSUHr6_ktawLX8yVa1FjnAu6tL0i7163F1Ic6VH9_NaiC4lB9rLd5O2ydkRwEOWsl9gYSQJSFME1Uy58MC7bH4GIFIecj2-nCro7R4VpMr8KH710I0k_B0KLwg15Hc3hznf-SDMvyI2RuYVSDAhQ/w400-h300/13.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71hO36lhuqp4r3hYUpvca9dXvBmRt3mO8B0FAnXVd1TH9KXC1vblkrUp_-H6z6wVutbYFaNrLRlX7Oz95Qy7lggFtHfQ3rtxuVA_FUPPqOPMzELer999dPdhqeWf2yYcJSqeC5WV8WKWyZ7Y4hjFEQXy9SGjHTYljK2F08a-V-pXnyVafoi86eA/s4032/14.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71hO36lhuqp4r3hYUpvca9dXvBmRt3mO8B0FAnXVd1TH9KXC1vblkrUp_-H6z6wVutbYFaNrLRlX7Oz95Qy7lggFtHfQ3rtxuVA_FUPPqOPMzELer999dPdhqeWf2yYcJSqeC5WV8WKWyZ7Y4hjFEQXy9SGjHTYljK2F08a-V-pXnyVafoi86eA/w400-h300/14.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">One Mystery Solved!</span></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b></i></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5jYxqibGw95KyaQd2bWRqC4moj0D4TUcxTCFPvAEWx8Gp8T8V7sWmpEHzNvQ6oYkNUEvT4rMF9Vs_bjGaI0RTT1_RWLovvc8lLHp97AP9Nh7KjFss0ZUuFX98zrMUy3_R41CKwY2LHsUFbdhMKXoyhTLy7r5ZNKrkqqHZs8hz2x9b0OuFPP7RjQ/s4032/15.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5jYxqibGw95KyaQd2bWRqC4moj0D4TUcxTCFPvAEWx8Gp8T8V7sWmpEHzNvQ6oYkNUEvT4rMF9Vs_bjGaI0RTT1_RWLovvc8lLHp97AP9Nh7KjFss0ZUuFX98zrMUy3_R41CKwY2LHsUFbdhMKXoyhTLy7r5ZNKrkqqHZs8hz2x9b0OuFPP7RjQ/w300-h400/15.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjasmA0Vlyx5nuUfHV6AqfMiPlpx37MwfES72S9RWJjUJ4EmSslYf-4wSWMcZGhNxL7AuFiB0MMU4tHHJLtZmNdgODUBVMsI7tgeOhGybk6UTG6Lj1GZz_7Ct2iwW3UmNyxKrDfefhtQDtR9rJZiFAED09YHAWT3cK0_GhiL8bhvsR75Nd3lpcqg/s4032/16.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjasmA0Vlyx5nuUfHV6AqfMiPlpx37MwfES72S9RWJjUJ4EmSslYf-4wSWMcZGhNxL7AuFiB0MMU4tHHJLtZmNdgODUBVMsI7tgeOhGybk6UTG6Lj1GZz_7Ct2iwW3UmNyxKrDfefhtQDtR9rJZiFAED09YHAWT3cK0_GhiL8bhvsR75Nd3lpcqg/w300-h400/16.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhipeaLFq8qJ6eD7SAYleGHerurofE2EsF9Nq5Nacs_-IsdkBsUusNqmogCjxXcJii1TBd-x0N4TJCO2mMMG4OSxhbLBnFWPd8AuVeGm8h_rbgj1vLh7n0TXjBLyMKz4vptrjrJpGtX0GhpnD61qxMHKEC-p1v6EoprcohqJYajvUE9BMCcD5FYzA/s4032/17.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhipeaLFq8qJ6eD7SAYleGHerurofE2EsF9Nq5Nacs_-IsdkBsUusNqmogCjxXcJii1TBd-x0N4TJCO2mMMG4OSxhbLBnFWPd8AuVeGm8h_rbgj1vLh7n0TXjBLyMKz4vptrjrJpGtX0GhpnD61qxMHKEC-p1v6EoprcohqJYajvUE9BMCcD5FYzA/w300-h400/17.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Hyde Bridge, Shadow Brook runs underneath</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next, we headed to Glimmerglass State Park and
stopped at the Hyde Bridge, one of the oldest covered bridges and it was a
beauty. What a sight to stand there and watch Shadow Brook flow under the
bridge toward Otsego Lake. We continued into the park and walked to the beachfront.
I took a trail left down towards the lake edge where Shadow Brook empties into
it. There was a lot of areas you couldn’t get to, without getting into the
muddy shallows and brush, but I got close enough to get some nice pictures of
the inlet where in the book, Nancy’s stolen sailboat is found half buried in
mud. From the park we traveled to Hyde Hall, the mansion in the book where some
of the crooks try to conceal a stolen chest of papers. You could see across
Hyde Bay back over to Hyde Bay Colony and a small dotting of the cabins. The
views were stunning. Our sleuthing out the real-life places was a very
successful and rewarding part of our day.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRD8teqrixAYSOWK0ymYVoU4dKe-klpj8H9UOoy7zndgWGffbrw706664BEIAbSWLNNh8xy8usghIAPRGm18LMhu7HME7a4_LbYu56jkv6inbOfnZQqYsGBCyNTrxThUwGDUSwfJmR9rRR2_MjmmnId9Zsq-vvAhpixe8atCiWP6ko1-E6gTC7Kg/s4032/18.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRD8teqrixAYSOWK0ymYVoU4dKe-klpj8H9UOoy7zndgWGffbrw706664BEIAbSWLNNh8xy8usghIAPRGm18LMhu7HME7a4_LbYu56jkv6inbOfnZQqYsGBCyNTrxThUwGDUSwfJmR9rRR2_MjmmnId9Zsq-vvAhpixe8atCiWP6ko1-E6gTC7Kg/w400-h300/18.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAtAimkou0mxaDVckKFdinHUosrNiDhHTWBpZhsTZThUze9bYsWDWgw4VbqLYqg_x5R6rnY3L00wggKtSFTXhkI3svNkIz5IdNZ_vLPksG9lm5tKVNPvdLItzqc7nc7Y3O8p19WM0JWNQUoNmKP7v9HUQGOyg9PSWSgWA5WNMgzjEQ1vpRGdjYQ/s4032/19.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAtAimkou0mxaDVckKFdinHUosrNiDhHTWBpZhsTZThUze9bYsWDWgw4VbqLYqg_x5R6rnY3L00wggKtSFTXhkI3svNkIz5IdNZ_vLPksG9lm5tKVNPvdLItzqc7nc7Y3O8p19WM0JWNQUoNmKP7v9HUQGOyg9PSWSgWA5WNMgzjEQ1vpRGdjYQ/w300-h400/19.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgetMZCiM_B6IbJ9EAwq6FP25qqMl2_3WU3t5vDoeFGyYfami0i-G7_6si-PtDP_AM4gQHeyP91TEPt1y7-wO5ZSjbKPudm4DsyLlEIFum2kao69ORa1sehTAlfiXPdKymK8tU9duFSi8jHkvArS8qNTf7S1efl9l8cu03Fy--7KopwIcF4zEl7rg/s4032/20.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgetMZCiM_B6IbJ9EAwq6FP25qqMl2_3WU3t5vDoeFGyYfami0i-G7_6si-PtDP_AM4gQHeyP91TEPt1y7-wO5ZSjbKPudm4DsyLlEIFum2kao69ORa1sehTAlfiXPdKymK8tU9duFSi8jHkvArS8qNTf7S1efl9l8cu03Fy--7KopwIcF4zEl7rg/w400-h300/20.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Shadow Brook inlet, tributary</b></i></span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9gfh7cGiRGGTCc9d7vtu-RYtRLCWH8WhiOflGeUWDO_qWQv2aYL6NmhfmiP2xu-mDhJKdEp8PJ9Li_NTieJcCZ6hSHOEg9FedyVetf2EICJg55fpRI7G_AuhZGjH7dKpno7YM0FJUdJJgAVRcn29nRJb3f4KKUbMbeoauUraA2hYq4k71V_DSw/s4032/20a.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9gfh7cGiRGGTCc9d7vtu-RYtRLCWH8WhiOflGeUWDO_qWQv2aYL6NmhfmiP2xu-mDhJKdEp8PJ9Li_NTieJcCZ6hSHOEg9FedyVetf2EICJg55fpRI7G_AuhZGjH7dKpno7YM0FJUdJJgAVRcn29nRJb3f4KKUbMbeoauUraA2hYq4k71V_DSw/w400-h300/20a.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Hyde Hall</i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Before arriving in Cooperstown, I had continued
to try and solve the mystery of who Harriet went with to Cooperstown. Would I
ever solve that? I had to find a way to get in touch with Grace Grote. What
might she have to say about it all? And did she or her husband Donald have
anything to do with <i>Mirror Bay</i> behind the scenes? <i>Mirror Bay</i> with
its inclusion of the theory of Cold Light, the Fireflies, and the science
laboratory in the mountains, would have been right up Donald’s alley.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The church contacted me back and called Grace to
see if they could give me her phone number so I could call her. She wasn’t on
social media and didn’t have e-mail, so it would be regular mail or the phone
which suited me just fine. In the nick of time, I rang her the day before I
embarked on my trip to Cooperstown and I was thrilled to get to chat with
Grace, nearly 50 years after she had worked at the Stratemeyer Syndicate, having left in
1974. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Grace was so interesting to talk with. She mainly
worked on the Bobbsey Twins series, but did do research for Harriet on other
things, however she didn’t remember whether she or Donald might have worked on
the <i>Mirror Bay</i> book. After so many years, it wasn’t familiar to her. She
was always pretty caught up in the Bobbsey Twins series at the Syndicate. She
spoke fondly of her husband Donald who was a science teacher. She said when he
worked on Tom Swift, he could come up with fantastic inventions but Harriet’s
one caveat was that they must be scientifically possible. It’s possible he could
have given some info to Harriet on some of the science in <i>Mirror Bay</i>
regarding Cold Light and fireflies. Grace wasn’t sure who Harriet would have
traveled with. So, outside of the possibility of it being June Dunn, I was
resigned to the fact that this piece of the puzzle might remain a mystery. Grace
did fondly remember reading Nancy Drew during the Great Depression. She was
around 9 years old and emphatically stated that “Nancy Drew was a great splash
of light in a very dark time.” Grace, very proud of her work at the Stratemeyer
Syndicate, gives talks about Edward Stratemeyer, Harriet, Nancy Drew, the
Bobbsey Twins, and other topics related to the Syndicate. I think this is
incredibly inspirational.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There was a February 2011 article in the now
defunct <i>Whispered Watchword</i> by Jack French about Grace Grote who he’d
spoken with to write the article around 2010. He wrote of Harriet and her
research trips and Grace had mentioned that June Dunn frequently went with
Harriet on trips for research. French wrote, “When Harriet needed some outside
research to be done regarding a geographical region or a certain industry for
use in an upcoming series book, Harriet would take another staffer, June M.
Dunn, with her on these trips.” I think therefore, since June and “Jane” are
similar, that it’s highly likely given this information about June, that she
was probably the person who went with Harriet to Cooperstown. A letter soon to
arrive from Lynn also referred to the likelihood that it had to be June Dunn.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBJfNmqAT6UqfgGo_CiO9_n1S2ogN6PkqbeoHiJmV9O8FH59GTkrtdjpa1iK45GJJ66-zBVxd6mEaNflsT2cu6E_7nLIivQp4DZOOompOE5ioC1R6DGOlkcq4qJplxdgxtvDYbmWrmsN2M708gYxaCPQK5K6825E1UyxUOBOSF4LdGi0unihjO4g/s4032/22a.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBJfNmqAT6UqfgGo_CiO9_n1S2ogN6PkqbeoHiJmV9O8FH59GTkrtdjpa1iK45GJJ66-zBVxd6mEaNflsT2cu6E_7nLIivQp4DZOOompOE5ioC1R6DGOlkcq4qJplxdgxtvDYbmWrmsN2M708gYxaCPQK5K6825E1UyxUOBOSF4LdGi0unihjO4g/w400-h300/22a.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Back to Cooperstown, I was speaking at the
Village of Cooperstown Library on Saturday, July 15 during our convention and I
was very excited to tell everyone about my sleuthing adventures in ferreting
out all the clues behind the mystery and how Harriet came to visit Cooperstown.
Sue Friedlander attended the event and other local Cooperstonians were present
including Pam Larbig whose grandparents were Pop and Jane Fisher. Lynn, her
cousin, had called to chat with her about my visit and research. I was so
thrilled to be able to meet one of the family and chat about Harriet’s visit.
Several exciting things came from the library event. Pam told me about
remembering Harriet’s visit in 1971. She was just a kid then and busy with camp
activities, but she recalled Harriet coming to visit. She remembered a coke
machine at the camp too that may have figured into the coke machine on the
Mirror Bay Bide-A-Wee porch. She also remembered Harriet sending up books to
the camps and still has her vintage series books including her Nancy Drews.
Several locals and some of the Sleuths in the audience noted during our Q’
& A’ after the talk, that the 1970s were a period of Sci-Fi themes in pop
culture, so that also could have influenced Harriet’s choice of the science
elements of this book. Sue brought up the Carriage and Harness Museum when I wondered
about the coach. When I referred to the character Yo in the book as being
called a “folklore joker” behind the scenes by Harriet, Sue and the woman
sitting next to her both said immediately that was a local man named Louis “Lou”
Jones. And then and there I had more rabbit holes to sleuth down when I
returned and wrapped up this adventure. What an exciting day!<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0DCF9uY88f6WTDQZDgW7GryFLb97jSrgUgTTDSH2_x1YRUVChwwwyMVzUTkX8nme1AjN97BwwnCSVz8JET0KkhmS08FuX0lpCQxFsTbzj_dB7tb0IiWt-7rpUn4FjUYd7vD_9xS-Dse7nfK-HkbJS75nD-ovDvtGAU4L6sE3SM97jxzlcewJNA/s4032/22b.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0DCF9uY88f6WTDQZDgW7GryFLb97jSrgUgTTDSH2_x1YRUVChwwwyMVzUTkX8nme1AjN97BwwnCSVz8JET0KkhmS08FuX0lpCQxFsTbzj_dB7tb0IiWt-7rpUn4FjUYd7vD_9xS-Dse7nfK-HkbJS75nD-ovDvtGAU4L6sE3SM97jxzlcewJNA/w400-h300/22b.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLNPFP3A5gcxj2tKGTjMFuvXNELIAPfnQxjPa19ZjQ4zoeHT6SbikVyWAcft25LB27DFyAs3p7Cg_IgXhsUWJ1iy5TNtG10cMzcYkcEKIqXIVOG9frSuaJ0oPAgV5DkWJJhO4U3gonfwmR1gHTFJkX8yX9pQWfPXxqdrccXBEkIxbkQMKH4jKC5w/s4032/22c.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLNPFP3A5gcxj2tKGTjMFuvXNELIAPfnQxjPa19ZjQ4zoeHT6SbikVyWAcft25LB27DFyAs3p7Cg_IgXhsUWJ1iy5TNtG10cMzcYkcEKIqXIVOG9frSuaJ0oPAgV5DkWJJhO4U3gonfwmR1gHTFJkX8yX9pQWfPXxqdrccXBEkIxbkQMKH4jKC5w/w400-h300/22c.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ULXh7SWM_mX6s8aUHAvllXgsDbPnoBp4W13WpkzGY5ftJYm7j6822b5d3DcHTzjmZNx9tvh0j4avySM9p1JE2xGUcoCS1CHgib-ghAKZuiNl27qq4Ume0PLuxfaCA_eUT2csrEmydy-4ZxC-9T1-Gy6AFsrFvrrEAk8cZjBFDEBvvqZSfUa5nA/s1599/21.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1007" data-original-width="1599" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ULXh7SWM_mX6s8aUHAvllXgsDbPnoBp4W13WpkzGY5ftJYm7j6822b5d3DcHTzjmZNx9tvh0j4avySM9p1JE2xGUcoCS1CHgib-ghAKZuiNl27qq4Ume0PLuxfaCA_eUT2csrEmydy-4ZxC-9T1-Gy6AFsrFvrrEAk8cZjBFDEBvvqZSfUa5nA/w400-h253/21.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Postcard featuring the Carriage and Harness Museum</b></i></span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMYNDvOZU8PUZbVig4LkZdmEeAY-UxC_QVSkTlq0L6oi-uKzkl9KsahN01qDboNoIbb2D96dVVQqkaazZUbww4YnwdB1P2YOaFAJNfGkbyYbAKqrJHA-f_xMYKSoxDzP7h38DTwfUVWPW0eRwm3zny_XRaBrBA9ztDyfIBulr0VimKXagdnZZQIw/s1600/22.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="1600" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMYNDvOZU8PUZbVig4LkZdmEeAY-UxC_QVSkTlq0L6oi-uKzkl9KsahN01qDboNoIbb2D96dVVQqkaazZUbww4YnwdB1P2YOaFAJNfGkbyYbAKqrJHA-f_xMYKSoxDzP7h38DTwfUVWPW0eRwm3zny_XRaBrBA9ztDyfIBulr0VimKXagdnZZQIw/w400-h255/22.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">First let’s talk about the Carriage and Harness Museum
and the child’s Russian coach plot elements. Back in the 1970s when Cooperstown
was full of museums, some no longer here today, there was a carriage museum called
the Carriage and Harness Museum. There had been around three dozen carriages
owned by millionaire F. Ambrose Clark that had been on display among other
relics. In an article in the New York Times about the museum from 1978, it was
disclosed that the museum would be closing and the collection would be dispersed
at public auction. The carriage and harness collection was considered the
finest in the country. Clark was an internationally known sportsman and one of
the last sporting carriage drivers. The museum was located two blocks from main
street in the former stable of Clark’s at Elk and Fair streets. A 1975 New York
Times article, “A Large Slice of Americana, Served up in Cooperstown” described
the vehicles as "buggies, runabouts, buckboards, carts, phaetons, shays,
sleighs, Bronson wagon, road coach and other horsedrawn vehicles." Could there
have been a child’s coach in the collection? Did visiting this museum inspire
Harriet to look into coaches in a Russian Palace, “now a museum,” as she
noted in the set of writing hints, which then led her to create the Russian child’s
coach backstory?<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhL3uhr5dt-1ptnRUMRTl6OY9neKbYVSEVNDphghLhdhLObermfuJW3Axou33J8eJIOW1oHht-csLdSYqsiM5gn5Tx0apFOTyDMV_QolRrxIBXE6sKaz4R-g6NTpuf6ltnM9gz4f2rYpU72vrnS9OQQYpMai8GUz8WDFQOtFAuZPYnKyEO0YPfA/s4032/23.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhL3uhr5dt-1ptnRUMRTl6OY9neKbYVSEVNDphghLhdhLObermfuJW3Axou33J8eJIOW1oHht-csLdSYqsiM5gn5Tx0apFOTyDMV_QolRrxIBXE6sKaz4R-g6NTpuf6ltnM9gz4f2rYpU72vrnS9OQQYpMai8GUz8WDFQOtFAuZPYnKyEO0YPfA/w300-h400/23.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Denny's Toy Museum</b></i></span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi08XQqBXQjNIksBzT5FvDt0pFf05ul9dASZyNvNXjzE2BlTME8LXoEyWhjJKjE0cj2kopDtWDfihKnjLPbgg2YML9OFO0nG2ck9j-arBFHREetKUboK-d0gBvQXZ6qgJ0BY7cx5Nl8gGw006nojkcxCXhAOqd3DUePJPuTRoy_1qMWHAfr7JoBRQ/s4032/24.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi08XQqBXQjNIksBzT5FvDt0pFf05ul9dASZyNvNXjzE2BlTME8LXoEyWhjJKjE0cj2kopDtWDfihKnjLPbgg2YML9OFO0nG2ck9j-arBFHREetKUboK-d0gBvQXZ6qgJ0BY7cx5Nl8gGw006nojkcxCXhAOqd3DUePJPuTRoy_1qMWHAfr7JoBRQ/w300-h400/24.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There was the “Toy Museum” that Nancy and her
friends visited in <i>Mirror Bay</i>. Long closed, it was located on the west
side of the lake toward Springfield Center located on the northwest part of the
lake and the buildings are still there though it’s a private residence now. I
found a reference online in an old issue – May 30, 1977 – of <i>New York
Magazine</i> via Google Books. It was called Denny’s Toy Museum when Harriet
visited. Harriet was an avid doll collector and the now-closed toy museum housed
quite a few dolls and children’s toys. In the book the description of the dolls
included this information, “Also on display were many kinds of buggies and
other vehicles in which children had given their dolls rides.” Perhaps between
the toy museum and the Carriage and Harness Museum, and Harriet’s love of
Russian antiquities, the child’s Russian coach plot was born.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZrhwMlEpItJIQ0sLoKXW9aLxI8npZGCnA0x5Lhtxwd4-WrEpF5jRPUNK-y2cU8bQAWnzf3cQxWkJ62RWYr2-UpA7EsbOE3HZjWVWE10yySpn9tXAaAFExLysTktq36fxFVMhdTgo5eSiW97ErX_srbpyw8kpvbpnPsbx3oiLDMV7KPOHKPvq9Bw/s1195/25.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1195" data-original-width="865" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZrhwMlEpItJIQ0sLoKXW9aLxI8npZGCnA0x5Lhtxwd4-WrEpF5jRPUNK-y2cU8bQAWnzf3cQxWkJ62RWYr2-UpA7EsbOE3HZjWVWE10yySpn9tXAaAFExLysTktq36fxFVMhdTgo5eSiW97ErX_srbpyw8kpvbpnPsbx3oiLDMV7KPOHKPvq9Bw/w290-h400/25.jpg" width="290" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjX45qGXp0FrBGUFHmIDz0cMqTt4YaKXMdF3kjv7LXfDqUpZMkIT2oM3h9lDKENlLhqO_dCUzLWGd1MVtje0VZBPMaJuJI4DFtvhq9NSbnQ1DTGTwV9d2kILqUiD6mT4-pT42F_A44HN_CfhSv8ERe-cbOiL1D70SoH6Kkwj-RpLwDQKp63p-lA/s940/25a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="734" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjX45qGXp0FrBGUFHmIDz0cMqTt4YaKXMdF3kjv7LXfDqUpZMkIT2oM3h9lDKENlLhqO_dCUzLWGd1MVtje0VZBPMaJuJI4DFtvhq9NSbnQ1DTGTwV9d2kILqUiD6mT4-pT42F_A44HN_CfhSv8ERe-cbOiL1D70SoH6Kkwj-RpLwDQKp63p-lA/w313-h400/25a.jpg" width="313" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Louis C. Jones aka "Yo" from Mirror Bay</i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next, we’ll focus on the “folklore joker,” Louis
C. Jones. What a character he must have been! After the library event and a
special early 50<span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">th</span> surprise birthday party that was thrown for Kelly and I, we headed to Hyde Hall for the house tour which didn’t disappoint, Hyde
Hall was a fabulous vintage Cooperstown showpiece. Before the tour, in the gift
shop, I purchased one of Jones’s books, <i>Things That Go Bump in the Night</i>,
which is a neat book, a 1983 reprint published by Syracuse University Press. The back
of the book notes that Jones was “an authority on regional folklore and on ghost
stories in particular. He was director of the New York State Historical
Association in Cooperstown, New York.” His New York Times obituary from
November 28, 1990 noted that he had retired from NYSHA the year <i>Mirror Bay</i> was published. His collection that he assembled of “primitives” has been
said to be one of the most important of its type in the country, according to
art historians. He was a founder of the New York Folklore Society. In the
preface to the book I purchased, Jones stated about the supernatural, “I was
not, am not, a believer in the supernatural; if I had had a motto it would
probably have been, Dubito Ergo Sum.” This translates to “I doubt, therefore I
think, I think therefore I am.” Of Cooperstown he stated, “It is a great
privilege to live in a town which the dead have not deserted.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Harriet had to have met
Jones in researching the area and with his being head of NYSHA and the associated
Fenimore House and the Farmer’s Museum, he would have been a great resource for
her on local Cooperstown lore. She clearly used his books for research in <i>Mirror Bay</i>. In reading <i>Things that Go Bump in the Night</i>, two stories that Yo had talked about in <i>Mirror Bay</i>, included a “folk classic” and a “ghostly hitchhiker”
tale that Jones expanded on in his book. A classic example of urban ghost lore
is “The Ghostly Hitchhiker” and Jones devotes an entire chapter to this
folklore. There are similar versions all over but the basics include a rainy
day, someone riding by a cemetery, seeing a girl, and picking her up to take
her to an address. She disappears once there, the woman inside the home was her
mother, the girl had died and was buried in that cemetery. On page 137 of <i>Mirror Bay</i>, Yo tells this story to Nancy and her
friends. Another tale from Jones’s book, the folk classic ranking up there with
the ghostly hitchhiker was a story about a couple stopping for the night and an
elderly couple giving them a room. They left early so as not to disturb the couple, leaving
a 50-cent piece on a table. In town, they’re told the place had burned down
some time ago, and a trip back to investigate finds the remains of the building
but on part of a table still standing is the 50-cent piece. Yo tells this story
on page 105 of <i>Mirror Bay</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In <i>Mirror Bay</i>, Harriet brings the folklore into the plot
with Yo referring to Cooperstown as “Ghost Country.” The name Jones appears in
several places in the book – a botany student, Karen Jones, is a camp counselor
at a girls’ camp and tells Nancy about Yo, “People around there laugh at him
and say he’s full of tall tales…” He’s noted as being “kind of a town
character.” George refers to him as the “tall-story boy.” Nancy’s boyfriend Ned
Nickerson conveniently is taking a psychology course at Emerson College and as
part of that course he’s been studying folklore and ghosts. Ned tells the
reader that “Scholars of this subject declare that all these stories are merely
folklore.” Ned ends up spoiling Yo’s attempt to put one over the girls with
these ghost stories, for Ned already knows the stories and their endings. One
of the villains, Sam Hornsby, is revealed to be named Sam H. Jones. Curiously,
in Jones’s book, a man named Michael Welch is mentioned in connection with a
ghostly tale. In <i>Mirror Bay</i>, Sam’s partner is named Michael Welch, who rented along with Doria,
the <i>Water Witch</i> speedboat. His full name is Michael W.
Brink. Finally, Yo refers to Nancy as “Mrs. Sherlock Holmes.” As a teenage
sleuth, calling Nancy a “Mrs.” is odd. I have to wonder if Jones called
Harriet, a Mrs., by that moniker due to her mystery writing and sleuthing
around Cooperstown. I’m sure that would have delighted Harriet enough to use it
in the book.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqXcrkF2EGjYKAsx-Pju3xv5YDp0bXYzaLjfaBqNVG61ZuTo5ovUPn1aywiSEyENNr_LbNA32XrMz4C6ebvp_xtb4rwJbAsCFVtA6nPEKgBsxGckKEV5QG8YGoEYlwtsWf168RfQCqvp0-lDrfX264Wr313v9uCeExFH-FMqLO7Pe54ucfNaLevg/s500/26.2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="367" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqXcrkF2EGjYKAsx-Pju3xv5YDp0bXYzaLjfaBqNVG61ZuTo5ovUPn1aywiSEyENNr_LbNA32XrMz4C6ebvp_xtb4rwJbAsCFVtA6nPEKgBsxGckKEV5QG8YGoEYlwtsWf168RfQCqvp0-lDrfX264Wr313v9uCeExFH-FMqLO7Pe54ucfNaLevg/w294-h400/26.2.jpg" width="294" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Reprint purchased at Hyde Hall</span></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfd5mCUKk6I_ynoAANL8bnumwrxuik2ruNq7sphxA2q1_CRqwmIGE1MbKnVoxY-kOWOEyeEvrGT4ITiqjipxum-1mWrvtJp9osh27d91NZyeVDyBneX6jlY0SIwn_a_zVxEN8OIEs706hed7UMyjxg5kYd28dGX824giss4OtHrqeXQC-gwwyjw/s4000/27.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfd5mCUKk6I_ynoAANL8bnumwrxuik2ruNq7sphxA2q1_CRqwmIGE1MbKnVoxY-kOWOEyeEvrGT4ITiqjipxum-1mWrvtJp9osh27d91NZyeVDyBneX6jlY0SIwn_a_zVxEN8OIEs706hed7UMyjxg5kYd28dGX824giss4OtHrqeXQC-gwwyjw/s320/27.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Bruce Markeson telling tales about Pomeroy Place</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Cooperstown Candlelight Ghost Tours</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The night before the
library event, our group had taken a ghost tour of Cooperstown haunts by Bruce
Markeson – Cooperstown Candlelight Ghost Tours – which was wonderful and is highly
recommended. He and his wife attended the library event. When Sue Friedlander
mentioned Lou Jones, I was reminded of a stop on the ghost tour to Pomeroy
Place. A gray stone house, Pomeroy Place was built in 1804 located on the
corner of Main and River Streets near Otsego Lake. It was a wedding gift from
William Cooper, founder of Cooperstown, to his daughter Ann and her husband
George Pomeroy. Ann’s ghost is said to haunt Pomeroy Place. Markeson related
the tale and said she’s sometimes seen reading through a window. Jones lived
for a time in Pomeroy Place. In fact, in a new introduction dated 31 December
1982 to the reprint of <i>Things That Go Bump in the Night</i>, he writes on page vii, “We moved next door to live in Ann Cooper
Pomeroy’s herringbone house, and while we have never seen her, my wife thinks
our old Sheltie, Fido, watched her come down the stairs and go out the front
door one summer’s evening.” Our tour ended as we wrapped things up at Otsego Lake near the infamous Council Rock. <u><o:p></o:p></u></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpazXAK1v_Gl4duORS8zPlpheMLZ-GZCR3CU5rNqHwnFp9RrTFhCtNwreeSwSAh3LS6wK5vTycJvc1somI9qzNbVcJcllLN-WEYgxr81J7fyDeAZfCdujVs2vTyR8J1N_M_-F0nt2N3HwTxwo34SQANHlPqMuf3SfOf50fv4sSEmhz-QshFvbBg/s4032/27a.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpazXAK1v_Gl4duORS8zPlpheMLZ-GZCR3CU5rNqHwnFp9RrTFhCtNwreeSwSAh3LS6wK5vTycJvc1somI9qzNbVcJcllLN-WEYgxr81J7fyDeAZfCdujVs2vTyR8J1N_M_-F0nt2N3HwTxwo34SQANHlPqMuf3SfOf50fv4sSEmhz-QshFvbBg/s320/27a.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeqWjuIGP7qYwyRGAXJsjzNBTcA0VSkispQ3pfadE5oO6xDrHf14TAEcC9tnps4DJzm6s3Dpkz7Abkn_lw8Sm10DtANnpK5xSTV53NluXHGG8kJm7ALAzkhqHy27dCGrNzaR2RWiBkcPJxMkQ5Ejp_PkhATcNjbxlL3p07-v64_GEjHm1WY6ozA/s4000/28.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeqWjuIGP7qYwyRGAXJsjzNBTcA0VSkispQ3pfadE5oO6xDrHf14TAEcC9tnps4DJzm6s3Dpkz7Abkn_lw8Sm10DtANnpK5xSTV53NluXHGG8kJm7ALAzkhqHy27dCGrNzaR2RWiBkcPJxMkQ5Ejp_PkhATcNjbxlL3p07-v64_GEjHm1WY6ozA/s320/28.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7PN43p-IGmXBH8Iqg2yv_cQyjfH6qDStWfzM8WowaTn720gnmSOj0YMLqgc0YM-6zl4rJUs6djdK0tC8Z4b38nm5oiDp28RVuomUVRHk254nNx-30pUzeB_5vff4JF_RFIdE2Isw74II90U-isXcqelXP_TExXH_Djo-nH3IETSsJxnw-z8AIw/s1440/29.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7PN43p-IGmXBH8Iqg2yv_cQyjfH6qDStWfzM8WowaTn720gnmSOj0YMLqgc0YM-6zl4rJUs6djdK0tC8Z4b38nm5oiDp28RVuomUVRHk254nNx-30pUzeB_5vff4JF_RFIdE2Isw74II90U-isXcqelXP_TExXH_Djo-nH3IETSsJxnw-z8AIw/s320/29.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>The infamous Council Rock</b></i></span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMofRIpILsKt8aHh6Va8cZFN7KnHkUyopzI6yZ0mygpwLjUdODUW_91yzew6vN-T_O6jp4CWLKyRVz-sU58NWQHqX6UdR1IFI7zWRxVqI-6mHMwBrzL7gvUGM5vADmIHLQcA7ZK4uGunU6DKAZQHP2ezl53vH4qV_fKlbQwrX3pkzDRe4jzMOOw/s4000/30.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMofRIpILsKt8aHh6Va8cZFN7KnHkUyopzI6yZ0mygpwLjUdODUW_91yzew6vN-T_O6jp4CWLKyRVz-sU58NWQHqX6UdR1IFI7zWRxVqI-6mHMwBrzL7gvUGM5vADmIHLQcA7ZK4uGunU6DKAZQHP2ezl53vH4qV_fKlbQwrX3pkzDRe4jzMOOw/s320/30.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When I returned home from Cooperstown to continue
sleuthing for more information about clues that I was given at the library
event, there were letters waiting for me from Lynn Ealer Ritchkof. I was
excited to see them. One was a promised article on Cooperstown by Nicole
Pensiero in the NJ Star-Ledger – I had found a link to it online to check out
while traveling there and it was a nice write up with neat things to do in
Cooperstown. Lynn mentioned in her letter several things that were interesting
to note. One exiting clue was that Lynn and a friend had researched mushroom
caves for Harriet in Newburgh, NY. She also reminisced about the camp days and
Harriet’s generous donation of books to the camps over the years. She
reiterated that she felt that June Dunn was the likely one to have gone with
Harriet to Cooperstown. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The research into mushroom caves was intriguing.
Especially since luminescent mushrooms play a role in <i>Mirror Bay</i> as do
caves. Nancy finds a luminescent mushroom growing a cave in a scene in the
book. I didn’t find much online about any mushroom caves, but while we were
there in Cooperstown, I kept my eye out for any growing around tree stumps and
on the ground. I had looked up luminescent mushrooms online and had some idea
what they might look like. We did find an abundance of mushrooms in two
locations. The first was south of Cooperstown near Milford where we went on a
rail biking adventure. The other was when we visited Mirror Bay Bide-A-Wee the
second time when it wasn’t raining after the library event and everyone got to
see that amazing view. There were mushrooms growing all over of various types.
I don’t think any were luminescent though. In a humid lake environment such as
what exists in Cooperstown, I’m sure that mushrooms are prevalent and would
have been back at the time of Harriet’s visit. Perhaps they piqued her interest
enough to turn them into something more intriguing in <i>Mirror Bay</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNn1ux3YmnqCldqPRCHfrXXqwsG7aJikQDB3K5ZmyqSKZ5H6m2xC07r72FOFRKPQR5OSHFcSmrEYz97ndK3-KRWMIDz-PftgrAGZ-dlgCd5m-6N2tqVvL1qWMMLm2itNA_9Sp_Z-fhmx3iHNONWvUwLgPEt6_01RMlOk9Cohkp4tvxD2sIdF0Esw/s4032/31.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNn1ux3YmnqCldqPRCHfrXXqwsG7aJikQDB3K5ZmyqSKZ5H6m2xC07r72FOFRKPQR5OSHFcSmrEYz97ndK3-KRWMIDz-PftgrAGZ-dlgCd5m-6N2tqVvL1qWMMLm2itNA_9Sp_Z-fhmx3iHNONWvUwLgPEt6_01RMlOk9Cohkp4tvxD2sIdF0Esw/s320/31.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Mushrooms on our rail bike tour south of Cooperstown</b></i></span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dFrnIoRblnWIR7IK4jHZ5EHMpewmuAvUiGgXWL14gs9_RWAu8Mj1ZD6v-SxVeeBcq3bnoETvw4f_A16RjZ_vg5bJz_CzWqZSV77wrpoGCneV8xpTLacO-4vxF5IB_4Ue90sKXHzfbEO3TZIDd9rxrBhXh6jO-ZmdkH6NhADdHRnYExd5i1YdZg/s4032/32.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dFrnIoRblnWIR7IK4jHZ5EHMpewmuAvUiGgXWL14gs9_RWAu8Mj1ZD6v-SxVeeBcq3bnoETvw4f_A16RjZ_vg5bJz_CzWqZSV77wrpoGCneV8xpTLacO-4vxF5IB_4Ue90sKXHzfbEO3TZIDd9rxrBhXh6jO-ZmdkH6NhADdHRnYExd5i1YdZg/s320/32.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Mushrooms at Mirror Bay Bide-A-Wee</b></i></span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcl73_-i_oLLBYf-Pm42c4jsmka9uP07g7F30Kwj1cK8c-EaQ9oKWOXr00vVExhyejhRKwzcBzo9EAiDP9xBggTrCmXbp7PqjIPqKLjJjsga4P4TIgtTPdTAa4tYIq9ZNqY9P7jEb1jFa4zqtc5_ZqpFXrUo24LR1xF5lwE3lclqLXpqNFlkKGrA/s4032/33.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcl73_-i_oLLBYf-Pm42c4jsmka9uP07g7F30Kwj1cK8c-EaQ9oKWOXr00vVExhyejhRKwzcBzo9EAiDP9xBggTrCmXbp7PqjIPqKLjJjsga4P4TIgtTPdTAa4tYIq9ZNqY9P7jEb1jFa4zqtc5_ZqpFXrUo24LR1xF5lwE3lclqLXpqNFlkKGrA/s320/33.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhavxtbs6twm3W7jgu0p6eRkIz5sZ58ZYzYTaIWGcP17ptUUqixAD24jktJD2U0Zxx7fgbfZFNOOxZN-FifhxJGThcoaK9_CDBEk5DhQ6Sch3oVmxRDHgPwT_IRAMv55dZub6MVqOOgogoM3eq4MG5ODeL-94D-7E6DE-13fg3PbCjwd-4LBez5kA/s4032/36.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhavxtbs6twm3W7jgu0p6eRkIz5sZ58ZYzYTaIWGcP17ptUUqixAD24jktJD2U0Zxx7fgbfZFNOOxZN-FifhxJGThcoaK9_CDBEk5DhQ6Sch3oVmxRDHgPwT_IRAMv55dZub6MVqOOgogoM3eq4MG5ODeL-94D-7E6DE-13fg3PbCjwd-4LBez5kA/w400-h300/36.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Baseball Hall of Fame</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What of the Key to Cooperstown that museum
officials were going to have made for Nancy? After the mystery involving the
Russian child’s coach is solved and the relic is brought up from the lake
bottom, officials from the “Fenimore Museum” come to collect it – a Mr. Hill
and a Mr. Clark. The Clark name was famous in Cooperstown – the family had many
roots in this area – F. Ambrose Clark’s carriages and harnesses making up the museum
previously mentioned, the family built the Otesaga Hotel and Resort. Stephen
Carlton Clark was a philanthropist and art collector among other pursuits. He founded
the Baseball Hall of Fame. He gave his late brother, Edward’s home, to NYSHA
which became the Fenimore Art Museum. He is the founder of the Farmer’s Museum.
His son Stephen Carlton Clark, Jr. would have been around continuing his father’s
legacy when Harriet visited in 1971. So, there is little doubt that either the
senior or the junior is the inspiration for the museum official, “Mr. Clark,”
that arrives to assist Nancy and Miss Armitage with the donation of the Russian
child’s coach. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I reached out to the Deputy Mayor of Cooperstown,
Cynthia “Cindy” Falk, and Mayor Ellen R. Tillapaugh for a few clues. Was there
a real-life Key to Cooperstown, or perhaps back in the day? Or was it the stuff
of fiction, as is often the case? I found out from them that there is no
real-life Key to Cooperstown, now or back when Harriet was writing this book,
just an invention and a way to reward Nancy for a job well done for solving the
mystery. Deputy Mayor Cindy sent me a 1928 article that had the line, “if there
was a key to the village…,” showing that there was historically no key at that
time. Mayor Ellen gave me a little info on Denny’s Toy Museum and noted that it
was a popular place for birthday parties with a tour, lantern slides and then
cake and ice cream on the porch. It was closed sometime after Harriet’s visit
in the 1970s and the collection dispersed. She noted that she had purchased <i>Mirror
Bay </i>for her kids and nieces and she even came to the library event. It was
a pleasure to meet her and I thank both her and Cindy for the information they
provided.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There was one final curiosity I had in checking
out the book and real-life people and places. The Baseball Hall of Fame is more
of a tourist-type stop in the book rather than a part of the mystery. But Nancy
and a few of the others check it out one evening. Nancy states that she’s
partial to baseball player Leroy Satchel Paige for a quote of his, “Don’t look
back—something might be gaining on you.” I had wondered if that quote might be prominent
at the museum, assuming that Harriet had visited it. But when I did a search on
Paige, I found that he had come to Cooperstown in 1971 after it was announced
in February of that year he would be inducted in the Hall of Fame. In August
1971, he was inducted. There would have been a lot of local fanfare in July
leading up to the induction, when Harriet had visited. So, that was big news,
and likely played a role in Harriet focusing on Paige in some of the baseball information used in the book.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc6bsgN0xZyPqeRGENEeRlo7glzYHAxEl4Jx5_WAcQk8sDyaZ1boFdcaSyu2S6rgv9xncbed1BkDCTUavTUWoreot2bx8cGIszW7gp1WyhrTZf7JKCZVN_-iuE0Ng5sqHW7oSBKECEaC5s36aixt7qHv2-p6GqXyd1nyAagpQZYqRj8bkJp8sczg/s4032/33b.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc6bsgN0xZyPqeRGENEeRlo7glzYHAxEl4Jx5_WAcQk8sDyaZ1boFdcaSyu2S6rgv9xncbed1BkDCTUavTUWoreot2bx8cGIszW7gp1WyhrTZf7JKCZVN_-iuE0Ng5sqHW7oSBKECEaC5s36aixt7qHv2-p6GqXyd1nyAagpQZYqRj8bkJp8sczg/s320/33b.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>The Farmer's Museum</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Hating to say goodbye to a great adventure, the
day we left Cooperstown we stopped into the Farmer’s Museum to see the Cardiff
Giant that Nancy and her friends visit in the book. An old archaeology hoax, a
man named George Hull decided to see how easily he could fool people with a
fake giant and for a time it worked. It
was sold to the Farmer’s Museum in the 1940s. We also briefly visited the Fenimore
Art Museum. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now that we’ve wrapped up the real secret – or
many secrets - behind <i>Mirror Bay</i> and how Harriet had an association to
the town, via the Fisher family, that none of us ever had a clue about, there
must be something magical about the month of July in Cooperstown. Edward Stratemeyer
visited Camp Chenango in July of 1924. Harriet and her husband went to Fisher’s
funeral in July 1957 and likely Harriet visited Cooperstown in July of 1971 to
do research for her book, having written to Grosset & Dunlap mid-July noting
she’d just got back from her visit. And of course, here we were, the <b><a href="https://www.nancydrewfans.com" target="_blank">NancyDrewSleuths</a></b> hosting our convention in Cooperstown in July of 2023, 99 years after
Stratemeyer’s visit. And if you want to get even more conspiratorial, my last
name is Fisher. All just fun coincidences, but intriguing nonetheless. But if
you don’t believe in coincidences, next thing you know, Doria or Sam the Green Man
sorcerer will suddenly appear to scare us away from finding out even more amazing
historic behind the scenes information.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">One rewarding consequence of my research into <i>Mirror
Bay </i>is that Lynn and Grace have reunited and are catching up after quite a
few years of losing touch with each other. I think that’s so charming and sweet
and I’m happy I could get them back in touch with each other. As I close
out this “novelette” about my research into the history behind Harriet’s
writing <i>Mirror Bay</i>, I must say, playing Nancy Drew and following in her
footsteps as well as Harriet’s was as thrilling as the prospect of doing it all
again at the next travelogue-style convention. Until then, Happy Sleuthing
Campers!<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVuZv_H89KRYRDwOtTNendU9JKHp9rR6uiOCMoKCEqCSoF1M6kBFcuOcv2WdidVzw3yn5b2cZr2zZRYFpc0-i5yMsWhRHBJ3AbKDIZBDb8CwpZRXp_7qf0_1-Sn__1sgHHJ06aJzzlqTkOj4bJAY9nO6nJecp7xyVZ0FivzEe5GXIz7RkvjCITA/s4032/33v.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVuZv_H89KRYRDwOtTNendU9JKHp9rR6uiOCMoKCEqCSoF1M6kBFcuOcv2WdidVzw3yn5b2cZr2zZRYFpc0-i5yMsWhRHBJ3AbKDIZBDb8CwpZRXp_7qf0_1-Sn__1sgHHJ06aJzzlqTkOj4bJAY9nO6nJecp7xyVZ0FivzEe5GXIz7RkvjCITA/s320/33v.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT7Vslw183wagcZVinSAye5JTMxsmtSiI7IVGWYENeN4jgveBToHzNOmJf3qrqHAJBCugP5AYezN2wZ-baNV28WLeQ0HS2fZORRRKd2XeLIqBlPxOXL0UNxVN-en8_DPJOSAyPLK8LosGx_qwBUjmnYUwgGkAXvfOd1v2jA1iHJQ1rLSJvnRG1vA/s4032/33z.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT7Vslw183wagcZVinSAye5JTMxsmtSiI7IVGWYENeN4jgveBToHzNOmJf3qrqHAJBCugP5AYezN2wZ-baNV28WLeQ0HS2fZORRRKd2XeLIqBlPxOXL0UNxVN-en8_DPJOSAyPLK8LosGx_qwBUjmnYUwgGkAXvfOd1v2jA1iHJQ1rLSJvnRG1vA/s320/33z.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>The Fenimore Art Museum</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Check out these other images of local sights from our visit to Cooperstown including a boating excursion on Otsego Lake on the Glimmerglass Queen, seeing Kingfisher Tower from the boat, a visit to the US Post Office, the statue of James Fenimore Cooper and the cemetery where he is buried among other infamous Cooperstown folks, the Otesaga Resort Hotel where we held a mystery dinner, Five Mile Point, and the lakeshore by our cottage and the colorful kayaks that were beached.</span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggN5yE89-BMgRhQSWF9ct1qrn96f2otE8MUDNpE1uDfwWJuq0k69IuKPUCD1pL9aJdZxGAW1_Fsau3KxHN4LyAwARIzBo5LetplFGWtDUABMQTpnWvBtWuUA6fD8Po2x2Yqd9DJ4GwqtseCJAyfpeXVYRHseTQ_ApuRQdvUifGFb_LUcnpIlzMJg/s4032/33zz.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggN5yE89-BMgRhQSWF9ct1qrn96f2otE8MUDNpE1uDfwWJuq0k69IuKPUCD1pL9aJdZxGAW1_Fsau3KxHN4LyAwARIzBo5LetplFGWtDUABMQTpnWvBtWuUA6fD8Po2x2Yqd9DJ4GwqtseCJAyfpeXVYRHseTQ_ApuRQdvUifGFb_LUcnpIlzMJg/s320/33zz.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Sailing on Otsego Lake</b></i></span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPNKixbzOuiLQHeYkvZI-sngZrxilU3IIqSpx-QU9vzNClzq4FsXCh0gO3ritvUAyXfgR_85xlV7OJw43Z4cklhsXnaBmWwr_ElCOMEHZsRiSwtioUes5BvGnMkwp7vGf-5SbmIUiTExC5kkI29GCRaYqWn9ZOLlCKTqqBX-EiHeQRlKVJFW5Vw/s4032/34.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPNKixbzOuiLQHeYkvZI-sngZrxilU3IIqSpx-QU9vzNClzq4FsXCh0gO3ritvUAyXfgR_85xlV7OJw43Z4cklhsXnaBmWwr_ElCOMEHZsRiSwtioUes5BvGnMkwp7vGf-5SbmIUiTExC5kkI29GCRaYqWn9ZOLlCKTqqBX-EiHeQRlKVJFW5Vw/s320/34.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3DFPfKHADz2PBWpZlm2qqKOgRZRYwQt6mkMENFISLQC-0tWoliKcwN6nr7XSxZOlT-blRAJoF6t1B2yYfOHRAn8hAF5sDIEL68vu3WfMw_gUYDGrUew0E-IxZO4busEQ846Uedg8jzh1Bqa23zLAlw_LPX10cHPhLdDNJv9ECvJDcABOGiUssA/s4032/35.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3DFPfKHADz2PBWpZlm2qqKOgRZRYwQt6mkMENFISLQC-0tWoliKcwN6nr7XSxZOlT-blRAJoF6t1B2yYfOHRAn8hAF5sDIEL68vu3WfMw_gUYDGrUew0E-IxZO4busEQ846Uedg8jzh1Bqa23zLAlw_LPX10cHPhLdDNJv9ECvJDcABOGiUssA/s320/35.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Kingfisher Tower</b></i></span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinmuUW3K8gF89vU6b2pYM1pmBDtqZ3jIXCHbRjqugCp4U7IGyRkZ9xSufmqBDMZzLTfY5intYm47JM3VoaeNon3SOygej1RuQNWW2M0du9ubPVWYlJm2x2DLIacHrWhqtiVnc0E4ES8Wbi6Su8k3pU-k2-N_-abKPRzJgC6Egt_Fs6NOldfHlwYA/s4032/37.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinmuUW3K8gF89vU6b2pYM1pmBDtqZ3jIXCHbRjqugCp4U7IGyRkZ9xSufmqBDMZzLTfY5intYm47JM3VoaeNon3SOygej1RuQNWW2M0du9ubPVWYlJm2x2DLIacHrWhqtiVnc0E4ES8Wbi6Su8k3pU-k2-N_-abKPRzJgC6Egt_Fs6NOldfHlwYA/s320/37.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>US Post Office</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_hIRX9i4B4kea872mwje8Nv39gGcPdHTSwrFv1jWZ2F7UqCl2AqoEnlKhtkWusYj9x-iGEVJRcfP8DiuFNr4RWYCOaufDT1-eicWsxcI7ZVo_8WCkOmpgij2QB9denIPbzu6hG-oTAuBQ4fApOblz0IvtSC_dBUOdssJgXLFht_4BYCZjPZzsA/s4032/38.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_hIRX9i4B4kea872mwje8Nv39gGcPdHTSwrFv1jWZ2F7UqCl2AqoEnlKhtkWusYj9x-iGEVJRcfP8DiuFNr4RWYCOaufDT1-eicWsxcI7ZVo_8WCkOmpgij2QB9denIPbzu6hG-oTAuBQ4fApOblz0IvtSC_dBUOdssJgXLFht_4BYCZjPZzsA/s320/38.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Statue of James Fenimore Cooper</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Cemetery & Headstones</b></i></span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj286VtJESFFo074R9NVoJL5HpZdNa9ipcnIHQfUbx4T-_MFIPKDkHpfc_tzR1jwxyA64EC6FaziaSXRFjm7JyZHqgr-mMNtLolbx9S13jxB9WyDwbIr0Pji2FHzzGL3Mn6ndxFOLY_lMB1nGX5xa0kFjvIZBq8_hZo9EBZUT4S3eakeNNQuwbzw/s4032/39.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj286VtJESFFo074R9NVoJL5HpZdNa9ipcnIHQfUbx4T-_MFIPKDkHpfc_tzR1jwxyA64EC6FaziaSXRFjm7JyZHqgr-mMNtLolbx9S13jxB9WyDwbIr0Pji2FHzzGL3Mn6ndxFOLY_lMB1nGX5xa0kFjvIZBq8_hZo9EBZUT4S3eakeNNQuwbzw/s320/39.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx8XVWc2j-f2EIeJh0IDg-iAUXrgWjCUWWQ32UMdck95QW7C7NmUN2VCw1KTgp15G8EG9Z3GcvLWOHaPdLpTgiAzhs2kdgQh3n6Kv5qQyQXJHiep9bNg2EIn2jjyObxbFMO42j2TF3n20QW8S7ICOmlLHvJuEXx4ki4HeNLHeTrKAn2PGttrWTCg/s1067/40.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="1067" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx8XVWc2j-f2EIeJh0IDg-iAUXrgWjCUWWQ32UMdck95QW7C7NmUN2VCw1KTgp15G8EG9Z3GcvLWOHaPdLpTgiAzhs2kdgQh3n6Kv5qQyQXJHiep9bNg2EIn2jjyObxbFMO42j2TF3n20QW8S7ICOmlLHvJuEXx4ki4HeNLHeTrKAn2PGttrWTCg/s320/40.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>The Otesaga Resort Hotel</b></i></span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2D2TTyz29aVunF0RK2atfnIuw-FFVNwLKJGWBWqS8NRebzntTCit8U4FSqt8Wq5XEX49iwK6nEk7kWaDDAf2F8A3CGbugvcNGbFRLvDa4n5pAxyWu_dxW0hkWfd6tmWxp7V638RUlHminaJoFqlBmC_2AiIC84reDmut4rwbnrQW-vPuhX0eAw/s4032/41.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2D2TTyz29aVunF0RK2atfnIuw-FFVNwLKJGWBWqS8NRebzntTCit8U4FSqt8Wq5XEX49iwK6nEk7kWaDDAf2F8A3CGbugvcNGbFRLvDa4n5pAxyWu_dxW0hkWfd6tmWxp7V638RUlHminaJoFqlBmC_2AiIC84reDmut4rwbnrQW-vPuhX0eAw/s320/41.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMHRTtL2_lbLJFreBNux8GvBlva1_tckQl4FdY9F_rchi38g09oOIGt1brA8faYaUMXBICmqI8qIjzjg6BxvXj_8ynljZetczB5asaxgtmlabgaIqQa2NszHi_cWPLZ-UznGVRmUIgpuL4ofuf_oMXrFYudg-fchMMn-0wv6I-ivnnybC20gui0A/s4032/42.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMHRTtL2_lbLJFreBNux8GvBlva1_tckQl4FdY9F_rchi38g09oOIGt1brA8faYaUMXBICmqI8qIjzjg6BxvXj_8ynljZetczB5asaxgtmlabgaIqQa2NszHi_cWPLZ-UznGVRmUIgpuL4ofuf_oMXrFYudg-fchMMn-0wv6I-ivnnybC20gui0A/s320/42.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAe5jgIHmu4pSJk-vxZlOa1_T-mx46sH3YROc6yXLfa8b1TTWMMRc7o_bM3PjzCeR9ySczqRd4GUs2xWvyzOrYvzwpyrunDmfHdZe7ZTm71A6CE1n0LoqZ13U-eZgbh8xKw0CzwzcJ4pIv36KHe4skMR4Dt4AHK1WmD_5FYKufGyVPBE09haIz-w/s4032/43.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAe5jgIHmu4pSJk-vxZlOa1_T-mx46sH3YROc6yXLfa8b1TTWMMRc7o_bM3PjzCeR9ySczqRd4GUs2xWvyzOrYvzwpyrunDmfHdZe7ZTm71A6CE1n0LoqZ13U-eZgbh8xKw0CzwzcJ4pIv36KHe4skMR4Dt4AHK1WmD_5FYKufGyVPBE09haIz-w/s320/43.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><b>Images above of historical documents from NYPL courtesy of James Keeline. Map from Ralph Birdsall's The Story of Cooperstown with notes courtesy of Suzan Friedlander, some images from the ghost tour courtesy of Jim McNamara and Gina Travis, pics from the Natty Bumppo hiking trail from LuAnn O'Connell, photo of Lynn Ealer Ritchkoff and campers from a </b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><b>Cooperstown camps reunion Facebook group. </b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><b>Other photos from around Cooperstown, taken by Jennifer Fisher.</b></i></span></div><br /><b> <span style="text-align: justify;">BIBLIOGRAPHY – SOURCES USED IN RESEARCHING THIS
ARTICLE:</span></b></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Carolyn Keene, <i>The Secret of Mirror Bay</i>. Nancy
Drew series, volume 49. Grosset & Dunlap, 1972.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Stratemeyer Syndicate Records, 1832-1984, New
York Public Library, various letters and documents from various boxes –
research gathered by James Keeline, Stratemeyer expert, research notes by
Jennifer Fisher; from various library research trips over the years.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Phone calls and letters from Lynn Ealer
Ritchkoff, former Stratemeyer Syndicate employee and granddaughter of E. Lynn
“Pop” Fisher and Jane Carr Fisher discussing Camp Chenango, Camp Otsego, and
Harriet Stratemeyer Adams’s visit to Cooperstown to research <i>Mirror Bay</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“E. Lynn Fisher, 77, Organizer of Cooperstown
Camps, Dies.” The Oneonta Star, July 5, 1957.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">July 2023 phone calls with Grace Grote, former employee
and ghostwriter of the Stratmeyer Syndicate, on her experience at the Syndicate
and with Harriet Adams.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Previous e-mail correspondence plus July 2023 e-mails
with Nancy S. Axelrad, former Stratemeyer Syndicate partner on Harriet
Stratemeyer Adams’s travels to Cooperstown </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">July 2023 e-mails with Suzan Friedlander, Executive
Director & Head Curator at the Arkell Museum & Canajoharie Library,
whose research on the camps and Camp Chenango and knowledge of Cooperstown
history were a huge help in locating and learning about the camps as well as
learning more about Louis C. Jones. Her reading of <i>Mirror Bay</i> helped to
point out real-life connections and she was quick to point me toward articles for further research.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In-person chat with Pam Larbig in Cooperstown, NY
about her grandparents Pop Fisher and Jane Carr Fisher and Harriet Stratemeyer
Adams’s 1971 visit to Cooperstown.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">July 2023 e-mails with Cooperstown Deputy Mayor
Cynthia Falk and Cooperstown Mayor Ellen R. Tillapaugh regarding an old Toy
Museum and the Key to Cooperstown.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Freeman’s Journal, Cooperstown NY, October
24, 1928. Reference to there being no key to the Village of Cooperstown.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Wikipedia – Cooperstown information, Cooperstown
being the “Village of Museums.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">ThisisCooperstown.com – Cooperstown visitor’s
information and lore </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>A Large Slice of Americana, Served up in
Cooperstown</i>. New York Times, July 27, 1975.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Denny’s Toy Museum” ad. New York Magazine, May
30, 1977.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Louis C. Jones, <i>Things That Go Bump in the
Night</i>. Syracuse University Press reprint, 1959, 1983.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Glenn Fowler, “L.C. Jones, 82, Dies; A Writer and
Expert on Folklore in U.S.” New York Times, Nov. 28, 1990.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Shirley O’Shea, <i>The Time of Year for Ghost </i>Stories. Cooperstown
Crier, October 6, 2011. Features Cooperstown Candlelight Ghost Tour guide Bruce
Markeson.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Constance Fenimore, <i>The Haunted Lake</i>.
Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, volume 1871-1872.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Museum is Going Way of Horse and Buggy.” New
York Times, July 6, 1978. References to the old Carriage and Harness Museum </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">July 2023 E-mail with owner of a cottage at Hyde
Bay Colony, Jo Grice-Barrows about Hyde Bay Colony having formerly been
Rathbun’s.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Jack French, <i>Fourteen Years Working for the Syndicate</i>.
The Whispered Watchword, February 2011 issue, #11-1.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“CAMP CHENANGO ON OTSEGO LAKE, COOPERSTOWN, NY” ad. Scribner’s
Magazine, June 1921.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Porter Sargent, “A Handbook of Summer Camps: An Annual Survey,” vol
III by Porter Sargent Publishers, 1926. Information on Camp Chenango.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ralph Birdsall, <i>The Story of Cooperstown</i>. The Arthur H Crist
Co, Cooperstown, NY, 1917.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-72691258926949773432023-05-13T13:43:00.001-07:002023-05-13T13:43:13.200-07:004 Days To Get Nancy Drew Action Figures & Special Novella<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH2mbYXOOzyJi4EwCx-Wc37DFtWhFbMOm5lQwK_ZVX9EbeUu3aJQfjMqXrpbue7AyPAyk_MFia6LxHERStQEJpqjrBwZJJr7uMykVkEqQf4LekNguaSZk8hX4Whdk9og8C5WFrNCXejKgvW33Ypf7zI_yVaefgmLWeki1g-GlPdPCrt39G1qU/s1017/KSexclusives3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="1017" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH2mbYXOOzyJi4EwCx-Wc37DFtWhFbMOm5lQwK_ZVX9EbeUu3aJQfjMqXrpbue7AyPAyk_MFia6LxHERStQEJpqjrBwZJJr7uMykVkEqQf4LekNguaSZk8hX4Whdk9og8C5WFrNCXejKgvW33Ypf7zI_yVaefgmLWeki1g-GlPdPCrt39G1qU/w400-h393/KSexclusives3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>4 DAYS LEFT TO GET NANCY DREW ACTION FIGURES!</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">If you haven't made your pledge yet - this is your last chance to get the <b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wanderingplanettoys/nancy-drew-retro-style-action-figures?ref=f1tlfn" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Action Figures</a></b> - and guarantee you get what you want - plus the super cool silhouette figure, t-shirt and Nancy Drew Novella illustrated by Ruth Sanderson which are only available with this <b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wanderingplanettoys/nancy-drew-retro-style-action-figures?ref=f1tlfn" target="_blank">Kickstarter Nancy Drew Action Figures</a></b> campaign! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">40 years ago - early 1980s - I can remember one Christmas Eve at my paternal grandparents' house. I had been playing on my Uncle Jerry's snazzy Apple computer - back when you had the old school spiffy black screen and not much in the way of graphics - and was playing some kind of mystery game. There were all the holiday feels. And I got to open some of my gifts that I wasn't opening the next day at my maternal grandparents' house. One was some of my favorite Star Wars action figures. And boy did my Mom have to hunt those down! That was an adventure in and of itself as they were all the rage for Christmas gifts that year. She had taken them out of the packaging, and they were all in this cool metal tin. Of course, hindsight, if they were still in package and minty...but back then we didn't do that, and she was probably saving space with the travel over to Texas and room for going back home with gifts. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">But most wonderfully in that experience was that I got to be a kid and enjoy playing with them and the tactile energy in being able to handle them and also the freedom in not worrying about collecting and keeping things minty which I was oblivious to at that age. I'll always remember fondly growing up in the 80s when action figures were so popular in the early years of this toy phenomenon. There's something very tangible about an action figure that just brings that nostalgia right back to the surface and those fun memories. I still have my Star Wars action figures in their neat Star Wars case. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now we get to be kids again with <b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wanderingplanettoys/nancy-drew-retro-style-action-figures?ref=f1tlfn" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Action Figures</a></b> and ready for your shelf Nancy Drew book style packaging. For some of us that means ripping them out of the packages and taking ourselves right back to childhood and playing Nancy Drew! For some of us, they'll sit mint in package on a shelf looking pristine and very collectible. For me, it will be the best of both worlds! A set to keep mint and a set to sleuth with! In another 40 years, I know I'll look back very fondly on the memories that these Nancy Drew action figures evoke and the fun Nancy Drew mysteries they represent that I always treasured reading as a kid and still do as an adult. Thank you again Doc and Gavin at <b><a href="https://wanderingplanetofficial.com/" target="_blank">Wandering Planet Toys </a></b>for letting me fangirl all the way through this process!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyuS1GlaATZGvYdkL5Ilh7Qpkpp9_7Dgdr-CE5WNJJDgQCI_KnMvLpmMidAAcdGKbGKNyd8ufCcQQcR2bZ7NwqD11Ic6vTrvVwSOsApL6DRFvuG84ksaII04zsfWkbrz_mMQDky9ePw-ZFniPcrJtKJ5ZvyaNMpkDuNe9F7U5WCeI4NlaSRTg/s1192/95ee3909445922a6e9b4fade2fadc7de_original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1192" data-original-width="680" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyuS1GlaATZGvYdkL5Ilh7Qpkpp9_7Dgdr-CE5WNJJDgQCI_KnMvLpmMidAAcdGKbGKNyd8ufCcQQcR2bZ7NwqD11Ic6vTrvVwSOsApL6DRFvuG84ksaII04zsfWkbrz_mMQDky9ePw-ZFniPcrJtKJ5ZvyaNMpkDuNe9F7U5WCeI4NlaSRTg/w229-h400/95ee3909445922a6e9b4fade2fadc7de_original.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-497816283024508752023-04-28T05:00:00.023-07:002023-04-28T05:00:00.145-07:00Happy 93rd to Nancy Drew - Mystery's IT Girl<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvk-DluPZ1CdVxkd3ebRQg7ADhB9RYQuuIZlPfeI31BQNGxuHikhkXCUdZ5GeCce516E19L6X044Psds4v419lTnzv5jUP0q779c3yt6NgH39-dJAjkrOXZacRyBNBmCKcGITH_WjQEk8h2JiMb6jJguHzMtVuMSh2xWA7p2fVzsphoMw53A/s1000/happy93oldattic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvk-DluPZ1CdVxkd3ebRQg7ADhB9RYQuuIZlPfeI31BQNGxuHikhkXCUdZ5GeCce516E19L6X044Psds4v419lTnzv5jUP0q779c3yt6NgH39-dJAjkrOXZacRyBNBmCKcGITH_WjQEk8h2JiMb6jJguHzMtVuMSh2xWA7p2fVzsphoMw53A/w400-h400/happy93oldattic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Happy 93rd, Nancy Drew!</b></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>A brief look back at 1930s Nancy Drew and how her early success shaped a successful Sleuthing career for over 93 years…</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">She's been knocked unconscious numerous times. Chloroformed. Kidnapped. Threatened. Strangled. Tortured. Impersonated. Yet, nothing stops <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew</a></b>. She always got back in the proverbial saddle, her infamous blue roadster, and eventually solved the case and rounded up all the crooks and saved the day. To some, this might seem like perfection, but to most, we wouldn't have it any other way. She’s Mystery’s IT Girl for the ages, after all.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">When Nancy Drew <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/history.html" target="_blank">debuted on April 28, 1930</a></b>, she truly was in many respects a trailblazer of series heroines and by the end of the year, sales were going very well and steadily grew. Considering the time period was during the Great Depression when many series went out of print and faltered, Nancy was a hit and girls were insatiable for the daring sleuths’ exploits. It was a time when girls were dreaming of more and aspiring to be more like Nancy and have the same freedom and respect and ability to use their wits to save themselves and conquer the world. As melodramatic as that may seem, Nancy Drew was hope, one mystery at a time, delivered in beautiful blue book bindings, wrapped up with colorfully illustrated dust jackets depicting scenes of Nancy Drew in peril or sleuthing for clues. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Before she became Mystery's IT Girl, there was the "Dream Team" or "Drew Team" who guaranteed her success in life, as she morphed from "Stella Strong" to "Nan Drew" to "Nancy Drew" and then got right down to business solving mysteries in her first case, <i><b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mysterystories.html" target="_blank">The Secret of the Old Clock</a></b></i>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Let’s remember today on her anniversary some of the interesting creators behind the famous amateur sleuth who helped make her such a rousing success by the end of the 1930s. The "Drew" Team, who helped create and produce Nancy Drew and who made her the success she would become, is who we owe a hearty thanks to, for without them, I don't think Nancy Drew would be the pop culture icon that she is today.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Have you ever heard of The Stratemeyer Syndicate? Let’s get to the bottom of this mysterious sounding syndicate. It consisted of a literary giant who is often forgotten to history or overlooked. His name was Edward Stratemeyer. Heralded as “Father of the Fifty-center” – in 1934, <i>Fortune Magazine</i> compared him to Rockefeller – “"As oil had its Rockefeller, literature had its Stratemeyer." He invented Nancy Drew and what an invention! Such a breakout character for someone who was rather Victorian in nature. Victorian or not, Stratemeyer had a very savvy ability to capitalize on current events, trends and culture in creating the many books and series he either wrote himself or employed ghostwriters to do the writing for. He formed The Stratemeyer Syndicate around 1905 and went on to produce such popular series including The Bobbsey Twins, The Rover Boys, Tom Swift, The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. Ghostwriters signed away rights to the series, character and pen names and Stratemeyer farmed the manuscripts out to various publishers for publication. As simple as that sounds, it would become the stuff of mystery decades later, when scholars and fans of the books began wondering just who was writing their favorite books. Who was Nancy Drew’s author, Carolyn Keene, really? Stay tuned for more clues…</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Nearly two weeks after Nancy Drew debuted, Stratemeyer passed away from pneumonia and never got to see one of his biggest legacies become such an amazing success. By the mid-1930s, Nancy Drew was outselling the boys’ series. Stratemeyer’s assistant, Harriet Otis Smith, would help his daughters Edna Stratemeyer Squier and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams continue on in the business after they could not find a buyer suitable during the Great Depression. Both women would go on to run their father’s company for many years, Harriet for many more after her sister Edna mostly retired from day-to-day business. Both would weather the Great Depression and the resulting loss of some series, World War 2 and paper shortages among more challenges to come their way. Both were getting a foothold in a very male-dominated publishing industry and thanks to Stratemeyer’s business model, thrived and made it a continued success overall. Without the sisters and their dedication, many of these popular series might just be a footnote in series literature history.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOtWBZMG0lUpl1QxUO1grpri5itq671AF1H25YPbBejZ8Tr4H6M0snvWKIkChT3j5AYL5tXZuqHB7zErvHI69VR9HzYwaDPwxkMacKun8RvDk0e4h1cORoTHptNFLmf4JcZAUXbXNMFnkccFp6M198_-hFoB2zDct2hkvvCBP--NFDH7EX02I/s720/nancydrew1st3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="720" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOtWBZMG0lUpl1QxUO1grpri5itq671AF1H25YPbBejZ8Tr4H6M0snvWKIkChT3j5AYL5tXZuqHB7zErvHI69VR9HzYwaDPwxkMacKun8RvDk0e4h1cORoTHptNFLmf4JcZAUXbXNMFnkccFp6M198_-hFoB2zDct2hkvvCBP--NFDH7EX02I/w400-h215/nancydrew1st3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">An aspiring writer, native Iowan, and first person to graduate from the University of Iowa with a master's in journalism would go on to write the first three Nancy Drew mysteries at the age of 24 and continue to write 20 more of the first 30 volumes in the series. She breathed a most feisty life into Nancy Drew, whose personality and character in the 1930s especially was much more ballsy and brash than the Nancy Drew of later books. Her Nancy Drew spoke up to authority, often snooped and helped herself to evidence she needed to solve mysteries and sped like the wind in her sporty roadster often leaving villains in her dust. She wasn’t afraid to pack heat or sucker punch a villain. She was Sleuth-tacular. And she was very much like her real-life ghost, <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mildredwirtbenson.html" target="_blank">Mildred Wirt Benson</a></b>.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Benson, in addition to the 23 Nancy Drew books she wrote, also wrote other books in various series for The Stratemeyer Syndicate and many of her own books and series – 135 published books in all by the end of her juvenile series writing career. She spent decades as a journalist in Toledo, OH and having real life Nancy Drew adventures which I am chronicling as I am currently writing a biography about Benson. If you’re wondering why she didn’t write all the volumes in the first 30 books, that’s a mystery that has interesting roots. Did you know a Navy man ghosted some of the Nancy Drew books? Who was this other 1930s ghost behind Nancy Drew? He was Walter Karig, and he stepped in to write volumes 8-10 when, as a letter in the New York Public Library’s Stratemeyer Syndicate Archives reveals, Benson didn’t want to take a pay cut during the Depression. His writing style, on par with Benson’s and often more humorous in nature, was a near seamless transition, fans most likely didn’t realize someone new was writing several of the books and that’s how the Syndicate liked it. A pseudonym provided stability and continuity, no matter what was going on behind the scenes of Mysteryville.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Working rather closely with Benson in the 1930s was Edna, who wrote most of the 1930s outlines for Nancy Drew books that Benson ghosted after Stratemeyer passed away. Harriet became much more heavily involved with Nancy Drew when Edna moved to Florida and left the day to day running of the Syndicate to her. Harriet would begin to tone down Nancy Drew’s more blunt character and by the 1950s, ghostwrite many of the books herself until her death in 1982.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Commercial illustrator and reported drinking companion on occasion to Salvador Dali and Ernest Hemmingway, <b><a href="http://nancydrewsleuth.com/russellhtandy.html" target="_blank">Russell H. Tandy</a></b> was the first to bring Nancy Drew to life and illustrated covers through the late 1940s as well as internal illustrations. His sophisticated style and fashionable covers were a hit with fans and are highly collectible and beloved still today. Between his depiction of Nancy and Benson’s excellent writing style, Nancy Drew was disappearing off the shelves into eager hands. Forget the fact that libraries often snubbed children’s literature like Nancy Drew! Fans of the books created their own libraries and shared them around to friends in the neighborhood and at school. Over the decades, generations of fans from moms to grandmothers lovingly passed down their books to their kids and grandkids, ensuring that Nancy Drew would endure through the ages.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Though no one knew it at the time by the close of the 1930s when Nancy Drew was an established success, looking back on this long running and very popular series still in print and new books, it’s phenomenal that books are still being reprinted and new ones published. Over 600 mysteries have been solved and counting. Numerous movies and TV shows have been made about her. We now have a company, Wandering Planet Toys, who is about to produce for the first time ever, <b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wanderingplanettoys/nancy-drew-retro-style-action-figures?ref=f1tlfn" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Action Figures</a>!</b> <i>Get yours now while you can by May 17! </i>The <b><a href="https://www.nancydrewfans.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Sleuths fan group</a></b> holds annual conventions and publishes a zine, <i>The Sleuth</i>, about her. Nancy Drew has resonated with millions of fans over the generations and has inspired some of the most powerful women in America, including most of the female justices on the US Supreme Court. I think Stratemeyer would be most proud of that legacy and that his own daughters continued the business for many years after his death and made such a success of so many series books and characters we hold near and dear like Nancy Drew. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSvKH1vrlZBM9cbooK4ae3oxrHS2FajPrHdf7X2caKV9Gq7Nqzf9Wf1SNfXNfrB61waBtTOvTnrXLWq2-kvJPCyrruu03MpnNMIXPjPv2ikW99w7IwvyIx4V90-qfvi8-M_N4b0jul8N-EhOtpgEWZOg_DSsv_UHZfYmV2ivnT1s4QEvYOw8/s504/ndfancplogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="504" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSvKH1vrlZBM9cbooK4ae3oxrHS2FajPrHdf7X2caKV9Gq7Nqzf9Wf1SNfXNfrB61waBtTOvTnrXLWq2-kvJPCyrruu03MpnNMIXPjPv2ikW99w7IwvyIx4V90-qfvi8-M_N4b0jul8N-EhOtpgEWZOg_DSsv_UHZfYmV2ivnT1s4QEvYOw8/w400-h400/ndfancplogo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-37944781546574919772023-04-19T09:00:00.013-07:002023-04-19T09:00:00.173-07:00Nancy Drew Action Figures at Kickstarter LIVE - 30 Days to get Nancy Drew!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2Felg89GBSZe7jWdo3K62rVircLrijY2Rr4dRVEuUzSYnLpIWAkELMyAmsx3FoVljYKNDF63n1Y2Uic00N4xU-H9Aaldddbdrc4c7IFL60mfs5dFCiMMIOupp8OTrXQMrNdi7ZJUhYxaxBD6xUSaEGHWcoEZJ7SogwyogUS_1TaaGZNhZSA/s1565/Nancy_KS_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1131" data-original-width="1565" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2Felg89GBSZe7jWdo3K62rVircLrijY2Rr4dRVEuUzSYnLpIWAkELMyAmsx3FoVljYKNDF63n1Y2Uic00N4xU-H9Aaldddbdrc4c7IFL60mfs5dFCiMMIOupp8OTrXQMrNdi7ZJUhYxaxBD6xUSaEGHWcoEZJ7SogwyogUS_1TaaGZNhZSA/w400-h289/Nancy_KS_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>NANCY FANS -</b> <b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wanderingplanettoys/nancy-drew-retro-style-action-figures?ref=f1tlfn" target="_blank">NANCY DREW ACTION FIGURES KICKSTARTER</a></b> LIVE! - Your mission if you choose to accept it is to head on over to <b>Doc and Gavin's <a href="https://wanderingplanetofficial.com/" target="_blank">Wandering Planet</a> Toys</b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wanderingplanettoys/nancy-drew-retro-style-action-figures?ref=f1tlfn" target="_blank"><b> Nancy Drew Kickstarter page</b></a> and you've got <b>only 30 days</b> to help fund this awesome venture! As a kid in the late 70s/80s, I was a huge Star Wars fan and loved my action figures - still have them! - and to see these awesome retro <b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wanderingplanettoys/nancy-drew-retro-style-action-figures?ref=f1tlfn" target="_blank">Nancy Drew action figures</a></b> come to life from all the hard work that's gone into pre-production on these, is so beyond cool! This year is the 70th anniversary of the late <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew</a></b> artist, Rudy Nappi's ND cover art career which began in 1953 and these figures pay homage to some of your favorite and festive 60s and 70s Nappi covers! Nancy's iconic and so are these illustrations of her and Wandering Planet Toys has done a fantastic job of styling them, with accessories from the cover scenes and even adding in extra figures in two sets - Nancy's doppelganger - the villainess - from <i>Lilac Inn</i> and the creepy Robby the Robot from <i>Crooked Banister</i>. <b>Figures are based on <i>Old Clock, Hidden Staircase, Lilac Inn, Old Attic, Dancing Puppet,</i> and <i>Crooked Banister</i>. </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The <b>packaging is fantastic</b> - card backs for the simple collector and book style cases for the book collector - check out the internal illustrations used and the cool endpaper scenes. The packaging is collectible in and of itself! <b>Buy a set to keep mint in package and a set to sleuth around with!</b> I'll be doing that and getting a set to send to <b><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/nancydrewexpert/toledo-lib-nancy-drew-jennifer-fisher-collection/" target="_blank">Toledo Public Library for my Nancy Drew Collection</a></b> there. PLUS! There are neat incentives - don't even get me started on how much I am thrilled with those. The silhouette figure complete with tweed book background. The cool silhouette stand to keep your figures posed on your shelves. And so super-beyond-cool is the 5-chapter<b> Nancy Drew Novella, <i>The Case of the Curious Collection</i>, written in the classic Nancy Drew mystery style AND ILLUSTRATED BY RUTH SANDERSON!!!!!</b> One day a few months ago, Doc asked me who would be a good person to illustrate the Novella and my immediate answer was Ruth Sanderson - besides her wonderful history as a classic paperbacks Nancy Drew illustrator, she's fantastic and her style is perfect for this, so I'm beyond thrilled she was excited to do it and I love the cover scene she's illustrating based on a general outline and synopsis I wrote up. It's so cool to see that come to life. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As the pledging goes and the goals are being reached at <b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wanderingplanettoys/nancy-drew-retro-style-action-figures?ref=f1tlfn" target="_blank">Kickstarter</a></b>, that will unlock even more super cool things! You've got to help make this happen, so Nancy fans, head on over to the <b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wanderingplanettoys/nancy-drew-retro-style-action-figures?ref=f1tlfn" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Kickstarter campaign</a></b> and support this awesome indie toy company run by Doc and Gavin! Making this a success ensures a second wave of more figures to come in the future! I'm so happy they brought me on board to consult on this line of action figures and am thrilled to see it all come to life in such a nostalgic way! They have gone above and beyond the Call of Drewty on this one :) </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>See the rest of the figures below plus the cool Novella with Ruth's art, click on the images to view larger ones.</i></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgki2Gse9fMTkZQgtFQDZnR7NQDPrasS0XgW0ZxU2Vmu2BuDoyZ4H7_HlA-NzX9l5zvAyvA85ereQc7oRjq8sWEPkzAJtnjJmHSe95R-SIaaeYpCC1eQIVDkxiOeLk0maSfff6S_tNOkxx6mI9JDUn4nEZ7aahtH1plaImoizY0vl2DvO6q-o/s1565/Nancy_KS_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1131" data-original-width="1565" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgki2Gse9fMTkZQgtFQDZnR7NQDPrasS0XgW0ZxU2Vmu2BuDoyZ4H7_HlA-NzX9l5zvAyvA85ereQc7oRjq8sWEPkzAJtnjJmHSe95R-SIaaeYpCC1eQIVDkxiOeLk0maSfff6S_tNOkxx6mI9JDUn4nEZ7aahtH1plaImoizY0vl2DvO6q-o/w400-h289/Nancy_KS_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBxfEsk-XDYS-QyQpOBsS3Aq1Ma9kY1IH1SMNLpPdeIKpkxsNxd2mTQ8kpK4gf1UXpDHLj08wbLWlNfxwRct-o-YPxhsPng0Fdj5WhUsznWAXHe87AZc_NF5qFGTvlXP8TVzRqv6FpzdRLEceWS2ay2VIg7v1elTPleCjXVVJayzI1hqHhmb8/s1565/Nancy_KS_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1131" data-original-width="1565" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBxfEsk-XDYS-QyQpOBsS3Aq1Ma9kY1IH1SMNLpPdeIKpkxsNxd2mTQ8kpK4gf1UXpDHLj08wbLWlNfxwRct-o-YPxhsPng0Fdj5WhUsznWAXHe87AZc_NF5qFGTvlXP8TVzRqv6FpzdRLEceWS2ay2VIg7v1elTPleCjXVVJayzI1hqHhmb8/w400-h289/Nancy_KS_3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9T6ItqfFLQxhTep33hf6mrVcE4aKX11sHFIQfYEdk6UtN7itixvbO526KrWfMsQdx8vgf0jPpxRUwwfJhwNvy4yeuWpAxp9DcJI7IMq4RM-rrkMZqqCJ6Fb5RaJuk5bfQpgW6zPEFhjB8apaFSfwRNZ5ioXoIUaKLCsBR-_-NPOJBszQT_7A/s1565/Nancy_KS_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1131" data-original-width="1565" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9T6ItqfFLQxhTep33hf6mrVcE4aKX11sHFIQfYEdk6UtN7itixvbO526KrWfMsQdx8vgf0jPpxRUwwfJhwNvy4yeuWpAxp9DcJI7IMq4RM-rrkMZqqCJ6Fb5RaJuk5bfQpgW6zPEFhjB8apaFSfwRNZ5ioXoIUaKLCsBR-_-NPOJBszQT_7A/w400-h289/Nancy_KS_4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1K97VtBPzgIFeopFCHtWsvuboBimC9MuHu_G238Z08Rl62MIi9Ybquu0IOC1inK6Gm77q1ub-QjMoclhsRkCliitsDr3A8GTcTXv1Ehzbmv1goHxyrY8ClwssXV2_0yi4-GZugFgA1PZTylmKfxaFq_hMbGGFK8cnWa0r2KRiB-ZyDJj4DnI/s1565/Nancy_KS_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1131" data-original-width="1565" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1K97VtBPzgIFeopFCHtWsvuboBimC9MuHu_G238Z08Rl62MIi9Ybquu0IOC1inK6Gm77q1ub-QjMoclhsRkCliitsDr3A8GTcTXv1Ehzbmv1goHxyrY8ClwssXV2_0yi4-GZugFgA1PZTylmKfxaFq_hMbGGFK8cnWa0r2KRiB-ZyDJj4DnI/w400-h289/Nancy_KS_5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6eBHTe5WNIhflmvDb_bjntQjL_YZ8Y3T0_rmpc18rGPf4KYJRuI0QJ3hCuVsXljdVdbGhUhc3mYDD-WwxZyGydAW4AsidS2RPzGvzQ4o2jOdO5mo91Rkako-D0e3khtQ48AjZDzZrvKift88uZ64_slK_YFkUBVogEUK8bRRuXWxecUa8hk/s1565/Nancy_KS_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1130" data-original-width="1565" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6eBHTe5WNIhflmvDb_bjntQjL_YZ8Y3T0_rmpc18rGPf4KYJRuI0QJ3hCuVsXljdVdbGhUhc3mYDD-WwxZyGydAW4AsidS2RPzGvzQ4o2jOdO5mo91Rkako-D0e3khtQ48AjZDzZrvKift88uZ64_slK_YFkUBVogEUK8bRRuXWxecUa8hk/w400-h289/Nancy_KS_6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFHTpBERR2xNUjRtRey1wqCz6k9w3Ial7Q6is8YE-D21PeBIZccTSqgFYSjImP0rCJ3Mo7lTAiyBr2FLrMGflW5M8_66QLMFjAN0wpqWubd8FPcq4pEoQWPQ82E_XhxT31baVMpTNngykLhJu0T2-A82ZSZpTglxURqbiOmUhZXvIYOkx08NM/s1564/Nancy_KS_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="916" data-original-width="1564" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFHTpBERR2xNUjRtRey1wqCz6k9w3Ial7Q6is8YE-D21PeBIZccTSqgFYSjImP0rCJ3Mo7lTAiyBr2FLrMGflW5M8_66QLMFjAN0wpqWubd8FPcq4pEoQWPQ82E_XhxT31baVMpTNngykLhJu0T2-A82ZSZpTglxURqbiOmUhZXvIYOkx08NM/w400-h234/Nancy_KS_10.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdD8Ftn-MKfVgIgSREFqPxM6YU9g49iT__kMMSDqqM0b1PkFT91DfEF12qMG-FgPXnitcI8aUdMSg6-c4PCaQNMMoXbCYVxEmE38otXpWr62D0Kj2Pc_Qcf8iriGyrZenJpkQs2Dx34ypVrszPXGcW-VWZVNKjDmiVhosWEZjRNARefGZ3xA/s1565/Nancy_KS_9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1131" data-original-width="1565" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdD8Ftn-MKfVgIgSREFqPxM6YU9g49iT__kMMSDqqM0b1PkFT91DfEF12qMG-FgPXnitcI8aUdMSg6-c4PCaQNMMoXbCYVxEmE38otXpWr62D0Kj2Pc_Qcf8iriGyrZenJpkQs2Dx34ypVrszPXGcW-VWZVNKjDmiVhosWEZjRNARefGZ3xA/w400-h289/Nancy_KS_9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiADkiUV6yAd6LcMvN7ERpWXLETt8ytvSYE9jCDVqSUjcRNksqn_9nOM39vy0r4JgF0TnsZBV_SLpxXmBk7ywW8RndkuiqYUBfzQmnhXl4ObddTZNbR4tNoofb66nevM-UpXNSAvrz1aDgbI7aO8uSJPVjOEpKlFjPvd_sHd1U8h22M66KT1bo/s1624/image0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1624" data-original-width="1268" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiADkiUV6yAd6LcMvN7ERpWXLETt8ytvSYE9jCDVqSUjcRNksqn_9nOM39vy0r4JgF0TnsZBV_SLpxXmBk7ywW8RndkuiqYUBfzQmnhXl4ObddTZNbR4tNoofb66nevM-UpXNSAvrz1aDgbI7aO8uSJPVjOEpKlFjPvd_sHd1U8h22M66KT1bo/w313-h400/image0.jpeg" width="313" /></a></div><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-40520908669695936272023-03-21T00:39:00.005-07:002023-03-21T00:43:49.856-07:00NANCY DREW ACTION FIGURES - For the First time Ever! <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZNASATqPHcXSMkpJ-cXExUxqvP4fsdQ32FjekRPfVny4xpQkCy5ys8gmmFS2yKJmS3jnlIsOtfRaLdEVLVLQo8_qn__eaWfH-IF3XW-uJwnPtnUK3oDUifayck0Ti9SFR0uV4zrUVQd2G4x6WCv6D50juHjENIQ37rgmFK1jiQ_RStEKXk8/s1024/FqfWZ9RaAAA5Rlp.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZNASATqPHcXSMkpJ-cXExUxqvP4fsdQ32FjekRPfVny4xpQkCy5ys8gmmFS2yKJmS3jnlIsOtfRaLdEVLVLQo8_qn__eaWfH-IF3XW-uJwnPtnUK3oDUifayck0Ti9SFR0uV4zrUVQd2G4x6WCv6D50juHjENIQ37rgmFK1jiQ_RStEKXk8/w400-h225/FqfWZ9RaAAA5Rlp.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>NANCY DREW ACTION FIGURES!</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the first time ever, you'll have the opportunity to collect classic and vintage style Nancy Drew action figures based on the <a href="http://nancydrewsleuth.com/mysterystories.html">classic Nancy Drew books</a> everyone loves. <a href="https://screenrant.com/nancy-drew-action-figures-kickstarter/?fbclid=IwAR29FVr_z7TdBdTrzf4Jm3W0e5-bxqHgp0hTMicqTzXB8ZIvOWtxGZABw3Y">Screenrant </a>has a few more details about the launch to come shortly - you can see the Nancy Drew Old Clock figure and the awesome Crowley Clock featured on the book cover plus the screwdriver Nancy used to open the clock in the photos in this blog.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For some time, I have been consultant on this amazing project to bring to the fans action figures of classic Nancy Drew! I'm so - so - so excited about the launch that's to come soon on <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wanderingplanettoys/nancy-drew-retro-style-action-figures?ref=64pfbx&fbclid=IwAR3xWofUjQSfozIzSaAcrNyBa3MXPu1OWHDpOTm_dulQWgnwzxqR-QFGvAc">Kickstarter</a>!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To clue you in, back in 2008, when we held our <a href="https://www.nancydrewfans.com">Nancy Drew Convention</a> that year in Bird-in-Hand, PA for our "Witch Tree Symbol" theme, a family joined us which included Doc Wyatt whose wife Laura was a Nancy Drew fan. Together with his friend Gavin Hignight, they formed a toy company in recent years called <a href="https://wanderingplanetofficial.com/">Wandering Planet Toys</a> and recently did a very successful launch of action figures based on the old TV series, The Prisoner. When deciding to do another launch, they settled on <a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com">Nancy Drew</a> and reached out to me to consult as they chose books to base the figures on, how to get Nancy's look just right, what accessories from those books to use, etc.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The figures are fantastic, and the packaging is just as Sleuthtacular too! They officially licensed with Simon and Schuster and got the ball rolling on the creation and production side. Now months later they are ready to launch the line and so I wanted to share the news and get you all very excited for the coming official launch! Right now, if you're interested, you can sign up with your e-mail so they can let you know when it officially launches and when pre-orders through <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wanderingplanettoys/nancy-drew-retro-style-action-figures?ref=64pfbx&fbclid=IwAR3xWofUjQSfozIzSaAcrNyBa3MXPu1OWHDpOTm_dulQWgnwzxqR-QFGvAc">Kickstarter </a>begin. There will be some pretty rad incentives too!</div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXGGZ8C5kzLRrViR9Lw7g-FqiZTsSkiBNXZelamcdzTlO-_DBIfh59gNqutcKtHKqUuBq50RbxEoPYMVjkg_XQK5v4ZetciAShtk3ezl6TD0ZNlvyT0hdQLGZqEbDLWgp1OivUkMQ8SFjMEO9Sh2L1I2Eohbj9SNlwvT6wZPO5K6XjsYheMmc/s680/a2fff4f8295fe6c71d598e8731b9aa7a_original.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="680" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXGGZ8C5kzLRrViR9Lw7g-FqiZTsSkiBNXZelamcdzTlO-_DBIfh59gNqutcKtHKqUuBq50RbxEoPYMVjkg_XQK5v4ZetciAShtk3ezl6TD0ZNlvyT0hdQLGZqEbDLWgp1OivUkMQ8SFjMEO9Sh2L1I2Eohbj9SNlwvT6wZPO5K6XjsYheMmc/w400-h300/a2fff4f8295fe6c71d598e8731b9aa7a_original.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p></div>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-6825006991894884752023-03-05T17:43:00.003-08:002023-03-05T17:43:18.718-08:00The Mysterious Zephyr - The Legend of the lost "Tandy" - Nancy Drew<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNLKNisKKWdd83fupeQVMYJZnsRD1lS1PY1_JK8uiMZbZoLcTV6HXJ5YzvENlpLEfYhcL8bEBmbi-yk8GTXCcdunIlkpWKcaswNaF9xb69p-0-vkpDioKnZMBLzm6etgqkZil33AB2Uzk_Vsy21bjvKkj6GKVWbJzYsY9UpjCq2sHVpdGjS0/s855/tandyoldclockzeph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="575" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNLKNisKKWdd83fupeQVMYJZnsRD1lS1PY1_JK8uiMZbZoLcTV6HXJ5YzvENlpLEfYhcL8bEBmbi-yk8GTXCcdunIlkpWKcaswNaF9xb69p-0-vkpDioKnZMBLzm6etgqkZil33AB2Uzk_Vsy21bjvKkj6GKVWbJzYsY9UpjCq2sHVpdGjS0/w269-h400/tandyoldclockzeph.jpg" width="269" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;"><b>The Mysterious Zephyr - The
Legend of the Lost "Tandy"</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>This article was originally run in the Summer 2020 issue of </b><a href="https://nancydrewfans.com/collections/nancy-drew-subscription-to-the-sleuth/products/the-sleuth-issue-83-summer-2020" target="_blank">The Sleuth</a></span></i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You've often heard of Nancy Drew illustrator, Russell H. Tandy's muse for <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew</a></b>, the model Grace Horton, whose curly blond locks and sophisticated looks graced the covers of some of the Nancy Drew books. The curiosity in those covers lies in which ones did Grace influence and pose for? We've heard about Grace for years and Tandy using her as a model, but it was only recently that I sat down to think about Nancy Drew and her image on the covers and try to piece it all together. From my research and newly uncovered evidence, Grace did not model for the original Nancy Drew covers that Tandy painted. Grace would have been only 10 in 1930, too young to have been the original Nancy Drew. </span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Grace Horton</b>, born Grace Evelyn Horton on April 21, 1920, was the daughter of a commercial artist. Her family - the Hortons - were of the Horton Ice Cream fame. She began modeling around 1937 and was hired by the Harry Conover Model Agency. An article I discovered from 1941 featured her and described her as such, " Grace Horton, a practically perfectly formed and featured slightly smallish blond girl who is one of the most active models today. She's 21, the daughter of a commercial artist, graduated from high school in New York City, and studied fashion design for a year. Her first job, four years ago, was modeling in a wholesale house a regular eight-hour-a-day job at $15 a week. In her first year she had sixteen jobs and worked up to $35 a week. Then she went into advertising modeling." </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Whether Tandy knew Grace's father, both being commercial illustrators, or whether he hired her from the agency she worked for, at one point it was rumored she was dating one of Tandy's sons - Russell Jr. This may have been an exaggeration and he may have just taken her for ice cream, notes Tandy's granddaughter Pam. Either way she began modeling circa 1937 according to this article and it's around that time in the series of Nancy Drew covers that Nancy begins to look a lot like Grace. Possibly as early as the fourteenth book, <i>The Whispering Statue</i>, and definitely by the seventeenth book, <i>The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk</i>. </span></p><div><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsIAhpvUFBNcHfIwHGj6epSA8fuxMjnYzwojPW_NF7FdBbelLfAw5Q9rrdDHBJvoT4BriOpTN66IU2jl8oqL0T1pDfhUmM3VH08rrVOPKSUWSVIzPHyJd8v-anEEVdq_szkVXcUlcqtAp697z_vf1iY2yEIBE26N87r3Nc0sIJAQJSB6Q9hFM/s485/gracehortonnancydrew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="378" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsIAhpvUFBNcHfIwHGj6epSA8fuxMjnYzwojPW_NF7FdBbelLfAw5Q9rrdDHBJvoT4BriOpTN66IU2jl8oqL0T1pDfhUmM3VH08rrVOPKSUWSVIzPHyJd8v-anEEVdq_szkVXcUlcqtAp697z_vf1iY2yEIBE26N87r3Nc0sIJAQJSB6Q9hFM/s320/gracehortonnancydrew.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Grace Horton</b></i></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So who in the world inspired Tandy when he set out to portray the plucky heroine who has become America's daring teenage sleuth for over 90 years now? There's another muse entirely that likely influenced the style of Russell H. Tandy when it came to painting the original covers for the first three Nancy Drew books - and beyond. And possibly his work before Nancy Drew. The infamous French artist, Maurice Millière.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Born in 1871, Millière was a successful artist whose talents ran the gamut from drawings to illustrations to sculpture. His "little doll women," the "petite femmes de Paris" were great novelties in Paris from illustrations to dolls to little statuettes at around 14" to 16" tall on average, featuring charming little French women, often blond with curly hair. These sophisticated mademoiselles were illustrated pinups during the Great War, or as we call it, World War I. American soldiers brought pictures home as souvenirs. They were featured in magazines and sold in shops. In the 1920s Millière produced the statuettes. Even in America there were replicas by artists and novelty houses. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYom7amXGC7VNWjxklv91SHESNcg486WLS-sBO_7DIjKiNqHgVWHnQDCv6Z4CARj5LQcG7kr_XOiREO6wzZhih4SYGwdjNlIv5L2QKWBufW6NuazYaFCHhe-Y5Cc9xinVRHKRnanE8uMWO1TFXm3Jrt0ZIcKvfmqus_kHwgD4J-7Ix5LkdhU/s470/maurice-milli%C3%A8re-autoportrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="347" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYom7amXGC7VNWjxklv91SHESNcg486WLS-sBO_7DIjKiNqHgVWHnQDCv6Z4CARj5LQcG7kr_XOiREO6wzZhih4SYGwdjNlIv5L2QKWBufW6NuazYaFCHhe-Y5Cc9xinVRHKRnanE8uMWO1TFXm3Jrt0ZIcKvfmqus_kHwgD4J-7Ix5LkdhU/w295-h400/maurice-milli%C3%A8re-autoportrait.jpg" width="295" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Millière Portrait</span></i></b></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I was contacted by a fan who had seen one of Millière's statuettes - specifically the Zephyr - which is shown here with this article. Created in the 1920s in both painted Plaster of Paris and a brass version, the Zephyr looks strikingly like Nancy Drew from the cover of <i>The Secret of the Old Clock</i>. Too strikingly similar. My research into this artist and this statuette led me to Millière collector Nannette Rod who published an informative article in the June 2014 issue of <i>Antique Doll Collector</i> on Millière. I reached out to Ms. Rod and asked her about the likely coincidence or perhaps flattering similarities between <i>Old Clock</i> and Millière's Zephyr and she sent me this reply:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"I do think it's possible that Tandy was influenced by Millière's statue. Millière was an influential artist and widely copied. He was the father of the Boudoir Art genre, being the first to represent a "modern" woman--one who is confident, playful, adventurous, yet sexy. Millière's women could be found in most of the mildly erotic men's magazines of the time, but also in fashion catalogs, and advertisements for women's beauty products. Tandy could have encountered Millière's work any number of ways.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Possibly he studied in Paris (many artists did) or served in WW1 or had friends who served. Returning US soldiers brought back magazines, books, and even statuettes of Millière's art. Since Tandy was a fashion illustrator, he must have seen Millière's work in French fashion catalogs and American magazines."</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeIWRvjvLNnxXVcBciR2DdP8vqWdP88OK2Nw7NqDRiqixYw2z8fLmkyhky1mSGNYHcWhgaaYeQ4AwFo8ulJAacB3xeByD9WoU_2tJXvCQya8mRjvG5973w__pvR1gSLCZmBGA3gkKE8q2AqVGyu8Rq5XFAmT_DFDkJXvn6F7DTPn0e52ZcaWE/s3392/78a284e16d65ad2690e2dad2518f7061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2876" data-original-width="3392" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeIWRvjvLNnxXVcBciR2DdP8vqWdP88OK2Nw7NqDRiqixYw2z8fLmkyhky1mSGNYHcWhgaaYeQ4AwFo8ulJAacB3xeByD9WoU_2tJXvCQya8mRjvG5973w__pvR1gSLCZmBGA3gkKE8q2AqVGyu8Rq5XFAmT_DFDkJXvn6F7DTPn0e52ZcaWE/w400-h339/78a284e16d65ad2690e2dad2518f7061.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Tandy was a commercial illustrator doing fashion layouts and even sewing pattern covers and would have been aware of Millière's famous work - and like many illustrators, likely inspired by these styles. While we can't say for sure, it's certainly interesting to speculate and note the similarities. While Nancy Drew is not a copy per se and has her own sophisticated and mysterious style - a Tandy signature - there's certainly some influence in the clothing and the color and especially in the windblown pose of Nancy Drew on the cover of <i>Old Clock</i>. Her scarf is also blowing in the wind on the cover of <i>The Bungalow Mystery</i>. This was a famous style of Millière's - the windblown pose - and often featured a scarf or stole, a cloche hat and featured the girl's arms clutching something - like Nancy does with the clock on the cover. Ms. Rod noted, "His poses were widely copied by rival boudoir artists and even by artists in America."</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you'd like to see more of Millière's work, Ms. Rod has a <b><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/nannetterod/boudoir-dolls-of-maurice-milliere" target="_blank">Pinterest Board</a></b> which features a lot of his work and his influence on the flapper generation and the boudoir style.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Uncovering the history behind Nancy Drew and finding intriguing pieces of the puzzle like the Millière Zephyr, just adds more layers to the mystery that is Nancy Drew. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Special thanks to Sleuth Jackie Fry for helping me uncover some genealogy on Grace Horton and her family, to collector and fan Ann Bergin who pointed me to the Zephyr and to Nanette Rod for her information on Millière and images of the Zephyr. </span></i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDQoR-ZF3HTZQ5-x-mA7qdAA8Rr76jgnQNNSn3sawrjRzUfexL4uOUhubD2oqdiFNl4vab2RiiZjay4U8a5PV4a7d6alRcHotlYYm_XeLmwJII4oIajzz8Rh-V-Jh1ODBLU9i8JO6QrarEW3JaZbvmwzfZB4sQNmaHmHp5-jSxUyrK2fHSIM/s564/5bb9b343e2fba84e29b58d4cc1e52c62.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="564" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDQoR-ZF3HTZQ5-x-mA7qdAA8Rr76jgnQNNSn3sawrjRzUfexL4uOUhubD2oqdiFNl4vab2RiiZjay4U8a5PV4a7d6alRcHotlYYm_XeLmwJII4oIajzz8Rh-V-Jh1ODBLU9i8JO6QrarEW3JaZbvmwzfZB4sQNmaHmHp5-jSxUyrK2fHSIM/w400-h339/5bb9b343e2fba84e29b58d4cc1e52c62.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-26924789012106341632022-10-27T19:06:00.009-07:002022-10-27T19:18:10.605-07:00New Nancy Drew Mysteries Board Game from Outset Media<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCBxDWfP_2cbc_Fman0ARrmSZJsyEKuXOpB9YjJOQQFwa1VKDq-tmeXee-3k_u8GCt1yQYGNxAZxiCxLPJ4nT-xaJCfoOK_rQ3GXLnU-LeVNKcsQdQUS5125SWV60MlLiqq4n3ejHzPvWXrwnOh9Jn2dmyb2nQb2AygFSCzYOJ3jUD-pRPCA/s595/22newndgame2.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCBxDWfP_2cbc_Fman0ARrmSZJsyEKuXOpB9YjJOQQFwa1VKDq-tmeXee-3k_u8GCt1yQYGNxAZxiCxLPJ4nT-xaJCfoOK_rQ3GXLnU-LeVNKcsQdQUS5125SWV60MlLiqq4n3ejHzPvWXrwnOh9Jn2dmyb2nQb2AygFSCzYOJ3jUD-pRPCA/s595/22newndgame2.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNK3gu-lzWHBFQqCgpeyu0ZSnOM4qCtj72I77rLw-Dtz6SHrtG_U-QMtE2PL6Yd0a51vcXyI1rXyUxXmCWgcVBHMziXu6AcpU23-eFAfPZjOLtmWjvJ2D8ZZ2dgWZuzS0RXYqZnMT3GlD4O0wTnrpJf7Xg4gXfGhBcMEcPf4YZNRxazugGws/s595/22newndgame.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="589" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNK3gu-lzWHBFQqCgpeyu0ZSnOM4qCtj72I77rLw-Dtz6SHrtG_U-QMtE2PL6Yd0a51vcXyI1rXyUxXmCWgcVBHMziXu6AcpU23-eFAfPZjOLtmWjvJ2D8ZZ2dgWZuzS0RXYqZnMT3GlD4O0wTnrpJf7Xg4gXfGhBcMEcPf4YZNRxazugGws/w396-h400/22newndgame.webp" width="396" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>There's a new <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew</a></b> game on the market from Outset Media, the same maker who has done the Nancy Drew Puzzles (Cobble Hill) and the Nancy Drew Collector Game several years ago. You can order it at <b><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/nancy-drew-mysteries-outset-media/1141623283?ean=0625012175609&fbclid=IwAR0TitH6dgxmmzJjURaJ5YRvKIVypTV7qcD0EQLEIXVR_qwYUjyoPhys4hE" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></b> right now - order 2+ and get free shipping. It looks Clue-like in how it's played with logic/deduction which is cool. I really love the graphics and how they've colorized internal illustrations of Nancy! Nancy in the car with the map peering over it is so fun. I would even possibly get a third game to just frame some if it like the board/etc. I think it makes a nice statement piece just on the graphics alone. Let me know if you get it and how you like playing the game! Thanks to collector <b><a href="http://seriesbookart.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Jim McNamara</a></b> for the images I used to make the collage - shots of the inside/board/pieces/game sheets/etc. Click on the images to see larger pictures.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGc_sxht_TsAExbBUo_-T550g3bqnLSfpPlsbRE8nWJzBcVEhKxb2OHsg2tQeZxhrSVuodmMJ5s0Pc1PB9C_bVumO82g1HkUqLF2B0gGSehUafTonfrlPp0yto7Mvq8lvFmNUXRH-Nr6qgyFlj2cMciWqFqLiGJ2QrGbm6Y5vegv3-Gnr9Lw/s595/22newndgame2.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="593" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGc_sxht_TsAExbBUo_-T550g3bqnLSfpPlsbRE8nWJzBcVEhKxb2OHsg2tQeZxhrSVuodmMJ5s0Pc1PB9C_bVumO82g1HkUqLF2B0gGSehUafTonfrlPp0yto7Mvq8lvFmNUXRH-Nr6qgyFlj2cMciWqFqLiGJ2QrGbm6Y5vegv3-Gnr9Lw/w399-h400/22newndgame2.webp" width="399" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiOigzCVVtSZ2b2XHyIIuFf0UDggXUpWe2PIoISiWBdJvl7GkIDZ1RdPiTo1uPLIEMtJJvNHBlQ0gQfHK1sqHst_fYCh1ehQf3QcO-1yl9qBBohjRcgPprA8IRKSrsyP-LStlV6ut8mymT9TIWl0K-_vyoiIUEE4BzEdvTb1J53j1fVMkq5JQ/s1135/ndgameimages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1135" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiOigzCVVtSZ2b2XHyIIuFf0UDggXUpWe2PIoISiWBdJvl7GkIDZ1RdPiTo1uPLIEMtJJvNHBlQ0gQfHK1sqHst_fYCh1ehQf3QcO-1yl9qBBohjRcgPprA8IRKSrsyP-LStlV6ut8mymT9TIWl0K-_vyoiIUEE4BzEdvTb1J53j1fVMkq5JQ/w400-h380/ndgameimages.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-19068631587599976082022-07-24T17:21:00.001-07:002022-07-24T17:22:18.480-07:00Mysterious Life of a Nancy Drew Collector - The Jennifer Fisher Nancy Drew Collection - Toledo Library <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6bG5YY6P3cPWcaAelBP82YiGf7w1PGGbU0CCwxfQEIihmAJMlmJrQOCpDwa-wCytPDHKoUtCzA1tHWpB9dp6iUoKqmaKjYJKWGaYzQ6H8ebHnRzA86u5QwCO11ZDNwcgv3IqYATNISWNOELp-OL7uqAJ4hhBcOgdaRd1YGlAU9L6XWbJzx4M/s1440/722jencold.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6bG5YY6P3cPWcaAelBP82YiGf7w1PGGbU0CCwxfQEIihmAJMlmJrQOCpDwa-wCytPDHKoUtCzA1tHWpB9dp6iUoKqmaKjYJKWGaYzQ6H8ebHnRzA86u5QwCO11ZDNwcgv3IqYATNISWNOELp-OL7uqAJ4hhBcOgdaRd1YGlAU9L6XWbJzx4M/w400-h300/722jencold.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The clicking of
keys on the typewriter, a ghostly author tapping away, churning out mysterious
yarn after yarn, bringing to life many characters including the most famous
teenage sleuth of the 20<sup>th</sup> Century. <b><a href="http://nancydrewsleuth.com/mildredwirtbenson.html" target="_blank">Mildred Wirt Benson’s</a></b> <b><a href="http://nancydrewsleuth.com/" target="_blank">Nancy Drew</a></b>
was something of a force to be reckoned with - a plucky girl with a zeal for
adventure and daring escapades. And many had no clue early on that Benson’s
Carolyn Keene, ghostwriter of the original Nancy Drew books for The Stratemeyer
Syndicate, was writing some of these nostalgic mysteries in Toledo’s Old
Orchard, ensconced in her two-story home, often locked away in her writer’s room
and library. The <b><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/adventurous-writer-who-brought-Nancy-Drew-to-life-180969479/" target="_blank">tale of Nancy Drew and her dauntless ghostwriter</a></b> is one that
has overlapped over the decades, many pondering who the real Nancy Drew was. Real
living history in Toledo, OH, the perfect location for a large collection of
thousands of Nancy Drew books and memorabilia that I’d collected for many
years, donated to the <b><a href="https://www.toledolibrary.org/" target="_blank">Toledo Public Library</a></b> in 2019.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYUy0Rmw7r2juXPIugeCiYNvZgcThaoq9t5nVhN_F0Q7rMFq88haiX-kP6jHlSwwlqadmkRcfHO1cX2MTa74exYyuEjupmlALnsOw8nFLNoS1E0d4soc_nxTDOHJe0XbItZBe4AX225qLF17OxWyO_DzOqqsb4tKKbrzfefJiZid4coIuaGLQ/s1440/722jencole.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYUy0Rmw7r2juXPIugeCiYNvZgcThaoq9t5nVhN_F0Q7rMFq88haiX-kP6jHlSwwlqadmkRcfHO1cX2MTa74exYyuEjupmlALnsOw8nFLNoS1E0d4soc_nxTDOHJe0XbItZBe4AX225qLF17OxWyO_DzOqqsb4tKKbrzfefJiZid4coIuaGLQ/w300-h400/722jencole.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">How does one come to collect a <b><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/nancydrewexpert/" target="_blank">voluminous collection</a></b> surrounding Mystery’s IT Girl, Nancy Drew? To clue you in, it begins in childhood with a spooky mystery. A tale of woe. Dastardly villains. The hunt by intrepid sleuth Nancy Drew for answers. Foibles and baffling events segue to righting wrongs and saving the day and wrapping things up nicely at the end of the mystery with justice served and order restored. And then comes the teaser - the promise of another even more exciting adventure and more mysteries to solve soon. Those were the trappings of the many <b><a href="http://nancydrewsleuth.com/mysterystories.html" target="_blank">Nancy Drew books</a></b> we devoured as kids and continue to as adults.</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">At some point we transition from childhood reader to adulthood. From fan to collector, revisiting our childhood days of getting lost in a good yarn to the exclusion of life and homework for something more exciting and present. It was a time to grow and learn and figure things out and with a pal like Nancy Drew, we were inspired with that can-do-anything attitude. As adults looking back, we get a thrill remembering the good times we had solving mysteries with Nancy. For collectors like myself, collecting is a way of reclaiming that nostalgia and holding onto it indefinitely.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgONkjXZov1YRMpvsG3E1TA1WggwEsWQNAXxeWoaA06VHDnvUwghm02uAgiKXHDrLNL1RobWh8UEIl6TD2ATBku2ItMJS-pSAfTwRhKPvFlV7n5wYS5AkGaarUv9quLxEww4jKmoPx0mbdwqR_R29af-kKsWvRWSsZEPVzSo0xnh_srDXE4FbE/s1440/722jencolh.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgONkjXZov1YRMpvsG3E1TA1WggwEsWQNAXxeWoaA06VHDnvUwghm02uAgiKXHDrLNL1RobWh8UEIl6TD2ATBku2ItMJS-pSAfTwRhKPvFlV7n5wYS5AkGaarUv9quLxEww4jKmoPx0mbdwqR_R29af-kKsWvRWSsZEPVzSo0xnh_srDXE4FbE/w400-h300/722jencolh.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoPP3cMnBiLNUTdzzd-A2DUSecujwCb3Sy4oVecfhkV9pR6bhFX6dqEl64mGWHEfqLC0RXfum86OAMmHaqoGeLyQIjmwE7eXodcAHXaIy4bADh3rz0cWb3PA5E0ArljnOLgSblr--vfLkXfKIBVMNRMbnx4E6jUPkdUc7J81rQhDhm1XiRq7U/s1440/722jencolv.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoPP3cMnBiLNUTdzzd-A2DUSecujwCb3Sy4oVecfhkV9pR6bhFX6dqEl64mGWHEfqLC0RXfum86OAMmHaqoGeLyQIjmwE7eXodcAHXaIy4bADh3rz0cWb3PA5E0ArljnOLgSblr--vfLkXfKIBVMNRMbnx4E6jUPkdUc7J81rQhDhm1XiRq7U/w400-h300/722jencolv.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">After over 20 years of collecting since the late 1990s, I’d amassed over 4000 items and it had served a great purpose to me but was really destined for more. It wasn’t just what I collected, but the way I collected. To tell that story about <b><a href="http://nancydrewsleuth.com/mysterystories.html" target="_blank">Nancy Drew</a></b> and those that created her. To put together a collection of the many puzzle pieces that make up the story behind Nancy Drew. To have something that fans and scholars can learn from and study. To inspire others to collect and revisit their childhood. To help solidify Nancy’s legacy as not only an entertaining sleuth but her empowerment of kids – and adults – to go out and conquer and never give up. It’s been more about <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/history.html" target="_blank">bringing history alive</a></b> and telling the stories behind the scenes, so they live on and inspire new generations. It’s about preserving Nancy Drew’s legacy as not only a phenomenal children’s book series but as Pop Culture icon who has inspired and challenged so many from kids on up to most of our ladies on the US Supreme Court. That a fictional character can resonate with so many for over 90 years and be such a driving force amongst fans of the series, is pretty amazing. These are the things that drove me in my collecting in addition to nostalgia. And it was the history behind the scenes and Nancy’s first ghostwriter, <b><a href="http://nancydrewsleuth.com/mildredwirtbenson.html" target="_blank">Benson</a></b>, who drove me to research and write about that history and collect it as well.</p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbqdtf7zqj0IaY9hSDrYC0OHzz3Kr5YVfzi9mTwlyRfaiYkw3U0Ibiq-GcuPK4L1qkdy25dFvPyK9bJpOUJCFsVl29oDf2HsaDG-zk2kkPEHDcgO9cdII4oliZrfWwR3k_bz5xTYIjOSe6o66kVvcFR6d7K1Bq3Xg5aAUxKU5XYfZsesgdxbY/s1440/722jencolc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbqdtf7zqj0IaY9hSDrYC0OHzz3Kr5YVfzi9mTwlyRfaiYkw3U0Ibiq-GcuPK4L1qkdy25dFvPyK9bJpOUJCFsVl29oDf2HsaDG-zk2kkPEHDcgO9cdII4oliZrfWwR3k_bz5xTYIjOSe6o66kVvcFR6d7K1Bq3Xg5aAUxKU5XYfZsesgdxbY/w300-h400/722jencolc.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">With <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/library.html" target="_blank">over 600 books published</a></b> since 1930, there’s a lot out there to collect. You may wonder how one goes from 600 to a few thousand and you can find all the intriguing answers at the Toledo Public Library. But here’s a few things you can find when you sleuth there for more details - from the regular classic series to various spin-off series to series for older teens and younger kids there’s something for everyone and each new generation has had their <b><a href="http://nancydrewsleuth.com/" target="_blank">Nancy Drew </a></b>to aspire to. From the regular books and all the neat printing formats over the years to library editions, book club editions and even foreign editions, there’s a lot of books to be found at the library.</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">And then there’s the gamut of Nancy Drew <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/collectibles.html" target="_blank">collectibles </a></b>related to <b><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/nancydrewexpert/" target="_blank">books, movies and television</a></b>. Always intriguing, there’s even ephemera ranging from historical documents to advertising items that help tell the story from concept to creation to marketing to distribution to the actual book or collectible. The history behind Nancy Drew is often as fascinating as Nancy Drew’s cases, sometimes even more dramatic and suspenseful. It’s what inspired me to go beyond collecting to researching and writing about Nancy Drew since 1997. Between collecting and writing, it led to consulting on a wide variety of merchandise, books and productions like the 2007 Nancy Drew movie which gave me the opportunity to acquire some unique things for the collection.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">The <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/nd101.html" target="_blank">classic Nancy Drew</a></b> in cloche hats from the 1930s, to a 1950s Bobby-Soxer and then mod 1960s sleuth with her titian-haired flip meets modern Nancy Drew from the 1980s to present day, every decade reflecting that generation's style. Shelves hold books filled with vintage and modern tales of a very daring and intelligent sleuth and there are many exciting tales to be had in Nancy Drew's world of lost wills, haunted houses, lost treasures, and musty old attics full of secrets and sinister suspects. There are also many stories to tell behind the scenes of Nancy Drew and her creators and writers like Benson and this collection can provide the clues to unravel all these mysteries - real and fictional.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesy9EjOqLWP5y1rM__bj77XriFRR5V7cjK8DtmzVxK2aG47saxrbR3NXk7Tx9zl63AqQ0gaFfW7Dmgu_YjCywTbcPUXF-0LftOTL7L-yxovsVFwCl1d0vt5CC8pgAm70M6Gcx1OttTguqgd7wbq0jVzfvpUUlDZiSdzri_aYm88v8pwLbdCg/s1440/722jencolj.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesy9EjOqLWP5y1rM__bj77XriFRR5V7cjK8DtmzVxK2aG47saxrbR3NXk7Tx9zl63AqQ0gaFfW7Dmgu_YjCywTbcPUXF-0LftOTL7L-yxovsVFwCl1d0vt5CC8pgAm70M6Gcx1OttTguqgd7wbq0jVzfvpUUlDZiSdzri_aYm88v8pwLbdCg/w300-h400/722jencolj.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE0kWs44n_Mt33jC1WWYyOUWA4fQ7gzY0cWfid7i3Cv9xvdxAvpO_Y60UeaX4rD-IyaQtt2TLrqAOLHuiV7deaKp7uwGTvtbdFYNfdeEuGP-xWM9JUpe7y9iEr_9CR7wDKa4CVuxFiwhn8ZS5vfNbWWdfKBiDZ-ZMd40Wo03j_AxGwQlRoqbk/s1440/722jencoli.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE0kWs44n_Mt33jC1WWYyOUWA4fQ7gzY0cWfid7i3Cv9xvdxAvpO_Y60UeaX4rD-IyaQtt2TLrqAOLHuiV7deaKp7uwGTvtbdFYNfdeEuGP-xWM9JUpe7y9iEr_9CR7wDKa4CVuxFiwhn8ZS5vfNbWWdfKBiDZ-ZMd40Wo03j_AxGwQlRoqbk/w400-h300/722jencoli.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">So, when the <b><a href="https://www.toledolibrary.org/blog/a-nancy-drew-mystery-story" target="_blank">Toledo Public Library</a></b> reached out to me in 2019 during its renovation of the main library about donating my collection, I was thrilled at the opportunity to let Nancy Drew shine and let so many get to see the collection and learn and grow from it. They were able to carve out a space for it just perfect for Nancy Drew fans to visit in The Mystery Room. Located at the downtown main library in the children’s section, the collection has been seen by many fans making visits locally and from afar. There was even a marriage proposal to a Nancy Drew fan in the room.</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">The choice of Toledo for the donation is due in large part to Benson, having been a long-term resident and also having written some of the original Nancy Drew books there after moving from Cleveland where some of the earlier Nancy Drews were written. I’ve always been fascinated with the ghostwriters behind the pen name and Benson was in many ways a real-life Nancy Drew which inspired me to write about her life and legacy including an <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mwbbook.html" target="_blank">upcoming biography about her life that I’m currently writing</a></b>. The library also has some very neat historical items in relation to Benson including one of each of the 135 books she published, photos, awards and even her NASA application to be a journalist in space. There’s a Literary Landmark dedicated to her writing career which hangs outside The Mystery Room that houses my collection. They also own the original Russell H. Tandy painting for the 1931 edition of volume #5, <i>The Secret at Shadow Ranch</i>.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FhNN2iZb7M5sHKvNshyuuc9SyL_VzxcVsXaWcb6QW4uxwIfukB8Jj1PdhAGSO_R66_CHWpU9cS-8cvmDXaJAetOuzIVUubUHA-8W2my-sox2EJ3nsIVIWtIhYsLipKVt2J_Rn543RLMYyVmeFD0tTkrsD8F4vsPNbYvcOH-CFnbkqyKeld4/s1440/722jencolk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FhNN2iZb7M5sHKvNshyuuc9SyL_VzxcVsXaWcb6QW4uxwIfukB8Jj1PdhAGSO_R66_CHWpU9cS-8cvmDXaJAetOuzIVUubUHA-8W2my-sox2EJ3nsIVIWtIhYsLipKVt2J_Rn543RLMYyVmeFD0tTkrsD8F4vsPNbYvcOH-CFnbkqyKeld4/w400-h300/722jencolk.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1ChYXQkVS36gKXfxhTF4O733W5Hr9cAjyx4Q5m6S-MWeEy-TEB5qRR92ITfdH4yBvoBKt3n3f0N4jEpGvVSUWTYaomZzEQRmjaOq72Y2WtP80FZeSyFHWuZXxvpd8U77C_VM81J_PtPIb10-JAzx31hY1XW49tZShzwnGsgRUcpDzgKeIUU/s1440/722jencoll.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1ChYXQkVS36gKXfxhTF4O733W5Hr9cAjyx4Q5m6S-MWeEy-TEB5qRR92ITfdH4yBvoBKt3n3f0N4jEpGvVSUWTYaomZzEQRmjaOq72Y2WtP80FZeSyFHWuZXxvpd8U77C_VM81J_PtPIb10-JAzx31hY1XW49tZShzwnGsgRUcpDzgKeIUU/w400-h300/722jencoll.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">The Toledo Public Library – any library for that matter – is a wonderful place. Libraries are a foundation for literacy, especially among those that can’t afford to read otherwise or have the kind of resources to open up the world of reading to them. It’s a place to lose yourself in adventures and learn about so much and grow as a person. It’s a place I loved to read Nancy Drew books as a kid – in my school library. And for some, libraries are a place to visit a collection like this and open up the world of Nancy Drew and her mysterious history. Benson wrote about libraries in her last published Toledo Blade column before she passed away in 2002. Benson often used the library to research for her books. She spent a lot of time at the Cleveland Public Library researching while writing <i>Shadow Ranch</i>,<i> </i> among others and then later in Toledo at the Toledo Public Library. I love libraries and have such fond affection for them. Every year at our Nancy Drew Conventions we donate a full set of Nancy Drew books to the local library for people of all ages to enjoy, especially the new generation of kids. Once upon a time decades ago, and even some rare instances now, some people tried to keep Nancy Drew and similar series literature out of libraries. Libraries are all amazing and worthy of any donation such as my Nancy Drew collection, and I hope this inspires other collectors to consider donating their collections to their libraries. And that’s one reason why I felt like the Toledo Public Library would be a wonderful home for the collection in addition to Toledo’s historic connections to Nancy Drew.</p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9R_5K2RLW3P6GB-UJ_RzVgU7ya9_N7_QQ0CYjqMOgvmtmq8Ah5HZg3FZXnD64JcPzxfg5ppgv9oVhMzqfEkAAF3cYoGdeYHQFG3kSS1Y8w9DGuIzvXR3sxM7CIliyMuXVb56-H2AnxjD_wfVLQbd-Z7-Fq8TqCAyRUIMeI3C8Am21sXxqD3o/s1440/722jencols.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9R_5K2RLW3P6GB-UJ_RzVgU7ya9_N7_QQ0CYjqMOgvmtmq8Ah5HZg3FZXnD64JcPzxfg5ppgv9oVhMzqfEkAAF3cYoGdeYHQFG3kSS1Y8w9DGuIzvXR3sxM7CIliyMuXVb56-H2AnxjD_wfVLQbd-Z7-Fq8TqCAyRUIMeI3C8Am21sXxqD3o/w400-h300/722jencols.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7eFtWiSANvR17hfifuKI_LurFlTsGSakneu6NtgpzL4duT6c71l6n0b-p1QJPFsoHt6tpedbczaCCkNlFY63udfWfVz5ngclgZcalarUDmPDjZWE9n3uHtADc90udKdToJPR5OpqmjYhRlqTEL9coRlHt9FHYL6Kq2kyneH18tejVMPqJvo/s1440/722jencolt.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7eFtWiSANvR17hfifuKI_LurFlTsGSakneu6NtgpzL4duT6c71l6n0b-p1QJPFsoHt6tpedbczaCCkNlFY63udfWfVz5ngclgZcalarUDmPDjZWE9n3uHtADc90udKdToJPR5OpqmjYhRlqTEL9coRlHt9FHYL6Kq2kyneH18tejVMPqJvo/w400-h300/722jencolt.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">21 years ago, members of the <b><a href="https://nancydrewfans.com/" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Sleuth</a></b>s including myself visited Toledo and met with Benson at the Toledo Blade where she’d been working as a journalist for over 50 years. It was then that I became inspired with her back story and being a real-life Nancy Drew. Numerous research trips and Nancy Drew events have brought me to Toledo many times over the years, I even followed in Nancy Drew’s footsteps sleuthing around Benson’s old attic for clues. Having my collection there for the community and visitors to enjoy makes it feel like a second home.</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">Keeping <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/history.html" target="_blank">history </a></b>alive is a wonderful thing and the Toledo Public Library has been so supportive of that goal. Every generation has had their Nancy Drew - and they are all there at the library just waiting to be rediscovered and for young fans to discover and be inspired by. That’s the most rewarding thing to this longtime Nancy Drew Collector. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJPfgBkuIG1SwUqmHmeeNcJv9hbOxsBDaS4oGwUaNT0uzeed4p9l5JJifZ23ewz5AOSSOl-Fmr-YU6XouW9Syd1LTm2pDO1snkjipavXn2s8liJimpJEFr2r6leNhfJ-pQXxggO2yYSirHpVji_xnUfZrgQeku7sfYG4TXD3gbCywpBP3WTfA/s1440/722jencolq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJPfgBkuIG1SwUqmHmeeNcJv9hbOxsBDaS4oGwUaNT0uzeed4p9l5JJifZ23ewz5AOSSOl-Fmr-YU6XouW9Syd1LTm2pDO1snkjipavXn2s8liJimpJEFr2r6leNhfJ-pQXxggO2yYSirHpVji_xnUfZrgQeku7sfYG4TXD3gbCywpBP3WTfA/w300-h400/722jencolq.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-88410911551309793032022-07-10T13:42:00.000-07:002022-07-10T13:42:13.864-07:00Happy Birthday Millie Benson!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGXb-2_RXBQHADnNgWsAAHgA88WmTMasHULsX-p_HH5_qFlH2fFDxJH_-KpkSzF-GLNiU71qb_ryXitHkzSJZnUNy5iHzbHnptNiQBohHEoOGIRcpXo0t5GsGf4ZwlW7-9MxnQEd4kndeV8RZVO6zH5E87OZqxQMEEyoptltG9sNF7FufP-s/s2100/MildredWirtBensonJFCollection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1451" data-original-width="2100" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGXb-2_RXBQHADnNgWsAAHgA88WmTMasHULsX-p_HH5_qFlH2fFDxJH_-KpkSzF-GLNiU71qb_ryXitHkzSJZnUNy5iHzbHnptNiQBohHEoOGIRcpXo0t5GsGf4ZwlW7-9MxnQEd4kndeV8RZVO6zH5E87OZqxQMEEyoptltG9sNF7FufP-s/w400-h276/MildredWirtBensonJFCollection.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Happy Birthday
to <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mildredwirtbenson.html" target="_blank">Millie Benson aka Mildred Wirt Benson</a></b> – first Carolyn Keene, author of over
<b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mwbworks.html" target="_blank">130 published books</a></b>, among other fine feats. I sit here fondly thinking about
her legacy – and she wore so many hats! From author to journalist to aviatrix
to Mayan temple adventurer and many other things in between. She’s most
famously known as being the original Carolyn Keene and a real-life <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew</a></b>
in many respects and we’re going to celebrate her most famous literary character
– Nancy Drew – in Toledo, OH this week at a series of events at the Toledo
Public Library. The dedication of my <b><a href="https://www.instagram.com/nancydrewlibrary" target="_blank">Jennifer Fisher Nancy Drew Collection</a></b> and
all the other mystery fanfare at the library over two days will be an amazing
event for the Nancy Drew Fans attending, many members of the <b><a href="https://www.nancydrewfans.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Sleuths</a></b>,
plus local Toledoans looking to solve the mystery of what’s in…The Mystery Room…and
rediscover Nancy Drew. Millie wrote most
of the Nancy Drew books in Ohio after moving there in the late 1920s to the Cleveland
area. In 1938, she moved to Toledo and spent the rest of her life there writing
and working as a longtime journalist for The Toledo Times and The Toledo Blade.
She wrote Nancy Drew books #17-25 and #30 in Toledo.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">Of her legacy,
she once said, <i>“Now so much later in my life, women still tell me how they
identified with Nancy Drew and that Nancy Drew gave them confidence to be
whatever they wanted to be. That’s been the most rewarding aspect.”</i> That Nancy
Drew has been empowering her fans for over 90 years – is a great legacy indeed!
<o:p></o:p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-28918314857785782252022-05-16T10:16:00.006-07:002022-05-16T10:16:56.456-07:00Nancy Drew Fan Gathering & Collection Dedication - Toledo, OH July 2022<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibi-_W_y4lWHAtQhepyqoF4Nh1Hj7hjvnN2Xrr8nY0n0tC_rbGFEEuWZZ_jpBwMM_kzzlER6NJDuDGYOzrTDZ0vpOQDVRClk-jjLE1YTalvcGugpCM2zKnu8sMgS0o6FdWW4UmE7UL8Bn2DXyQJhYEORDaHBfM0ZiWbZTfK7mgU5z6vtr8mlE/s1440/tollibfansban1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="1440" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibi-_W_y4lWHAtQhepyqoF4Nh1Hj7hjvnN2Xrr8nY0n0tC_rbGFEEuWZZ_jpBwMM_kzzlER6NJDuDGYOzrTDZ0vpOQDVRClk-jjLE1YTalvcGugpCM2zKnu8sMgS0o6FdWW4UmE7UL8Bn2DXyQJhYEORDaHBfM0ZiWbZTfK7mgU5z6vtr8mlE/w400-h303/tollibfansban1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>CALLING ALL NANCY DREW FANS! </b>Join your fellow <b><a href="https://www.nancydrewfans.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew fans</a></b> and Sleuths in Toledo, OH in July (14th-16th) for the <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew</a></b> Collection & Mystery Activities at the Toledo Public Library (TPL). E-mail sleuths@ndsleuths.com to be on the e-mail list and to RSVP for events! </p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Schedule of Nancy Drew Events:</b> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Thurs. July 14</b> - Nancy Drew Fans Party at the TPL 6pm-8pm - Dedication of the Jennifer Fisher Nancy Drew Collection in the Mystery Room, charcuterie bar and goodies, escape room challenge, photo booth. On display is Jim McNamara's donation of UK art for <i>The Mystery of the Tolling Bell</i>. A special display on loan by collector Michael Gauwitz of the Russell H. Tandy Painting for <i>The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion</i> plus Rudy Nappi paintings of <i>The Message in the Hollow Oak, The Secret of the Wooden Lady </i>and <i>The Haunted Showboat</i>. See the Tandy painting for <i>The Secret at Shadow Ranch</i> in the Mystery Room. And artist Laura Ruby's Nancy Drew series of prints donated to the collection will be on display around the library. You won't want to miss out on seeing this amazing array of books, collectibles and art!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fri. July 15</b> - Nancy Drew Mystery Day at the Library - Nancy Drew scavenger hunt for prizes, sleuth kits to the first several hundred, strolling magician, CSI Sleuth activities from Imagination Station, photo booth. Special Nancy Drew art, collecting and history presentations from authors Jennifer Fisher and Julie Rubini and artist Laura Ruby whose prints will be part of the fun scavenger hunt.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Sat. July 16</b> - free time and scavenger style hunt involving Mildred Wirt Benson locations around Toledo w/ prizes awarded at the Nancy Drew Fans dinner that night.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The library boasts an amazing Children's floor with so many neat interactive elements, a gallery of original children's book cover art, a mystery wall to solve, the Nancy Drew collection in the Mystery Room, items on display throughout the library and in local History/Rare Book Room, a life-size diorama of Nancy Drew from the Tandy Secret of the Old Clock, and so much more! It's a children's book and Nancy Drew nostalgia playground for fans of all ages!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwzJf7ysiDqesqeQapqFJfLB3fxKLG4Hj89Jxvs4Ixcd7QmB-6FANelRw6QGer3dbhhtlcZg9gteA6szQK1zkerxuuO7p-jLZSx4CWD2z1v3GNxCSBQILD5tL1RtI61faG9DmWHNAgAZec0LG4IxGNKJUtzacZ67gJwEAVPKZchgwtSr4vdQ/s4032/IMG_0218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwzJf7ysiDqesqeQapqFJfLB3fxKLG4Hj89Jxvs4Ixcd7QmB-6FANelRw6QGer3dbhhtlcZg9gteA6szQK1zkerxuuO7p-jLZSx4CWD2z1v3GNxCSBQILD5tL1RtI61faG9DmWHNAgAZec0LG4IxGNKJUtzacZ67gJwEAVPKZchgwtSr4vdQ/w400-h300/IMG_0218.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66B0JFcMv4sanAYyg1XDxvqbqrvDC8luAIixF8qu8nC3IT_cqdxGi2FRdJxXs06blrVqGpt2vlHeVqFeLBc_7e2ybzK09W_3eLvscYSfaIuHJdcQp7crVrcugIh8hSR3xYdgy_DvqGT7NcZM5mSjefRX6jeoTL-GQmBAVhIQATmNo59YtLoI/s707/3185ae35d0a9f5c7b3b4320a0f7e3c6b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0Cyed4vYjImcbivsMw5c9vUcl6boIryerMx0HPYIgjQtixlQdQBhGAHKuMFoOCgQkUZmA6GPTy5d8dX9ixpAXn0pfJB_rvEsPrh2Z6iuKXOqRbkGUZLHcIXkfQ3kl9OtwMnSY-7xsV6t-ajkFP-MMOHtu9fOy3oQJMhPLZT6vNbpfGu2pnU/s2048/279654087_3194211894127453_3401937408417072387_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1481" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0Cyed4vYjImcbivsMw5c9vUcl6boIryerMx0HPYIgjQtixlQdQBhGAHKuMFoOCgQkUZmA6GPTy5d8dX9ixpAXn0pfJB_rvEsPrh2Z6iuKXOqRbkGUZLHcIXkfQ3kl9OtwMnSY-7xsV6t-ajkFP-MMOHtu9fOy3oQJMhPLZT6vNbpfGu2pnU/w289-h400/279654087_3194211894127453_3401937408417072387_n.jpg" width="289" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ58nVi5ftWjKuWcJoDOUhC6EWAzGCJ2rqrZyQzOiiNZ8rxwLnTa2ySofiiZfOtAUXVjOv-Xheyn58_b2CNToylNtnKGmZU38YmhjuLoEtifhesLw8M_5KL0BLEdN2kmG6E1GvirYZbOOgUhz3UkxHEZRP7RrzZ3K9zdfc6cGg4cQ6EupqTFE/s2048/279682877_3194211857460790_1233474709091886706_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1679" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ58nVi5ftWjKuWcJoDOUhC6EWAzGCJ2rqrZyQzOiiNZ8rxwLnTa2ySofiiZfOtAUXVjOv-Xheyn58_b2CNToylNtnKGmZU38YmhjuLoEtifhesLw8M_5KL0BLEdN2kmG6E1GvirYZbOOgUhz3UkxHEZRP7RrzZ3K9zdfc6cGg4cQ6EupqTFE/w328-h400/279682877_3194211857460790_1233474709091886706_n.jpg" width="328" /></a></div><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-13625512898360780972022-02-25T19:40:00.003-08:002022-02-25T19:40:31.722-08:00Seeking Nancy Drew Fans...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCWWaWZW3r7gZhi8Ngcfr4EhaZyg5HnoooIvzKj_e4ztkA2lJgnGA1yv7j09bAHdrwO77eSKzSB9WYgK4H0KKAjGJ9C7wZM5D7looFA4SfoOQTvigp6xJ9Y_At5l8GugjAoOt0jnt4JCn6bu_QMFUjDWl93oLKn5rWNMOmBbyuEr3EXOA4i9s=s1864" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1864" data-original-width="1480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCWWaWZW3r7gZhi8Ngcfr4EhaZyg5HnoooIvzKj_e4ztkA2lJgnGA1yv7j09bAHdrwO77eSKzSB9WYgK4H0KKAjGJ9C7wZM5D7looFA4SfoOQTvigp6xJ9Y_At5l8GugjAoOt0jnt4JCn6bu_QMFUjDWl93oLKn5rWNMOmBbyuEr3EXOA4i9s=w508-h640" width="508" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-32560053926768002992022-02-10T19:13:00.002-08:002022-02-10T19:27:15.328-08:00Nancy Drew 1970s TV Show Watch Variant<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghHKRVb778PT4KqzUas10gVs3RE0zzgKrEJyBRNUMBGxs57wFqZJI9O_lsUdP7oH55W2DRs5SAkx6gxULYEW2xoMqSLLjIJppyissH6y8ENxJPjbzUnucweDq7qMumZIFyaIm1NiHyFbWHwSbZUXkWl9XAQwZffnhYM-CKDNrGZw2DPs0xg70=s529" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="529" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghHKRVb778PT4KqzUas10gVs3RE0zzgKrEJyBRNUMBGxs57wFqZJI9O_lsUdP7oH55W2DRs5SAkx6gxULYEW2xoMqSLLjIJppyissH6y8ENxJPjbzUnucweDq7qMumZIFyaIm1NiHyFbWHwSbZUXkWl9XAQwZffnhYM-CKDNrGZw2DPs0xg70=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><p><b>Another Nancy Drew TV Show Watch Variant? <i>Read on for more clues...</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">First, a little background information, then variant information. It wasn't until January 2009 when I realized there was a collectible that no one in the collecting circles had ever heard of or mentioned before. A <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/ctv.html" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Watch</a></b> based on the 1970s TV show starring Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy Drew. The watch I saw on eBay didn't feature the red band pictured above and below, it had this sort of flower girl hippy style band instead pictured right below. At first, I wasn't too sure about the band being original and then saw an equivalent Hardy Boys watch and realized it was likely not original based on the style/color of the Hardy Boys watch. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, what did the original look like? Fast forward to 2019 when around March of that year another watch - this one complete with the original box/packaging and warranty slip came up on eBay. I missed it, but a fellow collector, Victoria Broadhurst won it and has shared a couple of photos that are below of the watch with its packaging and a close up. In this 2nd auction, we discovered the original band was red - matches her outfit shown on the watch face. My red band is the same texture/appearance as Vicki's band.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPo4SAMPA89LkLVVO44wgp0p0umtmt_oEX16TpiErk-oV_FbjyjxPhoSBIWjPHeQbA2qmFR8djgg4kUZdHBiculiYT4brMhjgUM5urkcR-XofWFltrPHTptI3RRyf0BcijKyYRw9Xb_UAojre-wRsZ2BOojaMFvCwheLH-usauNfNxn3nsy-o=s487" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="360" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPo4SAMPA89LkLVVO44wgp0p0umtmt_oEX16TpiErk-oV_FbjyjxPhoSBIWjPHeQbA2qmFR8djgg4kUZdHBiculiYT4brMhjgUM5urkcR-XofWFltrPHTptI3RRyf0BcijKyYRw9Xb_UAojre-wRsZ2BOojaMFvCwheLH-usauNfNxn3nsy-o=w296-h400" width="296" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Last year, I stumbled upon an auction (the third known watch to be sold we're aware of) at eBay for the watch itself, no packaging, but the original red band. Mine was always one to upgrade since it didn't have the original band. My original watch was <b><a href="https://nancydrewsleuths.blogspot.com/2020/01/curating-nancy-drew-collection-jennifer.html" target="_blank">donated with my collection back in 2019 to the Toledo Public Library</a></b>. I was successful at winning the 3rd auction with the red band and stowed it away. Recently I dug it out to photograph and realized something I hadn't noticed before. The watch hands are all black. I checked the photo I had up at my <b><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/nancydrewexpert" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Collection Pinterest Boards</a></b> and noted that the first watch I purchased had gold hands and a red seconds hand. I then checked the image I had pulled from the complete watch/box set auction and noted that Vicki's appeared to be the same. I verified it with her that they are the same as the first one I acquired.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgULMyWptQiTVWv7l0ih7UfRRK2kzknLJDKQQ-4yBpKqD5rKQG1LyNOukXKuy0UrHsPvpL1OfWS_FrMZWzzODxb-DFs26H-rCglvRKaLT1PMuGb4jyjcBO7qJdeT9OFWsCysVxASADX61XSe48T2m0mDQh-9PVtzBGJku9eZsDSQ_rMKWe9JbM=s1594" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1594" data-original-width="864" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgULMyWptQiTVWv7l0ih7UfRRK2kzknLJDKQQ-4yBpKqD5rKQG1LyNOukXKuy0UrHsPvpL1OfWS_FrMZWzzODxb-DFs26H-rCglvRKaLT1PMuGb4jyjcBO7qJdeT9OFWsCysVxASADX61XSe48T2m0mDQh-9PVtzBGJku9eZsDSQ_rMKWe9JbM=w216-h400" width="216" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b>The above image is the 2nd watch I purchased on eBay. </b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b>Below are images Vicki shared with me of hers:</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsUJUzWsWaWf9z7RvIxBge-W-QR4TnjuP6Xc9zrG4HO49oRjtVuk9i27_nHuMNfDuPiE_iV0JO399kS-laRBmtzZKxV5jNEWArDmS33aD_YjgP-Euz0WGj-9Emx9ZkZItsXWesne_y8h5-lPtPs8vKw7S5ZC0-7YfSmxUSaqaPGTM1vldxbu4=s1031" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1031" data-original-width="597" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsUJUzWsWaWf9z7RvIxBge-W-QR4TnjuP6Xc9zrG4HO49oRjtVuk9i27_nHuMNfDuPiE_iV0JO399kS-laRBmtzZKxV5jNEWArDmS33aD_YjgP-Euz0WGj-9Emx9ZkZItsXWesne_y8h5-lPtPs8vKw7S5ZC0-7YfSmxUSaqaPGTM1vldxbu4=w231-h400" width="231" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEik6JMT42hCz8mMwxevyzAJiecRXxKYVebeJdO-ZowhFbdlnqUWsBlMu2yohtv8sebfjHDIDZX6mGpEVZ5bn3DV9QcC8w2hMpdKqh0rH8yXES_Cj6l1gDBaUgmcUAUJegn73Hf8h7dDTvQ1SsyuUDIFwxI8ClJoTIFu-J1zYc1txqXceR-tu8k=s1039" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1039" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEik6JMT42hCz8mMwxevyzAJiecRXxKYVebeJdO-ZowhFbdlnqUWsBlMu2yohtv8sebfjHDIDZX6mGpEVZ5bn3DV9QcC8w2hMpdKqh0rH8yXES_Cj6l1gDBaUgmcUAUJegn73Hf8h7dDTvQ1SsyuUDIFwxI8ClJoTIFu-J1zYc1txqXceR-tu8k=w278-h400" width="278" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I also noticed that in addition the hands being a different color in the one I recently acquired, the image varies in cropping. If you look at the faces of the 3 pictured here, you'll see that on my first watch, the copyright line of 1977 Universal City Studios is visible under "Swiss Made" which is right under "Nancy Drew." On Vicki's watch and then my newly acquired one, you can't see the copyright line. Some of the faces have the numbers much closer to the edges and some of the footprints at top are more visible on the left of the "12" number and others not so much, so there was variation in the cropping of the image inside the watch. The image itself is always the same of Nancy holding a magnifying glass looking at footprints. My band is missing the little, small overlay band to tuck the end of the watch band into.</div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">I don't consider the cropping to be a variant, but the color of the hands is very interesting and definitely a variant. Perhaps as they were made if they ran out of one color, they used another. I wonder if there are any other variants with the hands/etc. that will crop up as hopefully more of these watches turn up on the market. Time will tell. What I'd love, is to hear from someone who originally owned one of these watches and learn where you purchased it - was it purchased at Universal in a gift shop or was this possibly available via mail order? If there was any advertising material that shows the watches, I'd love to see it. Any further clues you might have, e-mail me at nancydrewsleuth@aol.com</div>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-72422431892104616362022-01-30T23:03:00.000-08:002022-01-30T23:03:13.641-08:00Donating to the Jennifer Fisher Nancy Drew Collection at Toledo Public Library Part 2<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3tJjHWL6cuuAySiAgoPNnt2foiwVUZaoOYrW5yrlj9mX8C3tW-YuT5gp0LL842BVOM8P1RJu1UOkT3hMJOaq4W0Vng1ogBZC8XTvdpXBvxUsMZIv51XehhyGggZnEFzwA4rPhwSNlcS0Lim0GPFaI20-04TRI4lJhim7FEckyc0wYDnI7BMg=s709" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="709" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3tJjHWL6cuuAySiAgoPNnt2foiwVUZaoOYrW5yrlj9mX8C3tW-YuT5gp0LL842BVOM8P1RJu1UOkT3hMJOaq4W0Vng1ogBZC8XTvdpXBvxUsMZIv51XehhyGggZnEFzwA4rPhwSNlcS0Lim0GPFaI20-04TRI4lJhim7FEckyc0wYDnI7BMg=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">When you visit the main branch of the <b><a href="https://www.toledolibrary.org/" target="_blank">Toledo Public Library</a></b> downtown, one exceptional feature is the gallery of original children's book cover art - they have an amazing collection of so many different covers and styles including the original Russell H. Tandy painting for <i>The Secret at Shadow Ranch</i> which now hangs with my <b><a href="https://nancydrewsleuths.blogspot.com/2020/01/curating-nancy-drew-collection-jennifer.html" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Collection</a></b> in the mystery room. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have been highlighting donations to the library since I donated my Nancy Drew collection and most recently highlighted the donation by my friend <b><a href="http://seriesbookart.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Jim McNamara</a></b> of an original UK cover art painting for <i>The Mystery of the Tolling Bell</i>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In this update, I want to showcase talented <b><a href="http://www.laurarubyart.net/home.html" target="_blank">artist Laura Ruby</a></b>, whose <b>Nancy Drew Series</b> of prints based on the various classic Nancy Drew books has been enjoyed by Nancy Drew fans throughout the last several decades. She has donated a set of prints of her Nancy Drew Series to Toledo Public Library and you can view these at the library and at our upcoming Nancy Drew celebration in July 2022. You can view the series online at Laura's website <b><a href="http://www.laurarubyart.net/nancy-drew-series.html" target="_blank">here </a></b>and <b><a href="http://www.laurarubyart.net/more-nancy-drew-series.html" target="_blank">here</a></b>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ruby notes on her website, <i>"My 'Nancy Drew Series' takes as its primary reference the fictional detective, Nancy Drew, the subject of an extremely popular series of books in American culture. The character Nancy Drew represents the independence and problem-solving intelligence of the detective figure, while also alluding to the independence, creativity and determination of the artist. The first obvious punning relationship is in the name, Drew, but the series employs both playful and serious multiple visual and verbal interactions in its concept and design."</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPoa-4b3P0NYDzTiuGhiBZM3f1jsLm6M-QBKu6VR-S9IO6BqkYngMYfQfCaTGrc9K24uqw_A6vJ8GaCGcqhceT2cUUtRipr7GxkAuCMmndMlE0T9iH2OHFyvsNztFDKKCrnlLaguEunuheGFEEr_fIBLOnNUPTDFS3A5EdM7Uykwfox8hgHzk=s740" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="740" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPoa-4b3P0NYDzTiuGhiBZM3f1jsLm6M-QBKu6VR-S9IO6BqkYngMYfQfCaTGrc9K24uqw_A6vJ8GaCGcqhceT2cUUtRipr7GxkAuCMmndMlE0T9iH2OHFyvsNztFDKKCrnlLaguEunuheGFEEr_fIBLOnNUPTDFS3A5EdM7Uykwfox8hgHzk=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjH33jcOmSIxVNSFkuD0cW2mARm92K_v8YA3OHF-e5CGDXFeq1GFXJNn_tY7Bz0h06pHTyDFDPtlzw1bTGfRRW2BKj0qjO32kyNdikaz_u6u1a9yYWBTa1XpyFE6ypDIeQhYPlZi_vVMafYep7jihdwk7F_AyxlSkT9oeGQG5z5QM1ROp-LS2w=s707" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="707" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjH33jcOmSIxVNSFkuD0cW2mARm92K_v8YA3OHF-e5CGDXFeq1GFXJNn_tY7Bz0h06pHTyDFDPtlzw1bTGfRRW2BKj0qjO32kyNdikaz_u6u1a9yYWBTa1XpyFE6ypDIeQhYPlZi_vVMafYep7jihdwk7F_AyxlSkT9oeGQG5z5QM1ROp-LS2w=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbFXZ-qCfIzwQIq3jkTZ3sV9TTV4p7M_y8jMwxtgZSwMqG3LsB79Pym0MkeG2g9WcZY0fBUiIMnmUbXsi0cY0MgpPzBRDDI4trADidmHtcBcbg2Z_ZPehcQnZV5oqwBRVR-zhJJd2s3u-KPPzdptg9PeyhZL-CzN09VSD0C6hsT-Uvx9ZDS6o=s939" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="709" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbFXZ-qCfIzwQIq3jkTZ3sV9TTV4p7M_y8jMwxtgZSwMqG3LsB79Pym0MkeG2g9WcZY0fBUiIMnmUbXsi0cY0MgpPzBRDDI4trADidmHtcBcbg2Z_ZPehcQnZV5oqwBRVR-zhJJd2s3u-KPPzdptg9PeyhZL-CzN09VSD0C6hsT-Uvx9ZDS6o=w303-h400" width="303" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGf4K76zLAhQXMBJthz6Uth5kDQD949lAE96PjyjhnXGnw-UHY0YcZStwxDIcQ7_b6GzoU5PPqocqIvIohX6-vNyonSVKa5m1oPi6F64IvpD1w78KIhGqBVqm4jtYtTt8ssQPq3udETaDN1mnVkGBJORfEts3d8pLdnEu3D5_jY5zLH7TzASk=s745" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="745" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGf4K76zLAhQXMBJthz6Uth5kDQD949lAE96PjyjhnXGnw-UHY0YcZStwxDIcQ7_b6GzoU5PPqocqIvIohX6-vNyonSVKa5m1oPi6F64IvpD1w78KIhGqBVqm4jtYtTt8ssQPq3udETaDN1mnVkGBJORfEts3d8pLdnEu3D5_jY5zLH7TzASk=w400-h297" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-41931156267213226422022-01-16T16:31:00.003-08:002022-01-16T16:54:42.893-08:00Donating to the Jennifer Fisher Nancy Drew Collection at Toledo Public Library<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_ovkXFd_ybybudOEXEkG6dzNIVAC87pDWLFuN9ysqwHNWDUw4FtuvyxhDMDzBsQtS2YpKK5UfKIZ6dN9UleSdax3MPiV8tk0ALcm9Pb9kFqkzrCN9s7h0YurjOdm3VmEeEVDfCfq0QtpAM_esRP1zX1bG-fH6wJR7zVd4B27DLBe7BtmFp4g=s756" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="756" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_ovkXFd_ybybudOEXEkG6dzNIVAC87pDWLFuN9ysqwHNWDUw4FtuvyxhDMDzBsQtS2YpKK5UfKIZ6dN9UleSdax3MPiV8tk0ALcm9Pb9kFqkzrCN9s7h0YurjOdm3VmEeEVDfCfq0QtpAM_esRP1zX1bG-fH6wJR7zVd4B27DLBe7BtmFp4g=w400-h376" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">One of the fantastical things about the <b><a href="https://www.toledolibrary.org/blog/curating-a-nancy-drew-collection" target="_blank">Toledo Public Library</a></b> - downtown main library - is the children's library. It's so innovative and creative. It features so many interactive elements that just bring so many of the children's books and beloved characters to life. The mystery room housing my <b>Jennifer Fisher Nancy Drew Collection </b>has had one beautiful piece of Nancy Drew original artwork hanging thus far - <i>The Secret at Shadow Ranch</i> - illustrated by <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/russellhtandy.html" target="_blank">Russell H. Tandy</a></b>. It was one of many original children's book cover art paintings that the library has in their amazing gallery of paintings spanning vintage and modern book art until it was moved into the Nancy Drew collection. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">New to the collection has just arrived this beautiful original art cover for <b><i>The Mystery of the Tolling Bell</i></b>, thanks to my good friend and <b><a href="http://seriesbookart.weebly.com/" target="_blank">collector Jim McNamara</a></b>! He is a prolific collector of not only children's series books but also original children's series artwork including many Nancy Drew covers spanning the classic series to modern Nancy Drew spin-off series. His <b><a href="http://seriesbookart.weebly.com/" target="_blank">collection </a></b>is amazing. I was so honored that he wanted to donate one of his paintings to the library and to the collection. This particular cover is a UK cover used on the UK publisher Armada's edition shown below. <i>Tolling Bell</i> was written by <b><a href="http://nancydrewsleuth.com/mildredwirtbenson.html" target="_blank">original Nancy Drew Ghostwriter, Mildred Wirt Benson</a></b>, who lived in Toledo and wrote this mystery while living there. You can see Jim's Nancy Drew painting along with all the other neat Nancy Drew books and collectibles at the grand opening celebration at the <b><a href="https://nancydrewfans.com/pages/nancy-drew-conventions-registration" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Mystery convention in Toledo this July 14-16, 2022</a></b>.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEik3QFYvzMFxhC_LOY59zpFX-rqbdhmsipSw-NLDVTlPizkjPU0RS-MDw3HE_ZmSk9fAHl2Kmgw3dWYMlkTR-SPXeAEU-WryLKZjgldfmbPilAQJwEYEu-Umvp5fuB8s85AyWeL-TQnqa1_noydHgLBbNEGirD0Uo4pwHCXDG1e51QU3vmY7ZU=s599" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="374" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEik3QFYvzMFxhC_LOY59zpFX-rqbdhmsipSw-NLDVTlPizkjPU0RS-MDw3HE_ZmSk9fAHl2Kmgw3dWYMlkTR-SPXeAEU-WryLKZjgldfmbPilAQJwEYEu-Umvp5fuB8s85AyWeL-TQnqa1_noydHgLBbNEGirD0Uo4pwHCXDG1e51QU3vmY7ZU=w250-h400" width="250" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">While my <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew</a></b> collection is pretty complete overall, there are still items I do not have in the collection. The whole collector community and Nancy Drew fans can help out if you have an item that isn't currently in the collection - you can contact me or them to donate it and they'd love to have it. Until the collection is fully digitized, you can check out all the various Pinterest boards including the ones that got away at my <b><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/nancydrewexpert" target="_blank">Nancy Drew Pinterest</a></b> to see if you have something I do not or you can just follow up with me at nancydrewsleuth@aol.com to see about it. Thanks for your help and interest in the collection!</div><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-55808530774404216802022-01-15T18:43:00.002-08:002022-01-15T18:44:00.601-08:00Nancy Drew Library of Congress Surplus Stamped Hidden Staircase<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_uSUFF1i3hKlBCR6i77k3fnifFHmkq0PuJ9xdH306G-Uu1SWDYZJrC2BXnNvPjnCdEXMFUrTEmxDdR6AY9d1fcYeA6lmssK6C9-t8SOafcIMtaDXRjoHBBG41egCEQAkCwkKONPGlKjVKqDrPxF0upSW3tT2ea3wwuFpMvA-SjXvsZFtGvbI=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1474" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_uSUFF1i3hKlBCR6i77k3fnifFHmkq0PuJ9xdH306G-Uu1SWDYZJrC2BXnNvPjnCdEXMFUrTEmxDdR6AY9d1fcYeA6lmssK6C9-t8SOafcIMtaDXRjoHBBG41egCEQAkCwkKONPGlKjVKqDrPxF0upSW3tT2ea3wwuFpMvA-SjXvsZFtGvbI=w288-h400" width="288" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">I spotted this <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew</a></b> book - <b><i>The Hidden Staircase</i></b> - recently on eBay and noticed the stamp inside on the front right endpaper about it being <b>Library of Congress surplus</b>. I thought that was neat, so I decided to purchase it. It’s a printing from 1942 and also has the “wartime conditions” notice inside, meaning it was printed during the war when they were conserving paper and the stamp reflects that. It has markings inside the back on the back endpapers (both sides) where it appears something was removed from the library and then also a spot on the lower spine where some kind of sticker was removed. I searched online and found several sites or message boards including one at eBay discussing these stamps. The Library of Congress also has a page on their website about surplus books. I have seen several more modern stamps with dates and other notations, but this is more vintage. Someone on the eBay thread notes that two copies are sent to the library to secure copyright. Obviously, this book was not sent to secure copyright for<i> The Hidden Staircase</i> since this printing is from 12 years after it was first published, but I am curious about how it ended up there - that will forever be a mystery. Eventually the book ended up - perhaps through a surplus sale - in the hands of someone named Robin Alexander whose name is professionally printed on a bookplate inside. Do you have any surplus stamped books in your collection? These do not appear to be scarce stamps - many books have been surplus over the years, but I'm curious how many series books have turned up with these over the years?</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgP1hp38gnX1vJ8MNJVHaW5OCnaSuMBRkqp5OPaOpoBF6Y5u5LDfdTMvKAuSmHFH8f6PPK1hF_uHpM_VbomL8mYnbdTLfcTqBN1OfIjFUTzQyUoaq5WmmIWwlBCM1xlNu2-p5nvt9XpHbC6imdrxVlF8ytl0fpGyZcNJdfELfQ_9vC2cg9Rb0o=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1568" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgP1hp38gnX1vJ8MNJVHaW5OCnaSuMBRkqp5OPaOpoBF6Y5u5LDfdTMvKAuSmHFH8f6PPK1hF_uHpM_VbomL8mYnbdTLfcTqBN1OfIjFUTzQyUoaq5WmmIWwlBCM1xlNu2-p5nvt9XpHbC6imdrxVlF8ytl0fpGyZcNJdfELfQ_9vC2cg9Rb0o=w306-h400" width="306" /></a></div><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-84051290928614226072022-01-15T18:24:00.000-08:002022-01-15T18:24:22.288-08:00Nancy Drew Books: Scary Things Kids (& Adults) Do #133<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhM00ihjYRy_F7nz6M_nj5U80lsjlMuN9-dfU_7F-fYZRiFB0GKxJCNobH16wKxikv2iUscndDTz5hr4GjJZB8xPxvFsdyP7ZCf4T-9z5t8mhyvyRI9eRlESdEtYFXujsyTcTtdULPj_f7TuuIVEQxvBihoUmpS60RvgHyZNB82S-kO__O16G8=s1600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhM00ihjYRy_F7nz6M_nj5U80lsjlMuN9-dfU_7F-fYZRiFB0GKxJCNobH16wKxikv2iUscndDTz5hr4GjJZB8xPxvFsdyP7ZCf4T-9z5t8mhyvyRI9eRlESdEtYFXujsyTcTtdULPj_f7TuuIVEQxvBihoUmpS60RvgHyZNB82S-kO__O16G8=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><br /> The Clue in the Crumbling...book... <i>PS: It's book #22!</i><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-42222106325005888362022-01-15T18:20:00.002-08:002022-01-15T18:20:40.660-08:00Nancy Drew Books: Scary Things Kids (& Adults) Do #132<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFGsV4uyCb02eAJg2DJZ-n3DcB7ILLsXgxSSX4_Cu28W0eCKDEy8obHNrCW8ptlsBwV-V0j_E_ULdDG_QnVKMgnK8diHo0XEMdFuF4UBUPKeQt_nnUmRayh-9IKfoK-8QBe9El-iWsYdbrUi6WbdNBuBqldj5AmPwE1LEmKXGNfzy462YSXo8=s1600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1224" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFGsV4uyCb02eAJg2DJZ-n3DcB7ILLsXgxSSX4_Cu28W0eCKDEy8obHNrCW8ptlsBwV-V0j_E_ULdDG_QnVKMgnK8diHo0XEMdFuF4UBUPKeQt_nnUmRayh-9IKfoK-8QBe9El-iWsYdbrUi6WbdNBuBqldj5AmPwE1LEmKXGNfzy462YSXo8=w306-h400" width="306" /></a></div><br /> Me thinks the twisted candles were a bit <i>sooty</i>...<p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-18151177845790473332022-01-15T16:58:00.008-08:002022-04-04T15:45:22.826-07:00The Nancy Drew Donation Dilemma - The Jennifer Fisher Nancy Drew Collection<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAeBicw4jaNpeBDHAgzXp3oIoJzadWhpNaRdCqwIwmOOsiwtPorCX1j34U1drE9g8MMYNXQwGYGaVBnSYUTTkMZRjQPqXw4E1iJROfftwOQFWnKeiyc190RVwI6L3yWY5QgPMAS9xYy9UXFDThh55BJ0DKwMl7BRtpSnKBH8QUwnGL4K0SiNE=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAeBicw4jaNpeBDHAgzXp3oIoJzadWhpNaRdCqwIwmOOsiwtPorCX1j34U1drE9g8MMYNXQwGYGaVBnSYUTTkMZRjQPqXw4E1iJROfftwOQFWnKeiyc190RVwI6L3yWY5QgPMAS9xYy9UXFDThh55BJ0DKwMl7BRtpSnKBH8QUwnGL4K0SiNE=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">As we've all rung in 2022 and are enjoying the new year, I find myself feeling a bit...perplexed. Just like our favorite heroine, <b><a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank">Nancy Drew</a></b>, I've spent the last couple of years finding myself putting on a "wan smile" at times and somehow keeping my chin up, because frankly the alternative is much worse. It's amazing how doing something so very selfless can result in the most selfish and unbecoming behavior in others.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I’ll let that sink in a little… Doing something selfless resulting in selfish behavior. It’s the stuff of Nancy Drew mysteries but in reality, human nature 101 to a degree I suppose. It’s a conundrum that I never ever – EVER – imagined when I agreed to donate my 20-year-old Nancy Drew collection to The Toledo Public Library nearly 3 years ago. What should be and thankfully mostly has been a really nice occasion for the collector community to come together and support such a collection and its value and historical purpose to the collector community, the community of Toledo and beyond, was temporarily tarnished just a little by the actions of hopefully just a few. And for some I know in the community, the radio silence has been deafening. I see you. I hear you. It’s a very deflating and disheartening thing to even speak of and I’ve held off even bringing it up, but it’s time. I’m not going to at times feel abnormally modest or oddly apologetic or out of sorts anymore about having either donated my collection or that I’m still collecting Nancy Drew. Once a collector, always a collector. I have literally done nothing wrong and it’s time I stop feeling, for lack of a better phrase, slightly bullied or shamed into thinking I have. It’s time for the reverse. Magnifying glasses out, roadsters ready!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Like most things in life, grapevines tend to twine back toward the origin. Since I donated most of my collection, behind the scenes theories have percolated about why I was really doing it. Even though I expressly told people why I was doing it. Did I secretly sell it? As if it was unthinkable to some that someone could actually do something that selfless without expecting something (money/whatever) in return. Or maybe there was a less than acceptable or sad reason behind me doing it. Was it that dastardly villain I was seeing at the time? Could he have been the culprit? Hypers, no! It’s literally just simply a case of Ockham’s Razor. I was asked if I’d be interested in donating it, the library was being renovated right then, and the opportunity arose to donate when the library could carve out a space for what became <b><a href="https://nancydrewsleuths.blogspot.com/2020/01/curating-nancy-drew-collection-jennifer.html" target="_blank">The Jennifer Fisher Nancy Drew Collection</a></b>, many years before I ever intended to donate it. It was just random timing that occurred in 2019. Nothing secretive or nefarious. Just simply a nice opportunity to do something good and pay it forward. Or so I thought. Most people seem to have understood that, but not everyone unfortunately. I know you’re probably wondering who I may be referring to. Was it Isabel or Ada Topham? Mary Mason? Stumpy Dowd? Mrs. Judson? Bushy Trott? Spike Doty? Someone in ill-fitting clothes? Did I receive a threatening note to stay away from the library or else? A flat tire to prevent me from mailing any more collectibles to them? Probably all of the above. But that’s neither here nor there at this point.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMau_8AVAWauJKw4w-DcgnLxPwH31nX6IdTictql1aX_GJaeR4s5w80gJKpQWbVTwblXSO-kK9gyxGlXFaSgqe8mOoXVhjq6s_Vj1KMDGOSShqvJDknFRkGR7PsZB8eiYxTX8hjJen3eG1W3Gg_wP4OYxlgK8J_Qe9uHPxDRvxJWTc33Y6lNw=s902" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="607" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMau_8AVAWauJKw4w-DcgnLxPwH31nX6IdTictql1aX_GJaeR4s5w80gJKpQWbVTwblXSO-kK9gyxGlXFaSgqe8mOoXVhjq6s_Vj1KMDGOSShqvJDknFRkGR7PsZB8eiYxTX8hjJen3eG1W3Gg_wP4OYxlgK8J_Qe9uHPxDRvxJWTc33Y6lNw=w269-h400" width="269" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">Truly and in all seriousness, I just simply wanted my collection to have a bigger purpose and serve generations of fans and future generations and when the opportunity presented itself, I knew it was the right thing to do. A historical collection to be preserved and to keep inspiring new fans. A collection that people could visit and see some of these Nancy Drew books and collectibles in person, that you can’t see in many other places. Keeping history alive is a wonderful thing and the Toledo Public Library has been so supportive of that goal. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">If the library ever changes their mind and wishes to no longer host it, it reverts back to me or my heirs, so I still have an inherent interest in the collection if that ever happens. However, I don’t see that ever happening as it has a very welcome and tangible home in Toledo. I had the chance too, to help give my input on the space and how the collection would be handled by those visiting which is all set-in stone in my gift agreement and I also had a hand in what we would do in the future with it including plans for digitizing, historical displays, and they plan to have me back from time to time for programs and other promotion. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Further, it’s been visited by so many who have been so excited to make a road trip to see it, kids enjoy seeing the books and collectibles when they visit the library and there was even a marriage proposal to a Nancy Drew fan in the collection room. It’s inspiring to see such heartwarming responses. These kinds of things do warm my heart and help to lessen the effects of some of the apparent negative behavior that this collection donation has resulted in. It just seems mind boggling that I’m even compelled to write about all this right now, but it's a long time coming and very cathartic to do so.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Am I still collecting? Yes, I do still collect for the collection. Why? Because it’s not a complete collection. It’s not fully complete and will never be as new merchandise and books are created and published every year – a wonderful thing in itself to see Nancy Drew living on and still relevant. And there are vintage items I’m still seeking – some are even quite scarce or rare – that I might still yet seek out to add to the collection. The library isn’t buying these items, I am, within my budget and you win some, you lose some. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with my wanting to still make it as complete as possible. Some of you may wonder, why? Remember, I donated it rather early in my collecting – rather than down the road when I’m retired and living the senior life when my collection might have been more complete in the future. Therefore, I still collect for it, so that it is as complete as possible for people to see when they visit or make a study of it. Having most everything in one place enhances its value to the library and its usefulness for study and research. And if I add some rare or scarce item to it, it means that many people get to enjoy it, not just a few who might randomly visit my home. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I still sleuth around in bookstores, antique malls or on the internet at sites like eBay. I was collecting before and I’m still collecting now, so nothing’s really changed, when you put it in perspective, just differing purposes depending on which collection I’m adding to on any given day. I’m not even actively looking every day like the old days, so I know I miss things sometimes. That means it’s all relative. Other ways to enhance and complete the collection that the community can do is that collectors and fans can help by donating items to the collection over time that they may wish to help make it complete and several collectors have done so. It’s all about the collecting and fan community and should be about making this collection extra special and worthy. However, I have learned that for some collectors, they can’t see the bigger picture for they are also collecting for their own personal collections and somehow, even though before when I was collecting privately, it’s now some sort of an abomination to collect for the library. <i>(Sigh.)</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Toledo Public Library – any library for that matter – is a wonderful place! It is a foundation for literacy, especially among those that can’t afford to read otherwise or have the kind of resources to open up the world of reading to them. It’s a place to lose yourself in adventures and learn about so much and grow as a person. It’s a place I loved to read Nancy Drew books as a kid – in my school library. And for some, libraries are a place to visit a collection like this and open up the world of Nancy Drew and her mysterious history. Mildred Wirt Benson, original Carolyn Keene, who wrote 23 of the original Nancy Drew books, wrote about libraries in her last published column before she passed away. She often used the library to research for her books. She spent a lot of time at the Cleveland Public Library researching while writing volume #5, <i>The Secret at Shadow Ranch</i> among others and then later in Toledo at the Toledo Public Library. I love libraries and have such fond affection for them. Every year at our Nancy Drew conventions we donate a full set of Nancy Drew books to the local library for people of all ages to enjoy, especially the new generation of kids. There are collectors in the community who have done this too. It’s so inspiring to me. And it’s inspiring for so many deserving others too. Once upon a time decades ago, and even some rare instances now, some people tried to keep Nancy Drew out of libraries -- so really, let's avoid that kind of dastardly behavior! Libraries are all amazing and worthy of any donation such as my Nancy Drew collection. And that’s one reason why I felt like the Toledo Public Library would be a wonderful home for the collection in addition to Toledo’s historic connections to Nancy Drew.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, what’s my secondary private collection like? I have mentioned before that I still have items in my collection that did not get donated right away such as very sentimental items including handcrafted items given to me as gifts, signed books and collectibles, childhood books, original cover and internal illustrations and some duplicative collectibles and paper ephemera plus research materials and some historical documents I am still using for research. Eventually down the road, some of these items will be added over time and in doing so, will enhance and expand the collection for the community. Plus, I’m still collecting to build this much smaller secondary private collection of things I want in my writing room and to make my life a little happier and to have on hand for writing and research projects. One of every story written - 675 books and counting - and each cover art for classics and Wanderers/Minstrels. And whatever strikes my fancy. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that either. Though, for some collectors I should just apparently…have hopped in my roadster, tossed my magnifying glass out, and rode out of good old River Heights into the proverbial sunset? Sorry. I’m unapologetically always going to be a Nancy Drew Collector. “Golly Gee Nancy, what a cliffhanger this has been,” lamented Bess. “Can we stop for a stress-relieving snack or two or 100 please?!”</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The thing is, no one is more deserving than another to collect something. We all have a right and the freedom to collect Nancy Drew and make our lives a little fuller and happier. And that will never change. We’re all in this individually, but we’re also all in this together too when we have friends among the community. I would never expect another collector to step aside or bow out if the situation were reversed. I’d support and be excited about a donation or a secondary collection, but that’s how I am. I have learned, it’s not how everyone in this community would act, however. Real life isn’t the fictionalized sappy chummery of Nancy and her best friends being supportive and solving fun mysteries. The cliffhanger of real life does include a darker more mysterious and frankly puzzling side.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Real life does mean that there are some collectors who are very aggressive and who seek things at all costs, friendships or avoidance of stepping on toes be damned. We’ve all run into a few of those people in the community. I’ve never approached collecting like that. In fact, back when you could see who was bidding on something, if it was a friend I wouldn’t bid, out of respect. For a long time now though on eBay it is hard to tell with disguised ids and most people bidding at the last minute, so you just never know what’s going to happen in the final few seconds as an auction closes. Sometimes you bid against someone you know in the last 10 seconds and don’t realize it until the auction is over. A friend and I did that on a Nancy Drew t-shirt once. One of those last-minute bidders is going to get it or some other random last-minute bidder. That’s life. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">For most of us, we accept that and keep on the hunt. Unless something is one-of-a-kind, the hunt is always fun and there’s always more to eventually find even if it takes a few years. So, I try to be positive like that and carry on in that manner. The green-eyed monsters that walk amongst us can put a damper on things for sure, but there’s just no need for that behavior, life’s too short for drama. I realize, though, that not everyone can rationalize it like that and I can’t make people play nice – but I can avoid that drama by letting it go and moving ahead with grace and positivity. It’s the Nancy way!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For those of you out there with collections who are wondering what you’ll do with them someday and face various dilemmas trying to figure it out, I’ve always encouraged people to find a place for it to live on if this issue of what to do with things concerns you. Check with your libraries and other museums, institutions and archives. Your family and heirs may not be interested, so maybe give away special things to other friends that are collectors. Think about the Toledo Public Library and my collection if there’s something you have that’s missing there. And if you get the opportunity to donate it somewhere, sell it, or whatever you do, while you still can be involved in the process and have your wishes fulfilled, I recommend you do it, as hard as it is to part with things. There are so many possibilities, but whatever you choose, be positive and happy in your choice. After some of the temporarily deflating effects of donating this collection, would I still recommend someone do that? Would I still donate it if I had to do it over again? Of course I would! I wouldn’t change a thing. Maybe my situation is unique and there are always those who seek to work against you rather than support you, but in the long run, it is worth so much to so many people in donating and giving it new life. I do miss my collection at times, but I have my secondary personal collection here to keep me happy and occupied. I’m completely happy about my actions and my choice in donating. And most of all I’m very honored that I got the opportunity to make the donation thanks to the Toledo Public Library. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">To wrap up this mystery, I’ll be very pointed in stating that I never in a million years expected anyone to roll out the red carpet and break out the awards ceremony in donating it, that’s not my style at all. However, I would like the collection to be more supported by the community as a whole. It’s such a worthwhile endeavor to preserve the collection in the annals of children’s publishing, Stratemeyer Syndicate and Nancy Drew history. There’s so much <b><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/nancydrewexpert" target="_blank">advertising and ephemera and historical documents behind the scenes</a></b> that tell the story from creation to marketing to promotions to the actual book or collectible that I’ve pieced together in collecting for over 20 years which help greatly tell the story. All the puzzle pieces that make the puzzle. There’s so much more than just books and collectibles in the collection and that makes it a little more unique for the library and for those wanting to study it for research and fit all these puzzle pieces together. This is where digitizing will be really wonderful for so many to experience the full story. There are even a few collectors among the community who have donated to it so far like my good friend and collector <b><a href="http://seriesbookart.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Jim McNamara</a></b>, and I’ll be sharing more about that soon. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I hope that you all get a chance to go see the Nancy Drew Collection in Toledo sometime. We hope to have the grand opening party and corresponding <b><a href="https://nancydrewfans.com/pages/nancy-drew-conventions-registration" target="_blank">Nancy Drew convention mystery event this July 14-16, 2022</a></b>, which had to be postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic. For those who cannot visit, when it's digitized, it will make the collection so much more accessible to everyone and I look forward to that next phase! Hope you all have a marvelous 2022. Happy New “Drew” Year to you all and most of all Happy Sleuthing Collectors! Collecting and the hunt are always a good thing! And don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise or make you feel less than for doing so. </p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjI-YzSkU7JwJrwA5tY7Jf8AST37LzF4th3svTZDGSTpMiizvRPhxH3FRSYYeJPdcuL7JrlN4SA-LFCwo4w30s1Yp36TM-G9jhId1u6qWyXqyGrYgb0Z5Sm6RWdt5Ht6qHTdsE76Ue43JVbk_Sfz14bxbX_GF_QlJVnXMj97mu9DwsWdPZ5BkY=s3088" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2320" data-original-width="3088" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjI-YzSkU7JwJrwA5tY7Jf8AST37LzF4th3svTZDGSTpMiizvRPhxH3FRSYYeJPdcuL7JrlN4SA-LFCwo4w30s1Yp36TM-G9jhId1u6qWyXqyGrYgb0Z5Sm6RWdt5Ht6qHTdsE76Ue43JVbk_Sfz14bxbX_GF_QlJVnXMj97mu9DwsWdPZ5BkY=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div> <p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-80021931171287954242021-06-29T03:13:00.004-07:002021-06-29T03:13:41.842-07:00Nancy Drew Books: Scary Things Kids (& Adults) Do #131<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1SXNsHMJV-0/YNrxPlJfY_I/AAAAAAAARsU/sKqCUYuoG4Ya8lLJMkwAYqO1z-lOXUHwgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/s-l1600%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1SXNsHMJV-0/YNrxPlJfY_I/AAAAAAAARsU/sKqCUYuoG4Ya8lLJMkwAYqO1z-lOXUHwgCNcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/s-l1600%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Well Hypers! After all that traipsing around Hawaii, the poison leis, fighting sharks and flitting around in the Golden Pavilion playing hula ghost, Nancy finally finds the Golden Pavilion's hidden treasure! And it was a.....<b>lousy scratch n' sniff sticker</b>! <i>That doesn't even smell anymore! </i></div><p></p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21648932.post-35437307831229748832021-04-28T03:51:00.006-07:002021-04-28T03:55:52.771-07:00Celebrating 91 Years of Nancy Drew<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RXcYZvpqjHw/YIk3warneOI/AAAAAAAARjU/pbzZa_PGjwQ4kWTvARlVmR3xUKsLh9VAACNcBGAsYHQ/s960/50673213_10218216550870222_4098123855288074240_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RXcYZvpqjHw/YIk3warneOI/AAAAAAAARjU/pbzZa_PGjwQ4kWTvARlVmR3xUKsLh9VAACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/50673213_10218216550870222_4098123855288074240_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>91 YEARS OF NANCY DREW </b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>HOW DO YOU NANCY DREW?<br /></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As we pass the 91st Anniversary of <a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com" target="_blank"><b>Nancy Drew</b></a>, I often wonder how we're all celebrating the milestones that keep coming. Are we collectively celebrating or are we individually doing our own Nancy thing in our own Nancy way as we Sleuths often do. What do you do to celebrate Nancy Drew? What do you know about the series and how it began and those who created it? Are you interested in the history or are you more into the collecting aspect? What level of a collector are you and how do you collect? These are some questions that intrigue me as I meet new collectors and interact with many of you online.<br /><br />It's often said, that if we don't learn from history we'll be doomed to repeat it. But what of Nancy Drew's intricate <a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/history.html" target="_blank"><b>history </b></a>over the years? What is the history there, lessons to be learned, things one should know about? What's that mysterious Stratemeyer Syndicate and who was Edward Stratemeyer? <br /><br />If you think about the mystery behind Stratemeyer, his businesslike demeanor, his ability to create and put out a lot of stories through ghostwriters employed by his Stratemeyer Syndicate, even with what we know, he still has an air of mystery about him. One can picture Stratemeyer commuting to NYC to his office, stories running through his head, characters all around him in the lively streets of New York. His days at work spent churning out story ideas capturing the latest adventures in the world and capitalizing on popular themes and farming out manuscripts to publishers around such beloved characters as the Bobbsey Twins, The Hardy Boys, Tom Swift and Nancy Drew. After whipping up adventures with the stroke of a pen, off he went back to New Jersey to his storybook home and family, most unassuming in his manner and what he did and all those amazing ideas on his mind. His was certainly a storybook life. I think he's quite fascinating. To many, he's a mystery of sorts. One which you can get a sense of by picking away at the puzzle pieces throughout the Syndicate's business files at the New York Public Library. Letters, plots, manuscripts, and news clippings all tell part of the tale there. <br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fuz0uv-uO44/YIk4lPF1Y6I/AAAAAAAARjg/0nQuCc3Xgz8m5VS-jR_lJLGcMdSuRUMnwCNcBGAsYHQ/s556/jfcndoldclock1stp3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="504" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fuz0uv-uO44/YIk4lPF1Y6I/AAAAAAAARjg/0nQuCc3Xgz8m5VS-jR_lJLGcMdSuRUMnwCNcBGAsYHQ/w363-h400/jfcndoldclock1stp3.jpg" width="363" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">What about his untimely death nearly two weeks after Nancy Drew debuted
in May 1930? The fate of the Syndicate in the hands of his daughters, Harriet and
Edna. It was a cliffhanger that Stratemeyer might never have imagined. One
that would engage the publishing world for over 50 more years until the
Syndicate closed its doors and sold to Simon & Schuster in 1984. <br /><br />And
what of the ghostwriters who have churned out over 600 Nancy Drew books
since 1930? Most have vanished into the literary netherworld, without a
trace. Some more infamous, we know about today. Including the original
Carolyn Keene, <a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mildredwirtbenson.html" target="_blank"><b>Mildred Wirt Benson</b></a>, who I'm writing a <a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mwbbook.html" target="_blank"><b>biography</b></a> about.<br /><br />There
have been so many real life characters involved in creating Nancy Drew
and in ensuring her enduring appeal over the many generations of loyal
fans. It's a very fascinating history and it's a very important history
to study and not sweep under the annals of history rug. <br /><br />There
are websites dedicated to Nancy Drew, like mine at <a href="http://nancydrewsleuth.com"><b>nancydrewsleuth.com</b></a> and other similar series and Stratemeyer.
Numerous essays, articles and books have been published over the years
that touch on various aspects of this literary history. Many were
published before the Stratemeyer Syndicate records were available for
research and those records have cleared up a lot of mysteries and some
misconceptions in print over the years like some of the more slanted
versions of facts put out by the Syndicate in later years in an effort
to keep some of its history a mystery. Who wants to think Carolyn Keene
is a "dour-looking naval captain," after all, ghostwriter Walter Karig
once joked. Nancy's history though, is full of some of Nancy's best
mysteries waiting to be fully solved and revealed. There's missing
pieces of the puzzle, real life ghosts, real life Nancy Drews,
conspiracies, legal threats to "stay off the case or else," even court
room drama. Nancy's journey over the last 91 years has included some
real cliffhanger moments just like in a Nancy Drew mystery. Some you've
read about, some you've no clue about, but that will soon change.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ngj49MpkU1o/YIk4nhCZSNI/AAAAAAAARjk/zEM4KA3ynqslW3ftXIsd3uC10hXjU5XhQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_6288.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ngj49MpkU1o/YIk4nhCZSNI/AAAAAAAARjk/zEM4KA3ynqslW3ftXIsd3uC10hXjU5XhQCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_6288.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The
gist of this history, who the creators behind Nancy Drew were, and
highlights of her history along the past 91 years are subjects I focus
on in a nice overview in <a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/jennscollection.html" target="_blank"><b>Nancy Drew History & Collecting Zoom talks</b></a>
I've been giving - mostly for libraries - about Nancy Drew for fans who
want to learn a little more about their favorite sleuth. Growing up with
these wonderful mysteries we solved along with Nancy Drew, for some of
us, we're intrigued about the real life mysteries behind America's
favorite teenage sleuth. I like to keep that history alive and give fans
something more to think about and perhaps intrigue them enough to go
sleuth a bit and learn even more. <a href="https://nancydrewsleuths.blogspot.com/2020/01/curating-nancy-drew-collection-jennifer.html" target="_blank"><b>Donating my Nancy Drew collection to
the Toledo Public Library</b></a> is another way to enhance everyone's knowledge
of the history behind Nancy Drew but also to showcase another aspect of
my Zoom talks - Collecting Nancy Drew 101. With over 600 books to
collect since 1930, many of which went through numerous formats, cover
art changes, some with text changes, plus various types of editions from
library to book club to foreign editions, there's a lot to learn and I
like to give a nice overview of it all. Visiting my collection in Toledo
is a great way to visually see it all and be inspired about what you
can sleuth for out there to add to your collections. In addition to
beloved books, there's a whole other category of Nancy Drew collectibles
and paper ephemera one can collect. One can view the many hundreds of
known items at my <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/nancydrewexpert" target="_blank"><b>Nancy Drew Pinterest in various collectible board categories</b></a>. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--A9RBiMtub8/YIk4rdwTFDI/AAAAAAAARjo/LWqwqXezdJQ3bT0Ke9RzIOw3gdSXjFGyQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1000/ndzoombigbanner2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="1000" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--A9RBiMtub8/YIk4rdwTFDI/AAAAAAAARjo/LWqwqXezdJQ3bT0Ke9RzIOw3gdSXjFGyQCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h223/ndzoombigbanner2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">However
you celebrate Nancy Drew's anniversary today and whatever your
connection is to this intrepid heroine, take a moment today to reflect
on what you love about this character and these books. How did a
fictional sleuth like Nancy Drew inspire so many of us in all walks of
life even all the way on up to our lady justices on the US Supreme
Court? Read a Nancy Drew book. Stop by your favorite local book haunt
and sleuth for something fun to add to your collections. Join us at our
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/nancydrewfans" target="_blank"><b>Facebook group "Nancy Drew Book Fans"</b></a> and meet other fans. Ultimately,
it's the fans and their loyalty and love of this character and her
timeless history that will keep Nancy Drew alive for generations to
come.</p>Jenn Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com1