Product Description
by Joedda Gore (Author)
Step back to 1939, rural Edwards, Mississippi. A time when the colored and white communities crossed paths at the general store and through employment. This is the world of Andrew "Sugarman" Daniel. Sugarman may have been the first animal whisperer. He was constantly followed by a pack of dogs, pig, goat, sheep and his entourage once boasted a fox. Sugarman born Andrew Daniel January 10, 1900, was a storyteller. His tales often concealed morals without preaching. On a dark, rainy night in March 1939, Sugarman came upon a chasm where the Clear Creek Bridge had been. An 80 foot span of Highway 80, the main thoroughfare between Atlanta and Dallas and beyond had been washed out. Thirteen cars and one truck plunged into the surging debris laden waters and were swept downstream before other travelers could be stopped. Sugarman saved those he could. Twenty-four persons entered the creek that night, sixteen drowned. The following days and nights Sugarman served as a one man search and rescue team. Refusing to rest, he swam in and around log jams in swift moving unseasonably cold waters, searching for vehicles and bodies. No one knew the exact number of those missing. Sugarman gained national acclaim for his super human feat and heroism. Through the years that followed and up until his death June 7, 1969, he remained humble of his bravery even though those who knew him never forgot. The Clear Creek disaster remains today the worst traffic accident in Mississippi state history. SUGARMAN was inspired by true events and memories of those who knew him. SUGARMAN is written in the vernacular and is peppered with words typical of the times. If you liked 'The Color Purple' and 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' then you will love SUGARMAN. As one reader said, "The characters will get inside your head."
Author Biography
Joedda Mccoy Phillips Gore graduated with an English Major from Northeastern State University at Tahlelquah, OK. Her first job was teaching Headstart in Greenville, MS. Her nomadic youth and early adulthood had her living in Washington, D.C., California, Florida and states in-between. In 1976 she moved to Edwards, MS. where the local community was adamant that Sugarman's story had to be told. Now, some 37 years later, after collecting stories, listening to personal memories and hours at the Mississippi Archives, her fictional account of this real life super hero has emerged. She has been married to Paul Gore, whom she calls the love of her life and best playmate for twenty years. They reside in Clinton, MS.
