Newly published author Lynn Olsen Brown captivates

By Karen Donato
StaffWriter
Bringing Aunt Irene’s kitchen table to Cary Library to use for signing her recently published book, Lynn Olsen Brown of Houlton set the stage for the evening.
    Librarian Linda Faucher hosted the book signing Dec. 4. to celebrate Brown’s first book, “Alice, Frankenstein and Saturday Night Beans … a young girl’s memory of Bradford Farm.”
    This was Brown’s debut as an author. As a young girl, Brown lived with her family in Lincoln. Her book features recollections of times she and her sister, Andrea Olsen Thurlow spent in Patten as guests of their Aunt Irene A. Bradford.
    “Aunt Irene had married Freeman Bradford a man much older than herself. He died in a tragic accident leaving Irene to run their farm. They had no children, so Irene loved to have Brown and her sister spend time with her.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Karen Donato
LOCAL AUTHOR — Librarian Linda Faucher, left, hosted a book signing with newly published author, Lynn Olsen Brown, center, of Houlton. Brown’s book, “Alice, Frankenstein and Saturday Night Beans” that Brown has compiled with the help of her sister, Andrea, on the right.
    Irene passed away in 1996 and it was after that when Brown felt the urge to share her childhood memories and the strength of her aunt in a written account. It has taken Brown 10 years to gather her memories and put them on paper. She admits that she doesn’t think of herself as a writer, but wanted to share some of her childhood experiences and the impressions that her aunt had left on her and her sister for others. Irene was a strong person, overcoming many adversities.
    Brown captivated her audience of several dozen, including her sister, Andrea and her mother Joyce by recalling a variety of incidents and reading aloud a chapter from the book. Guests listened intently to the tales shared as Brown recalled being about 7 years old, while her sister was 10, when they began spending time with their aunt. She shared in detail her memories of the dark nights spent at the Bradford house located on Main Street in Patten.
    “Aunt Irene thought it was important to read to us and a favorite was the well-known book, “Little Women”,” said Brown. “She would read a chapter just before we went to sleep,”
    However, unbeknownst to their aunt, once she went downstairs to her own room and the lights were out, the girls were busy covering many of the ancestral photos hanging on the walls with towels. Their solemn faces appeared to be staring back at the girls, which frightened them. Aunt Irene never knew about this until years later.
    Brown chronicles the everyday chores they participated in on the farm and what it was like in a small community during the 1950s and ‘60s.
    If the members of the audience hadn’t purchased a book before the presentation, they were anxious to get one after. And as I have found, once one begins reading Brown’s account it is hard to put it down. The reader is also anxious to find out how she came to choose the title, which makes perfect sense once you read the book.
    This is a gift for someone that has everything and if the reader is somewhat ‘middle aged or older’ they may just realize it parallels some of their own experiences growing up on a country farm. It is also an appropriate book for students attending middle school through high school.
    The book, which costs $11.95 can be purchased from Brown by calling 532-2026 or by e-mailing lynnolsenbrown@yahoo.com.