Richard Puz

It’s 1889 in New Philadelphia, Ohio, with Becca, willful and opinionated, facing the choice of marrying conventional Will or adventurous Frank, the man from Washington Territory, whose proposal arrives in the form of a telegram over the newfangled telegraph lines. Its arrival stirs this witty story with crisp and crackling dialogue while setting the cauldron boiling between the saucy redhead and her father, who continually lectures her to select Will before she becomes an old maid. Frank’s proposal forces Becca to decide between two very different men and lifestyles.
The Friends of the Library Society undertakes the pen pal project to lift the spirits of lonely men in the Pacific Northwest where females are scarce. Most women find the communication rewarding and are fascinated by the men’s adventures. But not Agnes, whose pen pal demands that she travel west and lift her veils; nor old Mrs. Terrill, who thinks the project is wicked and shakes her cane in anger at the women gathered. Something must give, and in the end, Chairwoman Emma Hagadorn is overcome trying to maintain the meeting’s proper gentility.