This Old Paper

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On June 4th, I bought this photograph of Ann Doby Wright at the Hartville Marketplace. Something about this photo touches me – Ann’s face, her blouson fabric. Perhaps it’s because I just got through listening to the CD Book version of Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The puffed sleeves that Anne Shirley longed for could have been very much like Ann’s.

Next year will mark the 25th anniversary of the Megan Fellows-starring version of Anne of Green Gables. It’s been that long since my children and their cousins often clamored to watch it. One particularly precocious niece dubbed the series Anne of TV Cables, due to the fact that it aired on PBS.

The intervening years have been witness to variations of a variety of Anne’s experiences repeated by close ones during their growing-up-years: the hair dye incident, the striving for first place, the love of nature, becoming teachers. Luckily, daring feats were usually performed more close to the ground than a roof ridge! Cousin Luke, of Latent Chestnut, describes a childhood bike adventure here.

One Anne Shirley legacy, The Story Club, is kept alive with a modern twist by Ditalini Press, A Creative Writing Group. The founders, among the aforementioned Anne of Green Gables devotees, began the writing group in July of 2008.  Happy Anniversary Ditalini Press!  New members welcome!

So, an old photo of a beautiful young lady leads me down memory lane. It’s good to know that at 101 years old, Anne of Green Gables is ever-popular the world over; the Japanese have a special fondness for Anne. The New York Times op-ed columnist, Nicholas D. Kristof, just named Anne of Green Gables one of the Best Kids’ Books – Ever! One of the best books, and I’d say, one of the best TV adaptations – ever!  I was going to single out the brilliancy of casting Colleen Dewhurst as Marilla Cuthbert, but have to champion the casting of each and every role by Diane Polley as pure genius.

For all who love name games: Jonathan Crombie plays the role of Gilbert Blythe. Guess what his mother’s name is? Shirley Ann!

Would love to hear from anyone who has an interest in this photo.