Plank Road Summer

Book excerpt: This historical novel for young readers, set in 1852 in southeastern Wisconsin between Milwaukee and Chicago, introduces us to two neighboring 13-year-olds, Katie McEachron and her friend Florence Mather, who experience an exciting summer as the wooden plank road that runs by their homes brings intriguing strangers to their dinner tables and the plight of runaway slaves to their consciences. Katie McEachron is a forthright, impulsive girl who has not yet learned the importance of keeping silent. Her friend Florence Mather, a solemn and hardworking girl, came with her family from Cornwall, England. Florence has an eager mind, but her mother is less interested in Florence¿s education than in having her help at the inn. One day in May a stranger arrives at the inn, where neighbors have gathered to plan the first Racine County fair. The visit of the mysterious stranger launches a string of events that will make this a most unforgettable summer for the two girls. Themes include Underground Railroad (fugitive slaves en route to Canada), Transportation (historic plank roads), Rural Pioneer Life and Immigrant Heritage in the Upper Midwest / Great Lakes region. The co-authors are sisters who grew up in locale depicted in the book, where they heard stories of the old plank road from descendants of the early settlers. Hilda Demuth-Lutze, a high school English teacher, lives in rural Northwest Indiana (near Valparaiso). Emily Demuth Ishida, a school library aide and freelance writer, lives in a suburb of Chicago.