Father Fell Down the Well by Kendall Morse

A collection of traditional Maine “Downeast” stories by writer, musician and performer Kendall Morse, Father Fell Down the Well (Islandport Press, 2015) has been years in the making, figuratively and literally. The author has collected and performed these stories over a number of years, and they go back to the days of the rural Maine farms and woodlands when folks liked nothing better than to tell yarns over a cup of mulled cider while sitting on the piazza, or over to the general store where the men always seemed to congregate.[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”#B2BEB5″ class=”” size=””]Folks liked nothing better than to trade yarns over a cup of mulled cider while sitting on the piazza, or over to the general store where the men always seemed to congregate.[/perfectpullquote]Arranged in ten chapters, we are introduced to many Downeast Maine characters and the stories they tell (some of them even have a grain of truth in them), each one seeming to lead to the next crazy tale. One of the longest (at 20 pages) is Chapter 5, Cheaper to Quit Smoking in which the author, finding he is out of tobacco, sets out on a cold winter night (“going all day without tobacco is like facing the grim spectre of death to a half-and-half addict like me” he laments) for Ira Crabtree’s store. After some car troubles which are fixed by sticking a screwdriver in the carburetor, he winds up at the store to find it “full of idlers, as usual, sitting in a circle around the big Station agent stove” and “the same old stories are being told by old-timers who were teenagers” back when his father first took him to the same store many years ago. After the telling of stories makes the rounds, the author picks up his can of tobacco and heads home, “I’ve got work to do and the day is half gone, showing no profit at all.” It would be cheaper to just quit smoking he thinks. Well quitting smoking would help anyone safe money, considering cigarettes are not the cheapest items to buy. Plus, sites like Vape Wild aren’t there for no reason. There are many methods and professionals out there that can help you get on the right track to quit. And there’s nothing wrong in asking for some assistance, more so when it comes to your health.

This is a great book for any Downeast Mainer, vacationers, or anyone who loves humorous, homespun tales along the lines of Lake Wobegon Days. With all of today’s technology, it is nice to revisit simpler times, where a sense of humour was needed to displace the cares of the day.

James M. Fisher

Founding Editor -- Website

James M. Fisher is the Founding Editor of The Miramichi Reader. He began TMR in 2015, realizing that there was a genuine need for more book reviews of Canadian literature. It has since become Canada’s best-regarded source for the finest in new literary releases. James has been interviewed about TMR on CBC Radio and other media sites. He works as a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technologist and lives in Miramichi, New Brunswick with his wife Diane, their tabby cat Eddie, and Buster the Red Merle Border Collie.