The University of Maine at Presque Isle was honored on Thursday, Feb. 2, to have guest speaker and novelist Cathie Pelletier join us in the multipurpose room to read from her latest book “Northeaster: A Story of Courage and Survival in the Blizzard of 1952.” Cathie’s book is more than just a story about a storm. Cathie’s story captures the lives of several different people. Her work is creative nonfiction inspired by Maine people –who had experienced this nor’easter all those years ago—and the lives they lived. “The story is not just about them, or the storm or Maine. It’s about who they were as people,” she said.
Cathie is from the rural Maine town of Allagash. She has written many books that are successful among audiences in –and out– of her community. “I love her books. I like the way she writes about each character. I really feel like I know these people in the book because she makes them come to life,” Jess Boughten –who went to the book reading– said.
Cathie’s curiosity about the people who lived during the nor’easter of 1952 all started from a single photo she saw online. “I saw a picture of a pregnant woman being pulled on a toboggan over the snow during a storm. And it was during this snowstorm in 1952,” Cathie said. It was after seeing this photo that Cathie put in the research to create the book.
In 2005, Cathie started collecting newspaper clippings about the storm. Her research was put on hold for some years because of other projects. But Cathie’s curiosity never ceased. Even though she had the newspaper clippings at her fingertips, her research was far from over. “You use all the facts you can. And then you have to come up with thoughts and dialog for those people that you can’t possibly know,” she said.
Cathie connected with many people who could answer some of her questions about the individuals she focused on in her book. “I found their children or friends that they had, and this helped me to fill in the blanks,” she said. Cathie developed a quick bond with the individuals whom she talked to. “It’s really lovely to know these people, even though I have not yet met them in person,” she said.
These people spent a lot of time receiving and answering Cathie’s emails for the span of two years. “One woman said I asked her over 1000 questions about her mother,” Cathie said. “Her mother was Hazel.” Hazel Coomb lived in North Bath, Maine, at the time of the storm and her picture was the picture that Cathie had first seen that inspired the book. “Hazel was nine months pregnant when the storm hit,” Cathie said.
Cathie writes about Hazel and the other individuals as if she were an old friend. “Born in 1917, Hazel grew up a short distance from Coombs Mountain, named for the first family member to settle on the island…. Hazel loved the island,” Cathie reads. “Her friends called her Hazy. She was never lonely as a child and could have stayed there forever. But island kids dream of a future that can only be found on the mainland.” These depictions that Cathie wrote for each character seem to bring them back to life, especially for the friends and family of these individuals.
Cathie has stayed in touch with the people she talked to, such as Hazel’s daughter, even after the book was published. “The book was finished months ago, but I hear from her almost every day,” Cathie said. “We are like family now and I always tell them about our book.”
