Dorothy Wilson and Carroll Terrell memoirs published

Carroll F. Terrell, a professor at the University of Maine, and Dorothy Clarke Wilson, an Orono resident and author, recently have published memoirs.

UNION IN DIVERSITY — The Story of Our Marriage, by Dorothy Clarke Wilson, self-published, 134 pages, $12.95.

Dorothy Clarke married Elwin Wilson Aug. 31, 1925. For the next 67 years, the couple supported each other in their life work. Theirs is a story of unconditional love and unwavering faith, in each other and in their shared religion. They were a pastoral couple, turning each new spiritual mission into another avenue for the advancement of peace. Each blazed new trails in their chosen field of endeavor.

Early on in his ministerial career, Elwin Wilson became convinced that a pacifist position was the only one consistent with the teachings of Christ. He taught courses on world peace and social justice, becoming a voice for social action in the Maine Methodist Conference. His liberal stance on social issues often aroused lay opposition.

Dorothy Wilson wrote plays which expressed her concerns for peace, humanitarian service and social justice. In the early 1940s, she was encouraged by a Philadelphia publisher to enlarge one of her plays into a book which was published under the title “The Brother.” This was the first of many books Dorothy wrote. Her literary efforts eventually took her to several continents for research. Elwin supported her along each step of her writing career, even when it meant long separations.

The story of the Wilsons’ marriage is inspirational, as are their individual life stories. Although each had a full and demanding career, they continued to help and support each other. Wilson tells their story to honor her late husband and the love they shared. It is a story worth reading.

The book is available from the University of Maine Bookstore in Orono, The Store in Orono, and the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance in Brunswick.

GROWING UP KENNEBEC — A Downeast Boyhood, by Carroll F. Terrell, Northern Lights, 493 College Ave., Orono 04473, 272 pages, $12.95.

Because the Kennebec River featured significantly in many of Terrell’s boyhood experiences, he devoted most of the first chapter to its history, using frequent quotations from “Kennebec: Cradle of Americans” by Robert P. Tristram Coffin. This material is very different in tone from the remainder of Terrell’s book. The book is complete without it, but it does add a brief historical look at the area, which some readers may find interesting.

The actual telling of the story is laced with tongue-in-cheek and a tendency for understatement so typical of native Down Easters. In the opening chapter, Terrell fires a salvo against the neighboring town of Bowdoinham which is repeated frequently throughout the book.

“You see, most of what I say will be biased and highly unobjective. … No! let us say `extremely prejudiced.’ Because most of it will be my memories of growing up there in the ’20s with all the prejudices of uninformed, enthusiastic youth. If, for instance, I say mean things about those no-account people from Bowdoinham to the south of us, it will be for two reasons: first, because they are no-account, and second, because I am prejudiced.”

Terrell is similarly suspicious of “southern types — southern NH and Vermont, that is.” He told a story about a farmer who thought he had lived all his life in Maine only to have a survey crew tell him his farm was in New Hampshire. “Did he complain? Not at all. `Thank the Lord,’ said he, `Don’t think I could have stood another of those Maine winters.”‘

Though the book could have benefited from more careful editing to eliminate spelling and punctuation errors, it is highly enjoyable and an honest and vivid recollection of that era in Maine.

Judy Eyerer lives in Bangor.