New Book for Columbus! The Ring - Bobby's Story

The Columbus 45th Class Reunion is coming up and I have been sort of involved with it with some photographs. I delivered a few yesterday and one thing leads to another and I find out that Columbus is featured in a new book.

The book is called "The Ring - Bobby's Story" and is a memoir of Robert J LeClaire who grew up in Columbus. When I was being told of the story I have to admit that I was not paying enough attention to detail (a dog was licking my toes - it happens way to often) but once my attention returned and I played back the last 12 sentences it was an amazing story.

Well I felt this was a pretty big deal for Columbus and I started to do some research and found basically zip!!!

So I'm not going to try to retell this story but with the help of a Fall River resident Lori Caswell and her blog Dollycas's Thoughts maybe I can give a few cut an paste moments to peak your interest.

The part about Columbus is particulary interesting to me.  Lori writes:

As part of the story the author describes Columbus as it was then (the late 50's).  Things hadn't changed much when I growing up.  The memories of days long gone brought tears to my eyes.  Friday nights the place to be in Columbus was downtown.  The stores stayed open late, the popcorn wagon was parked on the corner, everyone knew each other and stopped to visit.  Reading the book I could smell the old feed store as well as the popcorn.  The population was about 1400 at the time and the entire town was surrounded by cornfields. 

The rest of the book was not as easy to read, it was well written, but the pain the little boy endured will grab your heart and hold on tight.  College boxing was the main backdrop of this story and I know nothing about that subject, but the story had me from page one.  I do have to say that reading about the old days of my home town were the major factor in why I loved this book, but Columbus was much like any other small town at that time.  This book is well crafted and a very short read at 118 pages and will touch your heart no matter where you may be from.  

I hope Lori forgives me for taking her words.  She mentions that the backdrop is college boxing.  In 1960 college boxing was pretty hot at the UW with 10,000 people attending a tournament. What happened on April 9, 1960 changed boxing forever.  The story is not about this event but what happened next to Bobby, a 12 year old from Columbus.

Amazon does not have any copies of the book but if you contact Nancy Miller at Janus Equipment (608-825-4616) she has one hundred or so copies. You see she is in charge of the Class Reunion and long lost Bobby is coming to the event.

Back to Lori's little blurb. She writes " Friday nights the place to be in Columbus was downtown."  I grew up in Fort Atkinson and remember Friday nights in Fort. What happened to stores being open on Friday nights!! It does seem magical. A number of years ago I went to State Street in Madison and was surprised that all the stores were closed. Seems stores only want to be open when everyone is at work.
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I'm creating something new.  This image is being printed on Aluminum as an 8x10.  I had one person order one (with their name of course).  It'll hang on their door.

I have something new I'm going to try on you guys and I need you to be honest.

As you know I have this whole photograph thing going on and I need honest feedback.  So I'm going to put a poll up when I have something I need feedback on.  A rating system of 1 to 7 with 7 being LOVE IT and 1 being STOP WASTING MY TIME.

Don't worry about giving bad grades, it's all anonymous  and I'm only using it to justify my existence . . no no really just to confirm what I already believe the image is . . . . .worth.   Sometimes I LVOE something but do not know if it's just because I did it.  And sometimes, like Rainy Day in Madison (the Umbrella's on the square)I fail to see that something might be better then I expected.  Balderdash contacted me on that one and said he LOVED it.  It's one of my best sellers but it never occurred to me that others might like it.  

So let's try this out. - This is for all you guys that go to Door County and will be meaningless for the rest of you.  I'm going to make this into smaller 8x12s (no posters of anything). Maybe tourists might like it.  

  
Have a nice Thursday and stay warm tomorrow - not sure about a blog tomorrow - day off!

Rod