`First John: King of the Mountain’ a compelling story

FIRST JOHN: KING OF THE MOUNTAIN, by Philip B. Turner, Acadia Publishing Co., 228 pages.

Following on his first work, “Rooster: The Story of Aroostook County,” Turner, a son of Aroostook, sharpens his focus to tell the story of John Arnold of Lyndon (later named Caribou). In the late 1800s, Arnold desperately wanted to be that town’s No. 1 honcho but had to settle for second best behind S.W. Collins.

Arnold, his wife and son made the arduous journey north from Bangor to Aroostook County — Land of Promise — in March 1862 after earlier selecting Lyndon as a community where they could prosper and where he might stand a good chance of becoming top dog.

Prosper they did, as Arnold first opened a store and then branched into lumber and real estate. He owned one of the nicest homes in the village, a suitable spot for his growing family and for entertaining. Always a committed Republican, Arnold entered politics in a serious way and was elected to the Legislature in 1873.

He was now leader of the Republican Party in Lyndon and, it seemed, nearer the mountaintop. But not for long. Before the next GOP caucus his nemesis, Collins, heretofore a Democrat, switched parties and ousted Arnold as head of the Grand Old Party.

This proved to be the beginning of the end for Turner’s protagonist. Within a few years, Arnold, seemingly doomed to play second banana to Collins for the rest of his days, had said the hell with it and moved to Minnesota, where he died in 1925 at age 94.

“First John” is a compelling story, though it is sad to contemplate the fact that the bountiful Land of Promise wasn’t big enough for two ambitious men to make their marks.

The Collins dynasty continues in Caribou to this day. One can only wonder how the Arnolds would have made out had First John decided not to throw in the towel more than a century ago.

MOLLY IVINS CAN’T SAY THAT, CAN SHE? by Molly Ivins, Random House, 224 pages, $23.

This fast-paced collection of columns by the Texas-reared columnist for the Dallas Times-Herald is a real hoot from start to finish.

With a style that is pure Texas in its to-the-point bluntness, Ivins delightfully skewers everyone from George Bush to the Bubbas of the Texas Legislature. A self-described “dripping-fangs liberal” in a state known for its conservatism, she gives no quarter and asks none.

In describing the modus operandi of her native state, Ivins gives the example of a state representative who tried unsuccessfully to get the Legislature to enact a law providing minimum standards of cleanliness for public restrooms:

“Solons rose on the floor of the House to defend dirty johns. The delights of peein’ against the back wall after a good whiskey drank were limned in excruciating detail. In New York City, Zero Mostel gets up on a stage and prances around singing `Tradition!’ while the audience wets itself with nostalgia. In America, the rate of change shifts from arithmetic to geometric progression. In Texas, where ain’t nothing sanitized for your protection, we still peein’ against the back wall …”

Ivins on George Bush: “Calling George Bush shallow is like calling a dwarf short. He’s a conventional creature, perfectly amiable, but every principle he holds is based on a recent opinion poll …”

A frequent contributor to the “MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour” who has written for the New York Times, the Texas Observer and national magazines, Ivins tells us she loves her hometown of Lubbock because people there know what sin is and, having identified it, are free to go out and enjoy it.

“Lubbock gives people a lot to rebel against: You don’t have to waste time trying to figure out what the rules are; you can go right ahead and break ’em and see what happens.”

The lady is definitely a rebel. And what’s happened here is she’s come up with a winner.

Kent Ward is a free-lance writer who lives in Winter- port.