5/8/2023 0 Comments Dead end in norvelt![]() ![]() ![]() While Jack is fascinated by the numerous war movies of the day, the reality of death all around him often causes anxiety. Since Miss Volker is also the coroner, she has Jack drive her around town to examine the bodies of the newly dead. Miss Volker’s hands are stiff and arthritic, so she dictates her flowery, historically embellished obituaries for the newspaper and Jack types them. Though Jack is rarely allowed to leave the house after his grounding, he gains some freedom when Mom loans him out to Miss Volker. Jack obeys Dad, and Mom grounds Jack for the summer. Directly defying Mom’s orders, Dad tells Jack to mow down the cornfield. Then Dad buys an old warplane, wants to rebuild it and needs a landing strip. ![]() Jack is happy in Norvelt and looking forward to enjoying summer break. ![]() Only a few people, such as Jack’s mother and their elderly neighbor, Miss Volker, remember the town’s thriving community feel or its historical underpinnings. Nearly all of the original residents are dead or dying. When the government created the town in the 1930s to help the poor, its namesake, Eleanor Roosevelt, made sure residents had homes that allowed them to live with dignity. Eleven-year-old Jack Gantos lives with his mom and dad in Norvelt, Pa. ![]()
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