Betty MacDonald Forum - Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society -
Fans and Friends of Betty MacDonald, author of The Egg and I and The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Series
Don't miss Wolfgang Hampel's fascinating Betty MacDonald biography and his very witty interviews with Betty MacDonald's family and friends.
we celebrated 70th anniversary of Betty MacDonald's golden The Egg and I.
Do you have any idea in which languages The Egg and I had been published?
You can win our new Betty MacDonald documentary.
The Egg and I belongs to the most successful books ever.
First published by the J. B. Lippincott Company on October 3, 1945, The Egg and I
received laudatory reviews and soon appeared on the best-seller list.
The book was a blockbuster success as a novel, being reprinted on a
nearly monthly basis for the next two years.
On September 12, 1946, the specially-bound one-millionth copy of the book was presented to MacDonald by WashingtonGovernorMonrad Wallgren at a luncheon in Seattle.
Betty MacDonald fan club newsletter February will be
available soon with many more info on 70th anniversary of
The Egg and I and very mysterious Dorita Hess.
We can't wait to read new Betty
MacDonald Fan Club stories about Betty MacDonald, Robert Heskett, Donald
MacDonald, Darsie Bard, Sydney Bard, Gammy, Mary Bard Jensen, Clyde R.
Jensen, Sydney Cleveland Bard, Mary Alice Bard, Dorothea Darsie Bard
Goldsmith, Alison Bard Burnett, Jerry Keil, Joan MacDonald Keil, Madge
Baldwin, Don Woodfin, Perry Woodfin, Mike Gordon, Ma and Pa Kettle,Nancy and Plum,Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and many others.
Wolfgang
Hampel's Betty MacDonald and Ma and Pa Kettle biography and Betty
MacDonald interviews have fans in 40 countries. I'm one of their many devoted fans.
Many Betty MacDonald - and Wolfgang Hampel fans are very interested in a Wolfgang Hampel CD and DVD with his
very funny poems and stories.
This
is a picture of me on my tenth wedding anniversary at The Betty
MacDonald Farm on Vashon. My sweet husband planned our weekend away, but
didn't realize that I actually wanted to STAY at the farm! But he did
drive me there to see it before we went home, though. I'm pretty little
in the picture, but if you look closely, you can see me by the door to
the barn.
Which book by Betty MacDonald did you read first?
My
mom gave me her copy of The Egg and I when I was about 11. It was my
first taste of Betty Macdonald, but I was definitely hooked! I read it
at least once a year until I was in my twenties and finally got around
to finding the rest of her work at my library...and then collecting
reprints.
What do you like most in Betty MacDonald's books?
I love her over the top humor paired with her brutally honest representation of life.
Is there anything you dislike in Betty MacDonald's books?
One
could call her portrayal of the Native Americans of the Pacific
Northwest in the Egg and I racist, but she was a woman of her time, and
the things she writes about, such as alcoholism, are not untrue. They
are just reported with that brutal honesty that she also uses for her
white neighbors--no one is safe from her sharp pen. So, it makes me a
little uncomfortable to read, but at the same time, I think it is real
(from her perspective at least, and her perspective is valid,) and I
don't dislike it, if that makes sense.
Oh yes! I wish I had had them as kids, but I have been reading them to my
kids which is even better! My sister in law bought me Nancy and Plum
several years back, and I love it. I don't know why it's not a classic
on par with the Secret Garden or the Little Princess! But...even better
than Nancy and Plum are the Piggle Wiggle books. They crack my kids up,
and were the first chapter books that my girls really devoured. They
crack me up, too!
What is your favourite book by Betty MacDonald?
It
is still The Egg and I. It's a book that formed so much of my opinion
on fiction and held such an important part of my growing up--I don't
think anything could beat it. My husband and I call snobby activities
"The Theatah and the Dahnce" and I've been known to say "I itch, so I
scratch, so what?"
Did Betty MacDonald influence you as author?
Absolutely. Though I write mysteries I want them to be funny, and I hold Betty MacDonald's work up as a standard for humor.
What do you think is the reason Betty MacDonald is beloved all over the world?
Betty's
work gives us a glimpse into a world that we would have never known
without her. Both life in the Olympic Mountains and on Vashon are so
different from regular town and city life. I think readers love to
escape, and the more remote the location, the more different the people
we get to meet, the more we love the work! Betty's books help us all
escape to a time that is getting farther and farther away, and a place
that doesn't even exist anymore, but even when it did, it was
unexpected, hilarious, and stunningly beautiful.
Dearest Traci I hope I don't bore with so many questions. I
wasn't a bit bored! Betty MacDonald is definitely my favorite author
and I loved having a chance to talk about her work and why I love it so
much!
As I already mentioned there are several Betty MacDonald fan club fans who enjoy your books very much.
That
people who love Betty MacDonald also like my books is almost
unbelievable to me, and really is a dream come true, as an author. When I
was a young girl, curled up with her work, escaping to that remote egg
farm, I never dreamed that someday people who loved her, would also
enjoy what I had to say.
Dearest Traci thanks a million for this wonderful interview.
Lots of love to you and your family.
Lots of love to you, as well! Thank you.
Traci
Donald Trump sweeps to victory in New Hampshire primary
The real estate mogul’s success in New Hampshire happened despite a
comparatively weak campaign organization and a penchant for controversy
Donald Trump, once an object of mockery and scorn by many in the political establishment, has won the New Hampshire Republican primary. According to projections from the Associated Press, this is the first
electoral victory for the real estate mogul in a 2016 election campaign
he has so far dominated. Trump gave an unusually emotional speech to supporters in a hotel
ballroom next to a Best Western hotel by the Manchester airport,
starting by thanking his siblings and deceased parents.
He also took a moment to mention Bernie Sanders, the winner of the Democratic primary.
“Congratulations to Bernie,” he said. “We have to congratulate him, we
may not like it. He wants to give away our country, folks. We’re not
going to let it happen.”Trump then touched on familiar themes from his stump speech,
including bugbears Mexico and China, concluding by promising attendees
that once he is elected “we are going to start winning again. We are
going to win so much, you are going to be so happy, we are going to make
America so great again, maybe greater than before.” With two exceptions, every Republican nominee in the past 50 years has won the Granite State’s first-in-the-nation primary. Trump’s campaign, fueled by a blend of insurgent populism and
unprecedented media attention, has turned every rule of politics on its
head. Trump’s success in New Hampshire happened despite comparatively
weak campaign organization in the state and a penchant for controversial remarks that would have sunk the campaigns of almost any other candidate. Trump has constantly courted controversy throughout his presidential
bid. Among other incendiary statements, he has said that John McCain, a
decorated Vietnam veteran and former prisoner of war, was “not a hero”,
implied that Fox News host Megyn Kelly’s tough questioning during a
debate was because she was menstruating and, most recently, effectively called Ted Cruz “a pussy” at an eve-of-primary rally in Manchester on Monday. Yet none of the controversies have affected Trump’s standing with his
base of disaffected blue-collar white voters, who remain drawn to his
pledge to “make America great again”. Many of Trump’s themes were
familiar to a New Hampshire primary electorate that strongly supported
Pat Buchanan in 1992 and 1996; but Trump added an aura of celebrity and
drew in many who were entirely new to the political process.One typical Trump voter, Paul Porier from Manchester, told the
Guardian on Monday night that he had never voted before. The middle-aged
veteran, wearing a hat emblazoned with the name of the ship he had
served on in the navy, said simply and insistently: “I’m voting for Donald Trump because he’s going to make America great again.” Porier said the end of America’s greatness coincided with Barack
Obama taking office and that “once we get rid of Obama, things are going
to change”. He was finally voting because while he thought all
politicians are “in it for the money”, Trump wasn’t. “He doesn’t need
the money,” said Poirier. Stephen Stepanek, a Republican state representative who
boasted of being the first elected official in the country to endorse
Donald Trump, said he felt “vindicated”. The loyal Trump supporter, who insisted that he never doubted Trump’s campaign after his second-place finish in Iowa,
said: “This will be our Republican nominee who will ultimately be the
president of the United States. He is going to make America great
again.” He was planning on traveling to South Carolina eventually to campaign
for Trump, but first wanted to enjoy the result on Tuesday night. “I’ve
been through the highs, I’ve been through the lows and this is the best
high right now,” he said. What remained less clear as the polls closed was how the pile-up of
candidates vying to finish in the top tier behind Trump would perform. Early exit numbers showed a tight race between Ohio governor John Kasich, Texas senator Ted Cruz, Florida senator Marco Rubio and former Florida governor Jeb Bush.But with more than 80% of precincts reporting in the state’s
Republican primary, Kasich – who as a relative moderate is in some ways
Trump’s opposite – was declared second by the Associated Press with
16.2% to Trump’s 34.5%. “Maybe – just maybe – we are turning the page on a dark part of
American politics, because tonight the light overcame the darkness,”
Kasich told supporters in Concord. The fight over third place was too close to call as the evening wore
on, but Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor whose last act ahead of
the primary was to savage Rubio on the debate stage, seemed all but certain to suspend his campaign in the coming days.
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A
stronger-than-expected showing for Kasich and Bush was crucial for a
pair of candidates whose campaigns had failed to take off in earnest.
Both governors dedicated a disproportionate amount of time and resources
in New Hampshire, seeking to claim the so-called “establishment” mantle
as party moderates. But the question looming over them now is whether they have the
infrastructure to remain competitive in a drawn-out primary season.
Kasich is largely viewed as lacking the organization to compete in the
pending southern states where his brand is far less palatable to
Republican primary voters. A positive result will be a far greater vindication for Bush, whose
campaign was declared dead in the water amid a series of stumbles last
fall. The son and brother of US presidents still faces an uphill climb,
but third place might give him the necessary validation in the eyes of
donors to continue with his beleaguered campaign. “The pundits had it all figured out, last Monday night, when the Iowa caucuses were complete,” Bush told a gathering of supporters in Manchester.
“They said that the race was now a three-person race between two
freshman senators and a reality TV star. And, while the reality TV star
is still doing well, it looks like you all have reset the race, and for
that I am really grateful.” He added: “This campaign is not dead. We’re going to South Carolina.” Bush holds a formidable ground game in both South Carolina and Nevada
and will be joined there this week by brother George W Bush. The former
president remains immensely popular in the state, even if once thought
to be a liability for his younger brother’s campaign. The night seems to have been tougher for Rubio, who arrived in the
state last week riding high on the momentum he gained from a strong
third-place showing in the Iowa caucuses. The first-term senator
appeared to be on the cusp of persuading donors and party elites to
coalesce behind his candidacy, but was left reeling from an underwhelming debate performance on Saturday that played directly into his rivals’ attacks that Rubio is too scripted. Additional reporting by Paul Owen in Manchester and Matt Sullivan in Concord
Betty MacDonald Fan Club, founded by Wolfgang Hampel, has members in 40 countries.
Wolfgang Hampel, author of Betty MacDonald biography interviewed Betty MacDonald's family and friends. His Interviews have been published on CD and DVD by Betty MacDonald Fan Club. If you are interested in the Betty MacDonald Biography or the Betty MacDonald Interviews send us a mail, please.
Several original Interviews with Betty MacDonald are available.
We are also organizing international Betty MacDonald Fan Club Events for example, Betty MacDonald Fan Club Eurovision Song Contest Meetings in Oslo and Düsseldorf, Royal Wedding Betty MacDonald Fan Club Event in Stockholm and Betty MacDonald Fan Club Fifa Worldcup Conferences in South Africa and Germany.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honour Members are Monica Sone, author of Nisei Daughter and described as Kimi in Betty MacDonald's The Plague and I, Betty MacDonald's nephew, artist and writer Darsie Beck, Betty MacDonald fans and beloved authors and artists Gwen Grant, Letizia Mancino, Perry Woodfin, Traci Tyne Hilton, Tatjana Geßler, music producer Bernd Kunze, musician Thomas Bödigheimer, translater Mary Holmes and Mr. Tigerli.
