Product Description

By the time Medora Espy moved to Oysterville as a toddler in 1902, the quaint, remote village was long past its heyday. The population had dwindled and times were hard. Dependable, devoted, and tender-hearted, Medora was the oldest child of Washington State senator and dairy farmer Harry Albert Espy.

At various times throughout her life, she endured long months of separation from her parents, especially her mother. Whether the absence was due to the birth of a sibling, her father's political duties in Olympia, or her own attendance at Portland Academy, their remarkable bond was reflected in a continuous stream of letters until a sudden, devastating tragedy soon after Medora's 17th birthday.

Practical and sensible, yet full of both laughter and heartache, the contents of the almost daily communiqués lend insight into early 20th century rural America, and offer a rare view of history through the eyes of a child. The lively correspondence and diary entries, interspersed with family photographs and additional background on the time period and Espy household, bring Medora's generation and the Oysterville of those forgotten years back into sharp focus.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1855241 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 168 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780874222920
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:

Review
"Medora's story takes us gently by the hand and heart through a long-gone time, and doesn't let go. I wish I'd known this remarkable girl." --Robert Michael Pyle, author of Wintergreen and Sky Time in Gray's River

Review
"The reader quickly becomes part of the family--rooting for its triumphs, aching for its losses, and betting on its survival."

Review
"An insightful and moving account of mother and daughter, faithful correspondents and friends to each other."

Customer Reviews

Letters from the past
When Harry A. ("Papa") and Helen R. ("Mama") Espy returned to the family home in Oysterville on the north end of Washington's North Beach peninsula in 1902, their eldest daughter, Medora, was 3 1/2 years old. As the family grew, traveling throughout western Washington and Oregon for business, politics, or schooling become commonplace for family members, but Medora and Mama kept in touch through a lively and loving correspondence that lasted until tragedy struck the family in 1916. The Espys carefully preserved Medora's and Mama's letters, and Medora's niece, Sydney Stevens, has incorporated them into a wonderful book that not only documents the history of an area and an era, but allows us a glimpse into the deep emotional attachment between mother and daughter. Beautifully illustrated with vintage photographs, "Dear Medora" is a treat for the eye as well as sustenance for the heart and mind.

Fascinating, rewarding, highly recommended reading
Medora Espy was the eldest daughter of Washinton State senator and dairy farmer Harry Albert Espy. She grew up in the quaint, somewhat remote, coastal village of Oysterville. "Dear Medora: Child Of Oysterville's Forgotten Years" is a collection of letters Medora wrote and received from 1902 to 1916 (as well as personal diary entrees) -- until a devastating tragedy occurred soon after her 17th birthday. Compiled and organized by Sydney Stevens (the daughter of Medora's youngest sister, Dale), "Dear Medora" is profusely illustrated with historical photographs and illustrations. This body of lively correspondence opens a 'window' into an American yesteryear through the life and observations of a sensitive young woman. "Dear Medora" is fascinating, rewarding, highly recommended reading and a welcome addition to American Regional History & Biography reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

A unique, captivating story from Oysterville's past
"Dear Medora" is unlike any other memoir, journal, diary, or correspondence collection I've read. What makes it special is that it allows us to look at life in the early 1900s through a "real-time" mother-daughter relationship. I love this book. I savored it, reading a chapter every day while quietly enjoying my first cup of coffee of the morning. I bought several copies of Dear Medora and gave them to friends and family members. My sister's reaction to the book was similar to mine--as she read it, she didn't want it to end. We both became emotionally attached to Oysterville. And we both became quite captivated by Medora's charms. My sister, who's about to become the grandma of a baby girl, actually crusaded for her kids to name their baby "Medora."