saltaire

"Leave old Saltaire with a cheer, we'll all come back next year"... or would they? Join twelve-year-old Dottie Schmitt and her family as they face this unexpected hurricane in September 1938. This monster storm directly hits Saltaire, the tiny beach village on Fire Island, where Dottie spends her summer each year. What happens to Dottie and can Saltaire survive after such a devasting natural disaster? Saving Saltaire will take you back to this fateful day and the aftermath of the 1938 Hurricane.

Joan Callahan Hellthaler is an elementary school teacher in Fairfield, Connecticut where she lives with her husband and two daughters. This is her first published middle-grade novel. Her connection to the Village of Saltaire is life long and close to her heart. ＂Papa＂ Schmitt, her maternal grandfather, brought the family to Saltaire in 1926. The Schmitt House remained in the family until 1971. The 45-year relationship with this lovely beach community off the south shore of Long Island on the barrier spit called ＂Fire Island＂ has long inspired Joan. She continues her connection to Saltaire through her sister and brother-in-law who currently own a beach home in Saltaire where she is a frequent visitor. As Joan disembarks the ferry each time she visits, she always stops into the dock house to read the bronze plaque dedicated to her grandfather, Mayor Paul Schmitt, for his untiring efforts to bring Saltaire back from the devestation of the ’38 hurricane.