Elizabeth Anne McMahan
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In Cammie, A Girl for All Seasons ten-year-old Cammie Kirkland, her younger brother Robbie, and her cousin Ben are followed through a year of adventures on a North Carolina farm in the 1930 s. Each chapter recounts a different story, such as a near tragic ride on a hay fork; a rescue of Cammie and her calf, Tinkerbell, by Sport, the family dog; the solving of a barnyard mystery; and the satisfying payback accorded a school bully. The adventures are played out against the background of a rural community of the 1930 s South. Underlying the stories are the basic themes of a farm family s daily life, Cammie s problems with a little brother, her intense longing for a bicycle, and Grandpapa s pride in his Black Walnut trees.
Elizabeth McMahan grew up on a small farm in the piedmont section of North Carolina, a seventh generation descendant of forebears who first settled there in the 1760 s. Like Cammie, she lived within a mile of both sets of grandparents, all staunch pillars of a closely-knit farming community with stronge ties to school, church, and Grange. The middle of three sisters, she from her earliest years loved the out-of-doors, roaming the woods, spying out bird nests, and making insect collections to enter into competition at the county fair. These childhood interests were doubtless involved in determining her decision to become a zoologist, with a special interest in entomology. Her research specialty is termite biology, and her academic career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has included field research in Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Australia, and India. She also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Jamaica and greatly enjoys travel by cargo ship.
I. From Chapter 2: Tinkerbell s Flight. (Pages 11-12 in text of manuscript) Now Cammie was searching far from the house and barn, and still no Josie. She began to worry. A sharp bark from Sport brought her running. He had found the young heifer. Josie was standing near a deep pit that had been caused by erosion, and her tiny calf was lying dangerously close to the edge. Come here, Sport! Cammie yelled. He obeyed at once. Josie made a lowing sound and bent her head to nuzzle her calf. It struggled to rise, but fell back, landing even nearer the pit s edge. Stay back, Sport, hissed Cammie, as she walked slowly toward Josie, holding out her hand. Don t worry, Josie, she said softly. We aren t going to hurt your baby. She kept walking slowly and talking gently until at last she stood beside the young cow. She patted her neck. You have a beautiful little calf, she told its mother, but she s about to get hurt. I ll pull her back from that big hole, and then we ll carry her home. She slowly edged her way around Josie and knelt beside the calf. She slid her arms under its body and started gathering it up. A sudden bump from Josie, who was trying to see what was happening, sent Cammie stumbling forward. She held onto the calf, however, and the two of them toppled together into the pit. Cammie squeezed her eyes shut, expecting a terrible jolt when they hit the bottom. Instead it was like bouncing in the hayloft. The pit was so full of dry and decaying leaves that Cammie and the calf weren t hurt at all. But Josie, above them, was extremely worried. She moved back and forth along the edge of the pit, peering into it and mooing anxiously. Cammie let go of the calf and stood up. The top of the pit was far above her head. How could they get out? Cammie tried to climb the walls of the pit. They were too steep. She tried to dig out footholds with a small stick she found, but after several minutes of frantic effort, she realized that too was hopeless. She and the calf were trapped.
