SYNOPSIS:

THE STORY DOUGLAS, the boy of a family of dairy farmers, takes on men’s’ work during WWII. With his father in the Navy, he faces blackouts, rationing, fear and patriotism and learns to handle a horse team, keep equipment running, and generally works like a mule. His efforts help Hillcrest Farm remain beautiful and earn a government “A” award, a red, white, and blue war-time flag. The war affects everyone, with men, like his father, going into the service and women, like his mother, going into factories. Douglas is affected by the gold stars he sees in windows as he delivers milk. His classmates lose fathers and brothers. He and his friends play at war games. Amid the turmoil, Douglas grows a friendship into a romance with LAURA RAWLINGS a tough neighbor farm girl who likes to fish with him. The war ends and things go well for a while. He lives a ‘Tom Sawyer’ life. But the war has changed everything. Douglas sees veterans return shell shocked. He watches a neighbor have a dangerous meltdown. Women do not want to give up their wartime independence, including Douglas’ mother. His father drifts into alcoholism. Divorce follows. Douglas touchstone is Hillcrest Farm, but times are changing. GRACE KRILL, an unscrupulous developer enters their lives. The returning vets need housing and land prices soar. Laura’s farm is sold. Post war development encroaches. Hillcrest must ‘get big or get out.’ They use the new, easy debt to grow and modernize but, despite Douglas’ struggles and hard work, they get in deep and are about to sell out under Grace’s relenting pressure. Douglas tries extra business ventures, but they aren’t enough. Desperate, he seeks out MR. MACOMBER, his influential mentor who tells him to use any means to hold off the developer and wait because he believes that the new Massachusetts Turnpike will come through the farm. Douglas goes against his character and uses deceitful means to hold Grace at bay. The Pike is real. The family will now endure, but the result is the same: Douglas’ way of life is gone and his family members will go their own ways. He is on his own. In the final scene, Douglas visits the farm, now abandoned after an emotional auction. He walks the yard remembering all the sights and sounds of his life. He says goodbye to Hillcrest and to everything he’s known. He walks down the drive to board the bus that will take him to his new life in the Navy. C.D.Peterson cdflyfish@att.net Dec. 10, 2019 203 241 4060

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