The Note:
The wooden book exchange box outside Williams General store was a favorite stopping place for the townsfolk to trade a book for a book and get something new to read. The Book Exchange was started because the libraries were not readily available and the community decided to come up with a means to share valuable books among the members. A weatherproof box was placed on a post outside of the general store and it immediately became a success. It became routine to exchange a book every time you visited the general store. Harriet was a regular book trader and she picked up a new book, The Talented Mr. Ripley. This was a mystery thriller from the 1950’s. As she read the book, she found a handwritten note inserted in the back pages:
“I am fearful that my life is in danger. I recently discovered that my husband of 25 years has been having an affair with his secretary. When I confronted him, he ignored it completely, then said it was only a sexual thing, and finally said what he does on his on time is his business. This was the last straw for me and I said:
“Well this must be our time for a separation.”
I was not prepared for his rage as he said:
“There will never be a divorce., even if I must make you disappear.”
In fear of being found I am living in motels moving every three days. I was afraid of using my credit cards so I withdrew $8,500 from our accounts but that will not last long. I have stopped all of my extracurricular activities including my book club, my horse riding club, and my social media accounts. My only form of happiness now is from the book exchange.
Pray for me,
Miriam
No date. No last name. The letter slightly yellowed With Age. Who knows how long this note has been floating around in this book. Why heck the book really came out in the 1950s. Harriet would not have noticed the note but for the fact she read the entire book. The note was located between pages 188 and 189.
Wharton, Texas
Harriet Marshall retired to Wharton, Texas following her husband’s inheritance of the family farm. The Marshall family could trace their presence back to pre-Civil War days. Harriet soaked up the life and charm of Wharton. This small Gulf Coast community had quite a bit of history.
Wharton was part of the Caney Run mail route established by the Republic of Texas in 1838. The community was named after two leaders in the struggle for Texas independence, brothers John and William Wharton. The plantation community was first settled in 1846 by some of Stephen F. Austin's original colonists, and a post office was established in 1847. Early settlers came from Alabama, Kentucky, Virginia, Georgia, and Mississippi.
Jewish immigrants, arriving as early as the 1850s, established additional businesses and began the Congregation Shearith Israel (Texas), the only synagogue in a three-county area. They continued to be an active part of the community.
Other settlers in the community included Swiss, German, Mexican, and Czech immigrants and descendants of plantation slaves. Early crops included potatoes, cotton, corn, rice, and sugar cane, and commercial enterprises included cattle, molasses, and sugar. At different times the community had a cotton oil mill, a sugar cane factory, gristmills, cotton gins, a milk processing plant and dairy, an ice plant, and numerous other industries. Oil and sulfur production in the outlying areas contributed to the town's economy. The population of Wharton was about 200 in the early 1880s.
The New York, Texas and Mexican Railway was the first railroad to arrive at Wharton in 1881, followed by the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe in 1899. These two railroads brought a new influx of settlers, increasing the population to 1,689 in 1900 and 2,346 in 1920. In 1888 the first opera house opened.
Wharton was incorporated in 1902, when most of the structures were of wood construction. A major fire on December 30 of that year destroyed a number of frame business buildings. Afterwards, businessmen and the city government were convinced to use brick construction with fire walls for all buildings within the city limits and to construct a water system with fire hydrants. A free library was established in 1902 by the New Century Club and adopted by the city in 1904. In 1935 the majority of the library inventory was given to the Wharton Public School. The first public park was dedicated in 1913, and the Wharton Chamber of Commerce organized in 1919.
The city experienced its greatest growth during the 1930s, increasing to 4,386 by 1940. Wharton Little Theatre was organized in 1932, and Wharton County Junior College was established in 1946. The town's population reached 7,881 in 1970.
The Wharton County Historical Museum opened in 1980 and features exhibits on Dan Rather and Medal of Honor recipient Roy Benavidez as well as a wildlife collection. Hurricane Harvey caused quite a bit of damage to the Museum in 2017.
The town swells to over 30,000 for the annual Squash Festival during the middle of summer. Harriet was a member of the governing board for the Festival.
What to Do?
Harriet assumed from this note that Miriam went to this book exchange at least once. She mused about assuming anything and smiled to herself. So now what should she do with this note? Turn it in to the County Sheriff? No, they are too busy with taking care of moonshiners and obnoxious cowboys and wildcatters in the area. Just place the note back in the book and return it to the Book Exchange Box? No, she would just be passing a potential problem to someone else which may not even look at the note. This note really perked her interest and she wanted to stay with it for a while and see what she could find out.
Harriet recalled being an amateur sleuth when she successfully found who was breaking into the lunch pails of her second-grade class. Her older brother suggested that she place in her lunch pail seven ExLax chocolate tablets, wrapped in wax paper and tied with a pretty red bow. Well it did the trick as Bruce Williams did not even wait for permission as he made a beeline to the restroom. He never again broke into the lunch pails.
The note had created a laundry list of questions to try and get answered.