Second run for Jerseyside book

It started as a project for Patricia Power to work on after she retired in 2001.

After considering her options, she decided to turn on her computer screen and begin writing about life as a young person growing up in Jerseyside and area during the 1940s and 1950s.

Along the way, Ms. Power drew on the stories and memories of many locals to add to her own recollection of the past in an effort to develop a body of writing that would have broad appeal.

For several years, her seven children lent a hand at reading drafts or editing content. On good days, they referred to it as "Mom's work." On bad days, it was referred to as "that book of hers."

But, she said, there were more good days than bad and Ms. Power worked her way through the many obstacles she faced in attempting such a piece of work.

One day, her computer hard drive crashed and wiped out her first draft of the manuscript. Another time, she tripped up in her dog Oggie's leash on the front step. She ended up with a fractured hip from that fall.

"My writing project endured many setbacks and I was compelled to delay my intentions for some time," said Ms. Power. "However, when my husband, Philip, passed away in 2008, I decided it was 'printers or bust.' I was eagerly determined to finally achieve my dream of documenting what I could remember about growing up in a small community in the shadow of a U.S. military base, but still separated from many basic amenities by the Placentia Gut."

The book, called, "Way Back Then - An Oral History of Jerseyside and Area" was published in time for the Jerseyside-Ferndale Come Home Year in 2009.

Ms. Power was delighted by the response to the book, which led to her going back to the publishers for another run leading up to Christmas.

While sales have exceeded her expectations, the new stories and rekindled acquaintances sparked by the book have been the most rewarding to Mrs. Power, she said. Many people send her emails enquiring about purchasing the book or sharing their own stories with her.

"My recollections of the past started in Argentia and also ended there since it was my birthplace. I always felt that the original residents never did get a fair deal. My foremost wish now is that someday a monument will be displayed to remember those that left their homeland to support the war effort," Ms. Power said.

If her literary work is able to shed some light on the sacrifice those people made way back then for the greater good, then she'll feel she has accomplished one of her goals in writing the book, she stated.

"In many ways, writing is really an act of sharing - past, present, or future," observed Ms. Power. "I'm just glad to do my part."