46 pages • 1 hour read
Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe
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Background
Historical Context: Ghost Towns and the Bird Room
Although Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe is a work of fiction, it is based on real people and places. The ghost town where Cricket spends most of the story is called Electric City. It is based on the real ghost town of Electric Mills, Mississippi (“Electric Mills.” The Historical Marker Database). The real town was established in 1913 by the Sumter Lumber Company. The town was a small but thriving community until the mill shut down in 1941, at which point most residents left the area. Today, little survives of Electric Mills, as is the case for Electric City in the novel. Like Electric City, Electric Mills did have its own coins, called doogaloos. However, calling them a currency is somewhat misleading. Doogaloos were a form of company scrip, which means that the company that ran the mill paid its employees in doogaloos instead of dollars. Those doogaloos could then only be spent at shops in Electric Mills, so residents were entirely financially beholden to the company that they worked for. Company scrip was outlawed in the United States in 1938 because of its exploitative nature.
Bob is a fictional character, but he is loosely based on Walter Inglis Anderson, Jo Watson Hackl’s favorite artist (“ Plus, gain access to 8,550+ more expert-written Study Guides. Including features:
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