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Area author puts history into novel

“Call Me Kate” writer signs copies of her book at downtown Barnes & Noble.

GLENDA JOY RACE Special to The Times Leader

WILKES-BARRE – Mary Garrity Slabby is a local teacher and author who finds that “the personal connection to history makes learning relevant.”

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Molly Roe, aka Mary Garrity Slabby, signs a copy of her book, ’Call Me Kate,’ for Belle Vermac, 7, at the Barnes & Noble, South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre, Saturday morning.

Aimee Dilger/the times leader

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On Saturday, Slabby appeared at the Barnes & Noble in downtown Wilkes-Barre for a signing of her historically themed and locally relevant book “Call Me Kate,” written under the name Molly Roe.

The signing was one of a series of Molly Roe book events in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Molly Roe is the pen name that Slabby chose to link her to her ancestral homeland, Ireland. Her genealogical research also led her to write her story about the poor, the scapegoated and a problem for which there was no easy answer.

The author’s main character in the book, Kate, is a 14-year-old girl living in Pennsylvania in the midst of the American Civil War. After her father is paralyzed in a mining accident, Kate disguises herself as a male draft-resister and tries to stop the draft train headed to Harrisburg.

Avoiding the draft in those days was not necessarily a sign of a lack of patriotism. It could be an act of economic necessity.

During the Civil War, the draft of one male family member could mean eviction, hunger or other severe financial hardships for the rest of the family.

Through “Call Me Kate,” the reader also learns about the Molly Maguires. The term “Molly Maguire” originally was used in Ireland, where the “Sons of the Molly Maguires” was a group formed against the unfair eviction of tenants. In America, the Maguires are associated with fair treatment and fair wages for coal miners during a portion of the 1800s but were regarded by mine owners and authorities as criminals.

The term was later used by 19th-century Pottsville newspaper editor Benjamin Bannan, who “put the tag” on other Irish immigrants. Soon virtually any crime in the area became associated with the Maguires, often to make Irish people with “too much” political influence appear guilty of wrongdoing.

The author noted research for this book was done mostly in Pottsville, with some additional resources from the Bishop Library in Wilkes-Barre.

Melissa Parry, one of the people who met with the author at the Barnes & Noble event, said it was fun to put oneself “in the era.”

Slabby also related the story of Kate picking up coal for heat for her family to an audience of children.

“Call Me Kate,” which sold out at Saturday’s event, is available at tribute-books.com, amazon.com, barnes&noble.com, borders.com or can be ordered at any bookstore.