Patterson book `Ben Blue’ perfect Maine gift

It’s the holiday season and time to think about gift giving.

Like many others, I have a special Uncle Henry who has just about everything, which is great, but it makes it difficult to buy him something he would really enjoy.

But not this year. Finding the right gift for Henry was no problem.

Maine author Gardner Patterson has published a new paperback book, “Ben Blue, the Story of a Racing Colt,” just in time for Christmas. Patterson’s homespun adventure story is about a young man competing for the first time in a harness race with a young, untried colt at the Bangor State Fair.

A new paperback book by Maine author Gardner Patterson has been published just in time for Christmas. Patterson’s homespun adventure story is about a young man competing for the first time in a harness race with a young, untried colt at the Bangor State Fair.

It’s a book I call “strictly Maine,” written by a Maine author about a Maine racetrack, illustrated by a Maine artist and printed by a Maine company. You can’t get much more Down East than that.

Patterson’s novelette tells the story of Lorry Gibbs, a 16-year-old boy, and his grandfather Tom Gibbs, and the bond of respect, love and admiration they have for each other. It also tells of Lorry’s coming of age. It could well be classified, in part, as a primer for the uninitiated of harness racing. The author tells the reader many of the hidden aspects and problems of getting a horse to the races that most race fans don’t know or ever see.

Patterson’s story also focuses on the struggles endured by grandfather and grandson in trying to get their outstanding colt, Ben Blue, qualified to race in The Colonel Morrill Pace at the Bangor State Fair, a feature pace with a $10,000 purse.

The author leaves you to speculate what era the story takes place in, but Patterson’s story begins on the Gibbs farm in Hampden and moves to the old, abandoned Monroe fairgrounds, being used as a training track. And after a week of conditioning Blue at the Bangor racetrack, the tale culminates with the running of The Colonel Morrill Pace.

With Harry, the Gibbs’ regular trainer and driver, laid up with a broken leg, Lorry must take over the driving chores. He must calm his nerves and fears and drive Blue onto the track to compete against the other top horses and drivers in the feature race.

The racing competition, under organized rules, is a first for both Lorry and Blue. The lessons and discipline Lorry has been taught by his grandfather help guide the young driver and his horse. The account of the running of the Colonel Morrill Pace is the fastest part of the book.

If you have ever owned a horse, regardless of the breed, or have ever enjoyed harness racing at a Maine country fair, you can easily relate to Patterson’s book. If you are looking for a book to read to your grandkids that doesn’t have a hint of a cuss word or a seamy situation, just a strong bond of kinship between a man and his grandson, Ben Blue fills the bill.

The book “Ben Blue, the Story of a Racing Colt,” costs $7.50 and is available at: Borders, Bangor Mall; BookMarc’s, 78 Harlow St., Bangor; Mr. Paperback in Brewer and at the Airport Mall in Bangor; Miller’s OTB and MTM Smith Inc., 54 Wilson St., Brewer, tel. 989-3280.

About the author – Gardner Patterson, a Maine native, now lives with his wife Helen on a farm on Verona Island on Penobscot Bay near Bucksport. A teacher for many years, Patterson was also a publicity director at several Maine racetracks and continues to write stories and race his horses on the Maine circuit.

Patterson hopes his book will help promote the sport of harness racing to a younger generation. Bangor native Anita Crane illustrated Patterson’s book cover. She works in the graphics field and is pursuing free-lance illustration on a part-time basis. MTM Smith Inc./Thompson Printing, Brewer, printed Patterson’s book.