The Long Winter Ends (Great Lakes Books)

A first edition The Long Winter Ends has been in our family since 1943 when Newton G. Thomas gave my mother an autographed copy. Dr. Thomas, his wife and my mother had been friends and classmates in college and kept in touch through the years. Thus, my mother knew about the writing of this book. Dr. Thomas told her many of these personal stories and incidents which are the true oral tradition that had come down from "Jim" to his children and their children. So when you read this remarkable book, it is not fiction, but a true story of an English mining family who came to work in the Michigan iron mines after their mines in Cornmwall had been shut down permanently. All the characters in this novel are real people who lived out being "downsized" from the Cornwall mines; being separated for months when the husband came alone to find work work in Michigan; who experienced living with other men in a boarding house where they all came home after working twelve hour shifts. How would you have liked getting up at 6 a.m. to go to work and as you were dressing, your co-worker coming off the night shift climbed into your bed and slept there until you were ready to climb in for the night? You will be challenged by the powerful and vivid description of the breakup of the Cornwall community in which we discover how people lived through such radical involuntary detachment, and survived isolation and loneliness while discovering new hope and growth into a new community. If you had been Jim's newly wedded wife could you have said to him, "It's you and me for it, comrade, whatever comes!" You will discover the true meaning of what America actually was, and did for all immigrants such as our own families who came to the "land of freedom and opportunity." Then there will come to you a new appreciation from the way in which thousands of people along these Cornwall miners have made the vast wilderness of our continent into a truly great nation. Jim, Dr. Thomas' ancestor, is the central person in this saga. When he came to Michigan he could neither vote nor write even his native dialect. It is a very interesting story of how and why he learned to read and write; how to reason, evaluate, and understand all that comes through communication. You may even be led to think about the language problems our own immigrating ancestors had when they came to America. He begins his learning by looking at a child's picture book of animals, and when she sees him reading her book, he takes her on his lap and they read the book together. He said of this experience, "This was my first lesson and she my first teacher." Then there are other incidents and experiences in which he is aware of his shortcomings and recognizes how important it is for him to learn. I have read this book four times over the years and will read it again and again. Why? Because it is a genuine portrayal of people just like us, with skills, character, emotions, minds and hearts. And they are people with hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, successes and failures as we are. It makes me glad to be alive and "doing". Do not be put off by the fact that these people are just common, ordinary folks like us. Actually, you will want to read this story because you will meet yourself, your families, friends and co-workers and discover that "we the people" are America.

Ronald V. Wells * I have a black and white picture of Dr. Thomas, his wife and daughter sitting in their living room. Since he dedicated the book to his wife and daughter, it occurred to me that you might want to think of reproducing the page with these items on it. It would also be possible to add his photograph for my mother. If you happen to decide that this is the review you would like to use, and wish to make these addition, you can reach me at: 3030 Park Avenue Bridgeport, Ct 06604 or by phone: (203) 373-6661. Thank you for your consideration.


A remarkable achievement!   May 22, 1998
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Review of THE LONG WINTER ENDS

Newton Thomas' THE LONG WINTER ENDS tells a story related to the great European migration that brought more than 30 million people to America in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Through the life of one illiterate miner named Jim, the novel describes the Cornish experience in the New World. The action begins with the closing of a mine in Cornwall, UK, conversations over limited prospects, a decision, and Jim's inevitable parting from his home, his parents and his young wife, Pol. In simply drawn scenes Thomas dramatizes what must have been the decisive moments in the lives of millions. The story continues on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan when copper was king.

The rest of the novel deals with Jim as he comes to terms with America, a land of limitless opportunity and limited social structure. His fine singing voice makes him an asset to the local church, and the self-improvement ethic of Methodism propels him forward. Eventually, though, Jim must overcome a narrowly Sabbatical faith and other limitations of his former life. He must become a sort of American Adam, finding his own way with the help of a sagacious older friend, a school master, and the stream of letters from Pol.

The fact that much of the story revolves around letters gives the novel its chaste quality, and gives us a relief from the lurid that has become fashionable in literature. THE LONG WINTER ENDS, published before the United States entered the war in 1941, appeared just as tastes were changing. The reader won't find much in the way of gritty detail, though the boarding house scenes, and the beds where miners sleep in shifts, give an edge to Thomas' world. Much of the dialogue is written in a Cornish dialect, which the reader will get the hang of after a few pages. (It's easier reading than HUCKLEBERRY FINN). The speech sustains a sense of reality. Thomas, who was born in Cornwall (in the village where Jim and Pol begin) and who was educated in America, no doubt knew the dialect fro! m his parents. Having been a miner and a country schoolteacher (he later became a dentist and and a professor), he wrote of what he knew. His novel is a remarkable achievement.

Most of the story focuses on the life of the mind, Jim's developing mind, and a growing sense of personal responsibility. Being re-published at a time when the work life of America is drastically changing, and when workers from the board room to the shop floor are being required to take greater responsibility for their careers, this novel has never been more relevant. I highly recommend it.

Gage McKinney