7/14/49 - Dianne and Gramma in Saltsburg BY-WAYS - 7/14/49 - Dianne and Gramma in Saltsburg - Saturday, July 9, 1949

Greetings, my friends!

Or, as the parting guest in ancient Palestine would say, "Peace be unto this house." Peace be unto the dear little town of Saltsburg, its beautiful fortress, Kiski Heights, and all the surrounding country, with its wholesome, God-fearing people. As Cousin Ina tries - very patiently - to keep the mind and hands of a restless three-year-old occupied, I'll write a few lines to be entered on Page 4. When the Saltsburg library opens this morning, I'm going to check first thing and see if Mabel Ansley Murphy's latest book is there, "When America Was Young." If it is, you'd better put in your reservation to read it, if you have not already done so. This book came out in March, 1948. After Mrs. Murphy's prolonged illness last year she planned to send me a copy - but the first printing had been completely sold out! At long last I received my prized book just before leaving for the Pennsylvania station. There was time for only one chapter - but it is a gem. Gertrude Atherton, the distinguished novelist writes the foreword. In it she sets forth the measureless value of these stories of Mrs. Murphy's in which the action and background are placed in a true historical setting. She says, "By feeling an intimacy with the people he reads about through identification with someone his own age, his imagination is kindled, and his interest deepens in the study of history."

Mrs. Murphy was kind enough to share with me a Mt. Vernon (N.Y.) newspaper clipping, which tells of a display in the Public Library there of the works of two women, Saltsburg's distinguished author and another citizen of Mt. Vernon, an artist, Mrs. Anne E. Fleur. The thing that thrills me beyond all else is the fact that this latest book of Mabel Ansley Murphy was chosen by the Boys' Clubs of America for a special award last May. This certificate of merit is on display beside the winning book. So you see how the good seed, planted right here in Saltsburg, has spread and flowered all over our beloved nation. We are truly proud and happy, aren't we?***

I hope to be with you week in a special edition of the BY-WAYS.

Most Sincerely,
Florence B. Taylor

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