Book Notes: Quirky characters bring WWII WASPs to life
Fannie Flagg’s The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion is a fictional story whose main character, Sookie Poole, a Southern Alabama housewife, is taken on a journey that turns her life upside down. The author intertwines fictional characters with the history of the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), an organization of brave, patriotic women who served during World War II.
The book starts slowly, but with humor, quirky characters, and plot twists, it evolves into an engaging, informative story. The reader is taken back and forth in time from Alabama to Wisconsin to California. The story spans generations, following two families—one steeped in Southern culture in present time, the other a polka-loving Polish family in 1940s Wisconsin.
Author and actress Fannie Flagg was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She is perhaps best known for her 1987 novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. While The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion is also based on Southern culture and interesting characters, the story line is much different. However, the two books have an additional connection.
The café portrayed in Fried Green Tomatoes was based on a café owned by Flagg’s aunt. Following the success of the book and subsequent movie, the café became a popular tourist attraction. Many years later, while in California, Fannie called the café to “check in.” The owner mentioned that a group of 80-year-old women, former WASPs, was there. It was 1999, and the women were having their last reunion. Flagg had never heard of the WASP but was intrigued. Thus, the seed for this novel was planted.
Most UMRA Book Club members greatly enjoyed the book for its humor, and especially for its introduction to the little-known history of the WASP. It’s well worth reading if you’re looking for a book that touches on family identity and eccentric characters, provides a touch of mystery, and deftly describes how women aided the war effort during World War II.
—Mary Jane Towle, member, UMRA Book Club
Book Club to meet October 8
Tue, Oct 8 2019, 2pm
Mary Jane Towle will lead the discussion of The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion, a novel by Fannie Flagg, when the UMRA Book Club meets at 2 p.m. on Friday, October 18, at the 1666 Coffman Building in Falcon Heights. Contact Pat Tollefson at [email protected] for more information.
Visit the UMRA website to read a review of the club’s September selection, Becoming, by First Lady Michelle Obama.
Upcoming Events
We are fortunate to have UMRA member and former Minnesota Landscape Arboretum director Peter Moe to lead this approximately 3.7-mile hike at the Arboretum on Monday, May 6. Plan to have lunch together after the hike at the Eatery café inside the Oswald Visitor Center.
This session will continue the discussion begun in the May 8, 2023 session. See that article for details.
If you currently live in your own home or apartment, have you looked ahead to when you might want to consider a senior living option? Do you have any idea what those options might be? How much they cost? What they provide? UMRA’s May 14 workshop will provide an overview of the world of senior living and the basic information you need.
You’re invited to join the final Family History Interest Group meeting for 2023–24. This will be an opportunity to ask questions related to family history, share insights, talk about recent projects, and suggest topics for next year.
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by best-selling author Mary Roach when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17.
The May 20 hike will start at the Historic Lift Bridge in Stillwater and go along the river to the new bridge, cross over and then back on the Wisconsin side, a total of approximately 5 miles. Most of the route is paved. We will eat lunch after at Brian's Bar and Grill in Stillwater. Car pooling will be available.
Climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley joined the U of M faculty in 1978 and has been a weekly commentator on Minnesota Public Radio since 1992. We are honored to welcome him as our guest speaker for UMRA’s May Luncheon Forum and 2024 Annual Meeting. He is always entertaining and informative.
UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club welcomes back, for the second time, author Julie Schumacher, U of M Regents professor of creative writing and English, for a conversation about her novel The Shakespeare Requirement.
We are in for a treat on June 3! Lynn Anderson, will lead us on trails at two parks near her Monticello home. Bring a bag lunch and we will gather in Lynn's yard along the Mississippi River for eating and socializing after the hike.
Get out to the ballpark with fellow UMRA members for the annual U of M Day at Target Field as the Minnesota Twins take on the Oakland Athletics on June 14 at 7:10 p.m.
Please join us at 9:30 on June 17, 2024 for a walk around Lake Como in St. Paul before attending the UMRA Summer Social and Picnic starting at 11 at the Como Pavilion. A perfect opportunity to get in a walk before we gather to celebrate summer.
Picnic under the covered, open-air Como pavilion, gaze at the water, spy some birds, catch up with friends and former colleagues, and meet new members. We’ll have lunch with plenty of time for visiting and then compete in teams as we are challenged by our Quiz master(s)!
Healthy aging, mindfulness, fighting ageism, and more will be the focus of the third annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held on the U of M Twin Cities campus.