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Morality in Literature - The Legacy of Columbia Author Albert Capwell Wyckoff (Interest in Columbia author Capwell Wyckoff seems to be increasing. Peder Johnson is developing a website devoted to the popular writer of boys adventure books and Christian novels. Those who would like to assist him should follow the links at the bottom of the article to contact him. -Ed.) By Peder Johnson I came across a book recently titled "Future Forward" by Susan Beth Pfeffer. It is a juvenille science fiction novel about a VCR that acts as a time machine. Near the beginning of the novel, Scott, an eleven year old boy, finds a dog that he likes.Unfortunately, before he can take the dog home, the dog gets hurt by a car. Scott uses the time machine to travel back in time and try to prevent the accident from happening. It seemed like an innocent children's book, until I read about a certain incident in the story. Scott takes out a pornographic video and watches it. Upon coming to that point of the story, I was appalled. The eleven year old protagonist was viewing pornography! It struck me that this did not belong in a children's book. Yet morally unsound material is not uncommon in children's literature. Take a look at the ground-breaking Harry Potter series. The prominence of witchcraft in these books raises serious moral questions. It is my desire to promote books that have a positive impact on people. One of the best authors I have come across is Albert Capwell Wyckoff. He was born in 1903 and wrote thirty books including juvenille mystery novels and Christian novels. He died in 1953 and was buried in Columbia, KY. He was an ordained minister in the Presbyterian church, and his high morals are reflected in several of his books. I would like to discuss a couple of his books. "Bright Harvest", a Christian novel, was published in 1944. Lanny and Dorellen graduate from high school shortly after the novel opens. They are high school sweethearts who are involved in their local church, and they talk about getting married in the future. They live in the small town of Midiron, and Lanny admits that he would probably have to move away in the future to obtain a decent job. Dorellen seems supportive of leaving the small town in favor of somewhere more enticing. However, no decision is made immediately. Lanny becomes interested in a new mill settlement on the outskirts of Midiron. Some of the people in the new settlement are rough and poor, and some in Midiron are not happy about the new settlement. Lanny volunteers to referee some basketball games and helps out with their Sunday School. The children in the mill settlement look up to Lanny, and the adults are impressed with his selfless conduct. Dorellen is not impressed with Lanny's dedication to the mill settlement. After a while Lanny gets offered a job in the settlement, and he gets another job offer in St. Louis with higher pay. Lanny becomes undecided on which job to take. He would love to continue the volunteer work he started in the settlement, and to stay in Midiron to help his aging grandmother. But Dorellen wants him to take the higher paying job in St. Louis. He decides to take the mill settlement job, and Dorellen becomes angry. Lanny refuses to compromise, and his relationship with Dorellen falls apart. Dorellen rarely speaks to him, and she goes off to art school. Lanny is devastated, he did what he knew was right and ends up suffering for it. Lanny and Mary, a friend form the mill settlement, meet a young man named Dewey. Dewey and Mary become romantically interested in each other, but there is a problem. Mary is a Christian and Dewey is not. Mary decides to marry Dewey only if he becomes a Christian. It is a painful situation because Dewey, although still interested in Mary, is not convinced that he should become a Christian. Like Lanny, Mary suffers for doing what she believes is right. Lanny being a Christian himself, supports Mary's decision, and Mary supports Lanny's decision to work at the settlement. Eventually Dewey does become a Christian, and Mary is delighted upon learning this. They decide to get married soon afterward. Then the story shifts to Dorellen in art school. She had thought that being with such well-to-do people would be more fulfilling. A friend brings up the subject of Lanny. After listening to Dorellen's story, her friend says "I would hang onto a man like this Lanny Springer for dear life!" Through her friend's admonishing words, Dorellen's selfishness is exposed. Dorellen decides that there is only one thing to do. Quit art school, return home, and try to make up with Lanny. Upon Dorellen's arrival at home, Lanny is ecstatic. The relationship is restored and they plan a happy life together in Midiron. A couple valuable lessons can be gleaned from this story. Although it may be difficult for while, standing up for what you believe in is worthwhile. Although it was hard for Lanny and Mary to stick to their standards in the face of opposition, they did not regret their decisions. This story also teaches us the value of good advice. Dorellen's classmate gave her excellent advice. It may not have been what she wanted to hear, but the end result was positive change. It is difficult to predict the potential impact of a few wise words. The second book I would like to discuss is the fourth book in the Mercer Boy's series. The title is "The Mercer Boy's Mystery Case" and it was published in 1929. It tells about the Mercer Boy's second year at Woodcrest Military Academy. Shortly after the school year began, the colonel of the institution told the boys about a missing trophy from years before. In 1913 there was an academic competition between Woodcrest and another institution. The top three students from Woodcrest competed against each other. Among them were Arthur Gates and George Long. Arthur won the competition and competed against the top scholar from the other institution. Arthur won that competition also. A ceremony was planned in which Arthur would be honored for his success. George, being the captain of the senior class, was given the privilege of presenting the trophy. The night before the ceremony, George had the trophy in his room. It was there the next morning too. But sometime during that day, the trophy disappeared. Someone found George searching in vain for the trophy in his room. The trophy was gone! Arthur was honored at the ceremony, but the theft of the trophy had long-lasting implications. After the incident, George looked rather glum, and it was assumed that he had stolen the trophy. George received the cold shoulder from his fellow scholars at his graduation ceremony. Even though nothing was proven, his reputation suffered for years to come. The Mercers and Terry took it upon themselves to find the trophy. They conducted interviews and searched for clues. After a while, the Mercers discovered that Arthur and his father currently had the trophy in their possession, and wanted to get rid of it secretly. After executing a cleverly devised plan, the Mercers finally gained possession of the trophy. They brought it to the colonel for inspection. On the bottom of the trophy, the words "I cheated" were engraved. This was apparently done by Arthur while the trophy was in George's room. After George discovered that Arthur had cheated on the contests, he convinced Arthur to make a written confession and a public confession. After changing his mind about a public confession, he knew that he had to do something about the trophy. So Arthur ended up stealing his own trophy so that no one would discover the engraved confession. Arthur and his father confronted the colonel and the Mercers after they had taken the trophy. They accused the Mercers of snooping around their home, but were ashamed when the words "I cheated" on the trophy were pointed out. The matter had finally come to light. Arthur's father offered the colonel a bribe to keep the information secret. The colonel refused, stating that George's reputation had suffered because of their deceit. The colonel was determined to make the matter public, and to clear George of any lingering suspicion. George was honored at an alumni gathering, and his peers responded warmly. George was finally cleared of suspicion, and received the honor that he had deserved many years before. It is difficult to summarize this book in four paragraphs, but I think the lessons to be learned are clear. Honesty is very important. We see that Arthur's dishonesty hurts other people, including his father and his classmate George. Years after his dishonest acts, the effects of his dishonesty remained. His dishonesty led him to bribe a janitor to keep quiet about the theft, and it also led to a lot of guilt. When his dishonesty was finally exposed, it was much worse for him than if he had confessed at the 1913 ceremony. The value of a reputation is emphasized in the book. At the end of the book, the colonel was offered money to keep from disclosing Arthur's dishonesty from the public. If Arthur's act had not hurt anyone else, the colonel might have kept the matter a secret. However, George's reputation was at stake. No amount of money could make up for the damage done to George's reputation. A good reputation is priceless, and undeserved damage done to another's reputation is not a matter to be taken lightly. Wyckoff's books are ideal for a generation which is struggling with moral issues. Unfortunately, all of his books are out of print. However, there are usually some Wyckoff books available on ebay, and Columbia's own E.P. Waggener & Sons Booksellers has several Wyckoff titles available. His earlier books contain the name "Capwell Wyckoff", and his latter books contain the name "A. C. Wyckoff". For those of you who have never heard of Albert Capwell Wyckoff, I hope this article serves as a good introduction to this brilliant author. For those of you who have heard of him, I hope this article rekindles your interest in him. I admit that I have never been to Kentucky. My goal is to raise interest in this Columbian author. Wyckoff spent the last years of his life in Columbia. Perhaps some long-time residents remember him. I have started a website dedicated to the memory of Wyckoff. If this author interests you, then I would appreciate it if you would take a look at the website. http://lakeswan.tripod.com/capwell.html If anyone has information about this author which would be appropriate for the website, then please e-mail me at lakeswan@bigfoot.com. A photograph of Wyckoff would be much appreciated. Questions and comments are welcome as well. The Website. NOTE: more information on Albert C. Wyckoff can be found in the following articles from our archives:
This story was posted on 2003-07-01 10:16:08
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