Finding
the
Story
by Sheila Ingle
F
or thirteen years, I have been writing about what
I didn’t know in both my books and articles, so
research has been essential. Investigation is ongoing,
and I often consider myself an explorer.
In addition, field research, once unknown, has been
necessary to me. Since I am a good listener, this has been
fun. For the publication of The Citadel Class That Never
Was, I interviewed ten of the members of that class,
including my father.
Some of the interviews were in person; others were on the
phone or by email. They shared pictures and albums with me,
as well as letters they wrote to their sweethearts and parents.
Bringing out their school directories and yearbooks led to
stories of their activities and their fellow classmates. For
several days, my dining room table was full of their personal
pictures and artifacts; it was difficult to decide which ones
should be included in the article. Most of their sentences
started with “I remember….”
None of the men needed prompting to talk about their
years at the Citadel or what the school meant to them
personally, and often I had difficulty taking notes, because they
spoke quickly and often quietly. I discovered how valuable
10 Southern Writers
an audio recorder could be, a lesson I do not suggest learning
the hard way. Not that any recorder could capture how they
were proud to be called Citadel Men and to have served their
country in World War II; their eyes shone with remembrances
as they told their stories. Even though all were in their eighties,
the emotions of those years nevertheless lingered.
After the interviews were over, I grasped a new observation.
Their journeys to the battlefields all began at the same moment
in time – the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
My father was watching a movie downtown, and the news
interrupted the show and was announced. The audience left
the theater because it immediately closed. One cadet was
studying in his room for upcoming exams; the news was
shouted in the barracks by running plebes when it was heard
on radios. Another was riding the bus back to campus, and
an elderly man jumped on, shouting the news. That date
detoured all of them into a new direction. This was similar
to a call heard by a new generation, including my son, as we
watched the twin towers fall on September 11, 2001.
This happens with primary research when the dots
suddenly connect, and a clear picture forms in my mind’s
eye of a novel truth of the past. Through these interviews,
each graduate added to the smorgasbord of this unique
Citadel class. Hearing the voices of the men made their
history come alive.
Due to the research I did for my book, Courageous Kate,
I was able to weave together history, folklore and fiction to
create a story about three generations of Scots-Irish settlers
who built a life in the wilderness of the South Carolina
Upcountry during the 1700s. This book was chosen for the
DAR National Historic Preservations Award.
It is so important that we teach students and ourselves
about our history. I am honored to be a part of preserving
the history of the forgotten heroines of the American
Revolutionary War.
My book Tales of a Cosmic Possum was chosen for the 2017
Fall Okra Picks. n