Dear Medora: Child of Oysterville's Forgotten Years

by Sydney Stevens

Book Overview

When Medora Espy moved to Oysterville, Washington, as a toddler in 1902, the quirky, remote village was long past its heyday. The population had dwindled and times were hard. Chores such as milking, stacking wood, gathering eggs, chasing stray cows, and weeding the garden taught children responsibility and self-esteem. Frolicking in the shallow, warm waters of Willapa Bay, tramping hay in the loft, and riding horses bareback served as childhood...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874222923
• ISBN13: 9780874222920
• Release Date: June 2007
• Publisher: Washington State University Press
• Length: 180 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.9" x 10.4"
• Age Range: 14 years and up

Customer Reviews

A unique, captivating story from Oysterville's past

"Dear Medora" is unlike any other memoir, journal, diary, or correspondence collection I've read. What makes it special is that it allows us to look at life in the early 1900s through a "real-time" mother-daughter relationship. I love this book. I savored it, reading a chapter every day while quietly enjoying my first cup of coffee of the morning. I bought several copies of Dear Medora and gave them to friends and family members. My sister's reaction to the book was similar to mine--as she read it, she didn't want it to end. We both became emotionally attached to Oysterville. And we both became quite captivated by Medora's charms. My sister, who's about to become the grandma of a baby girl, actually crusaded for her kids to name their baby "Medora."

Letters from the past

When Harry A. ("Papa") and Helen R. ("Mama") Espy returned to the family home in Oysterville on the north end of Washington's North Beach peninsula in 1902, their eldest daughter, Medora, was 3 1/2 years old. As the family grew, traveling throughout western Washington and Oregon for business, politics, or schooling become commonplace for family members, but Medora and Mama kept in touch through a lively and loving correspondence that lasted until tragedy struck the family in 1916. The Espys carefully preserved Medora's and Mama's letters, and Medora's niece, Sydney Stevens, has incorporated them into a wonderful book that not only documents the history of an area and an era, but allows us a glimpse into the deep emotional attachment between mother and daughter. Beautifully illustrated with vintage photographs, "Dear Medora" is a treat for the eye as well as sustenance for the heart and mind.

Fascinating, rewarding, highly recommended reading

Medora Espy was the eldest daughter of Washinton State senator and dairy farmer Harry Albert Espy. She grew up in the quaint, somewhat remote, coastal village of Oysterville. "Dear Medora: Child Of Oysterville's Forgotten Years" is a collection of letters Medora wrote and received from 1902 to 1916 (as well as personal diary entrees) -- until a devastating tragedy occurred soon after her 17th birthday. Compiled and organized by Sydney Stevens (the daughter of Medora's youngest sister, Dale), "Dear Medora" is profusely illustrated with historical photographs and illustrations. This body of lively correspondence opens a 'window' into an American yesteryear through the life and observations of a sensitive young woman. "Dear Medora" is fascinating, rewarding, highly recommended reading and a welcome addition to American Regional History & Biography reference collections and supplemental reading lists.