BOOK 



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UMAW 



mately uplifting true story of African- 

 American lifesavers in North Carolina. 

 Though black lifesavers served at 

 stations up and down the Outer Banks, 

 the history of the only all-black lifesav- 

 ing station, Pea Island, was forgotten for 

 a full century. Weatherford restores the 

 Pea Island station and its heroic staff to 

 their rightful place in our state's history. 



I fell in love with Weatherford' s 

 clear, poetic prose. She breathes life into 

 an extraordinary man: Richard 

 Etheridge, a slave who learned to read 

 and write, joined the Union Army upon 

 liberation, and ultimately became the 

 keeper of the Pea Island station, all 

 against outstanding odds. 



"The ocean did not only claim lives 

 — it also bred heroes," Weatherford 

 writes. Etheridge, who survived terrible 

 conditions and institutionalized racism, 

 saved many shipwreck victims off the 

 shores of Pea Island. He and his crew 

 even swam to one wreck in the middle 

 of a hurricane, rescuing everyone on 

 board. 



The book not only tells the story of 

 a valiant man and his crew, it also brings 



home 

 the tough 

 realities of 

 lifesaving. 

 With help 

 from 

 historical 

 line drawings 

 and photo- 

 graphs, 

 Weatherford 

 illustrates the 

 lifesaving gear 

 and rescue 

 methods of 

 the time. 

 Lifesavers 

 under 



Etheridge' s 

 command 

 drilled endlessly 

 with the beach 

 apparatus cart, breeches buoy and life 

 car, and their work was strenuous and 

 difficult as well as dangerous. 



Children and adult readers alike 

 will be amazed at the accomplishments 

 of the Pea Island lifesavers, and at the 

 indignity they suffered at the hands of a 

 racist society. "In the sixty-nine years 

 that Pea Island Station operated," 

 Weatherford writes, "its crews received 

 more inspection commendations and 

 saved more lives — over 600 — than 

 any other station in the Lifesaving 

 Service." Yet Richard Etheridge and 

 his crew were forgotten until 1988. 



In 1995, after a letter- writing 

 campaign and lots of hard work, the 

 Pea Island crew finally received its due. 

 The commandant of the U.S. Coast 

 Guard awarded Etheridge and his crew 

 the Gold Lifesaving Medal for extreme 

 heroism in front of an audience of their 

 descendents and former Pea Island 

 lifesavers. 



This is a clear-eyed, thought- 

 provoking book that celebrates real 

 North Carolina heroes — something to 

 read and to treasure. 



Williwaw! by Tom Bodett.1999. 

 Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Random House 

 Children's Books, 201 E. 50th St., New 

 York, NY 10022. 192 pages. Hardcover, 

 $16. ISBN 0-679-89030-0. 



You may know Bodett for his Motel 

 6 commercials or his stint on National 

 Public Radio, but this book proves that he 

 is also an accomplished writer. I waded 

 into Williwaw! with trepidation, unsure 

 what to expect, and emerged transformed. 

 You and your kids will be riveted. 



Bodett sketches his young characters, 

 September and Ivan Crane, and the 

 Alaskan wilderness with fondness and 

 great dexterity. September and Ivan have 

 the usual sibling squabbles — he's a 

 video-game addict, she's a bookworm 

 and nature lover — but their relationship 

 has an added dimension: their father, a 

 commercial fisher, leaves them home alone 

 for weeks at a time after their mother dies 

 in a fierce Alaskan windstorm called a 

 williwaw. And home is in a remote cove, 

 an hour by boat from the nearest town. 



That is not to say that their father is 

 neglectful — in fact, he's saving up for a 

 larger boat so they can stay together 

 during future fishing seasons. He keeps 

 in touch by radio and has the mail carrier 

 stop in to check on them, and he lays 

 down some strict rules for them to follow. 

 But when September and Ivan break the 

 rules, they are forced to rely on their own 

 hard work and ingenuity — and to face 

 the consequences of their actions. 



With good humor, high adventure 

 and a flair for detail, Bodett uses Willi- 

 waw! to explore the importance of 

 truthfulness and responsibility, while 

 also applauding the resourcefulness of 

 his youthful characters. Young readers 

 will identify with the fears and desires 

 of the novel's heroes, and the book's 

 emphasis on trustworthiness is always 

 engaging, never preachy. 



Williwaw! makes a perfect, suspense - 

 ful fireside read for the entire family. 

 Give it to someone you love, or just 

 indulge yourself. □ 



COASTWATCH 29 



