The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1957-06-21
NELL WISE WECHTER
MAKES HIT DURING
VISIT IN BELHAvEN
Tells How Her Recent Book Came
To Be Published; Another
Story with Local Back
ground Coming


Nell Wise Wechter, Stumpy
Point native and one of North
Cardinals latest literary lights,
charmed the "homefolks" during
her visit to Belhaven this week.
Mrs. Wechter, her husband, Robert,
and daughter, Marcia, were guests
of Mr.. and Mrs. w. E. Bateman,
Jr. on Sunday and Monday.
On Sunday evening, the Bate
mans, their son Topper, and daugh-
ter Raye Neal, were hosts at buff
fet supper in honor of their guests.
Forty-five members of young
church groups were invited for this
occasion. After supper, which con-
sisted of ham biscuits, potato salad,
ribbon sandwiches, cake, and lem
onade, Mrs. Wechter told the story
of her book for teenagers, "Taffy
Of Torpedo Junction" The young
guests were thrilled at the oppor-
tunity of seeing and hearing, as
they put it, "real live author"
and getting her autograph.
On Monday afternoon, members
of the Pungoan Book Club and
other guests gathered on the spa
cious back porch of the Bateman
home for an informal hour with
Mrs. Wechter. During refresh
ment time, when Mrs. Bateman
served -Colas, lemonade, ham
biscuits, cookies, and minis, the
author reminisced about school
days with a number of her ex-
classmates at East Carolina Teach
ers College in Greenville.
The highlight of the afternoon
was Mrs. Wechter's informal dis
cussion of her book, which has re-
ceived wide praise from reviewers.
She gave credit for her successful
completion of the book to group
known as the Greensboro Writers.
This group is made up of no more
than sixty-five writer's whose pur-
pose it is to encourage and crit
icise each others work, and only
those who have published some
thing are invited to join. Mrs.
Wechter had previously published
only articles in newspapers and
was surprised to be asked to join
the group made up of many of the
States best-known writer's. The
group is divided into workshops on
various types of writing, and Mrs.
Wechter was first assigned to the
short story group. This was the
beginning of her rise to fame with
"Taffy," for she had written what
she considered short story about
life on Hatteras Island during
World War II for her daughter.
When she was told by one Of the
critics in the workshop that she
did not have short story but ma
terial for a whole book, she met
the challenge. "Taffy of Torpedo
Junction was written and publish
ed within twelve months, which
is something Of a record in the lit
erary world. The first publisher
to whom the book was submitted
wanted to cut out the dialect, but
the author refused to consider de-
stroying the true Outer Banks fla
vor of her work. Someone then
suggested that she submit the book
to John F. Blair, a North Carolina
publisher recently established in
Chapel Hill. His eager acceptance
of the book delighted Mrs. Wech-
ter, since she was anxious to have
it published in North Carolina. The
publisher suggested that the man.
uscript be revised to have the
younger people in the book speak
the modern idiom, while retaining
the dialect of the older characters
and to this the author agreed.
Mrs. Wechter said that she wrote
this book because she wanted the
children of this state to have rec
ord of how close the war came to
North Carolina. The story reads
like fiction, she said, but is TRUTH
and she is well-qualified to tell
the fiTlth. since she was teaching