MISS DIMPLE DISAPPEARS

By Mignon Ballard

This is a snapshot of an era and a place that evokes a feeling of déjà vu because it is so well done that as you read you feel like you were alive in 1942 and living in Elderberry, Georgia.

The story begins during the second week of November when people’s thoughts are turning toward Thanksgiving. It will be a different holiday than those of the past for so many reasons it is hard to list them. This is the first major family holiday since America entered the war. Most of the young men, sons and husbands will be away from home. They are in training or even in peril and they are all missing home as much as their folks. The windows of many homes have a blue star flashing out the message that an inhabitant is off in the fray. Some homes have the golden star in their windows memorializing those who have already lost their lives.

 Because the nation is geared up for war efforts there have been many changes on the home front. People are learning to do with out sugar, butter, coffee, and things made with rubber such as the prosaic women’s foundation garments, decent automobile tires, gasoline and nylons. The citizenry have given up their metal hangers, have been trying to ease their children into the idea that Santa won’t be bringing bicycles this year, and trying to have an appearance of normalcy. Elderberrians do a good job of this, but having their family members in danger as well as lonely makes for a melancholy at holiday time. This town reaches out to the service men who are in their town for leave or passing through.

In a pull together effort the people of the town try not to complain about the substitutions like Postum for the coffee, honey or saccharine for sugar and an unappealing margarine with a blob of food coloring. The ladies wear rayon’s instead of nylons and such innocent items as balloons are a thing of the past. For thanksgiving dinner deserts may be sparse and hens are substituted for turkey. But it is the company that counts.

Miss Dimple Kilpatrick a first grade teacher disappears one morning while on her usual walk and this mystery just simmers a bit because the mysterious death of the school custodian is also the talk of the town. In a community effort different individuals try to find clues and even though Miss Dimple has left several the people of Elderberry are so accustomed to safety that they are blind to the possibility of danger. This is the only part of the book that is a little hard to believe in, but even as it is today the people are tired, discouraged and busied by their daily lives and have little ways to investigate mysteries.

Initially it seems that there are two many characters to keep straight, but eventually the reader gets to know the personalities behind the names and begins to feel at home in Elderberry. I have known people like this. I only wonder if we have changed as a society to such an extent that we would not be willing to give up such personal items as hangers and our pots and pans. Are there enough of us who know how to cook using substitutions to make meals enjoyable or even palatable since we have grown up with ready made.

This is a good read for the early days of November so that we can be grateful for what we take for granted. It also helps us to remember that today we also have service men away for the Thanksgiving holiday who are not any different from the soldiers of 1942 and they are also homesick and experiencing a very different type of turkey dinner.