Lewes History Book Festival provides engaging atmosphere

After two years off due to COVID, event returns to in-person presentations

Author Buzz Bissinger talks about his latest book, “The Mosquito Bowl,” a true story about a football game played in the Pacific Theater of World War II between soldiers feuding over their college gridiron glory days. As with his other book, “Friday Night Lights,” Bissinger says sports is only a small part of the overall story. NICK ROTH PHOTO

Nick Roth

September 28, 2022

For the first time in three years, the Lewes History Book Festival welcomed people to the First Town in the First State for a jam-packed weekend of in-person book discussions with some of the nation’s top authors.

“We didn't know what to expect given the realities of the continuing pandemic, but we were delighted to see so many people turning out in Lewes to hear our authors talk about history,” said festival co-chair Jen Mason, owner of biblion bookstore on Second Street.

The event hosted 21 authors over a 36-hour period. Both the keynote and closing addresses were sold out, and many other presentations were near or at capacity. An engaging atmosphere was appreciated by both authors and festival-goers, Mason said.

“Our authors loved the HBF audience – super inquisitive and engaged, asking great questions and really letting them know how excited they were about their books,” she said.

“This year’s festival was, by all measures, a proud and exciting moment for those who worked so hard and selflessly to make it possible, especially when uncertainty as to COVID lingered in the air,” said festival co-chair Ronald Collins. “Our sponsors supported us generously, our board and volunteers pitched in valiantly, our authors performed superbly, and as far as we can tell, our audience received it all enthusiastically.”

While many felt most comfortable wearing masks indoors and making liberal use of available hand sanitizer, it didn't stop them from participating fully in the festivities, Mason said.

Mason said COVID really shaped author selection this year, as organizers chose authors who could travel to Lewes by car or train. They also chose books that were released earlier in the year because, like many other industries, book publishing is struggling with supply chain issues.

Two authors tested positive for COVID just days before the event, but organizers worked with Mid-South Audio to transition from in-person discussion to a live, remote appearance.

The 2023 event is slated for Sept. 29 through Oct. 1. Though work has already begun, Mason said, the core of the efforts will begin in January.

Keynote address

This year’s keynote address was presented by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Buzz Bissinger, author of New York Times bestseller, “The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II,” a true story about a football game played between two Marine battalions in Guadalcanal, part of the Solomon Islands, in the Pacific theater. As with his other book “Friday Night Lights,” Bissinger said sports is only a small part of the overall story, as he follows the trials and tribulations of the soldiers’ lives during the war after the football game.

A sold-out crowd filled Bethel United Methodist Church’s Fellowship Hall Sept. 23. After a welcoming message from Collins and introduction from Mason, Bissinger took to the stage to tell a story that sounds destined to become a movie.

The story of the Mosquito Bowl was little known prior to Bissinger’s book. But through research and more research, he uncovered the incredible tale. He learned dozens of Marines of the 6th Division who were training for the invasion of Okinawa, Japan, had played college football for prestigious programs. Constant trash talk among them led to the Mosquito Bowl on Christmas Eve 1944 on the bug-infested island of Guadalcanal. Some 1,500 Marines lined the field when the game was played.

“This was not a mere pickup game,” Bissinger said. “They built goal posts out of coconut. They built a regulation field on the parade grounds ... They had programs. They announced the starting rosters on the PA system. The game went out over parts of the Pacific on what they called the Mosquito Radio Network. They had officials. This was as close to the real thing [as it could be].”

The book follows five of the 65 men who played in the game – George Murphy of Notre Dame, Tony Butkovich of Perdue, Robert Bauman of Wisconsin, David Schreiner of Wisconsin and John McLaughry of Brown. Bissinger plainly admits the Mosquito Bowl is nearly a footnote. It’s a hook to tell a bigger story about the heroism and sacrifices made by young men who gave up their lives at home to fight for freedom and democracy.

Of the 65 men who played, 15 were killed at Okinawa. Today, only one of those men is still alive.

Pulitzer Prize winner visits Lewes

Ada Ferrer discusses “Cuba: An American History”

By Andrew Sharp

Special to the Cape Gazette

It was a packed room Sept. 25 at the Lewes library, and everyone was there to talk about the history of a Caribbean island.

Cuba’s dramatic story and the tangled web of its relations with the U.S. is the focus of Ada Ferrer’s book, “Cuba: An American History.” Ferrer, who won a Pulitzer for the book, spoke about it in an interview that wrapped up this year’s Lewes History Book Festival.

While the 1950s revolution and its Cold War fallout loom largest in the public imagination, Ferrer reminded the audience of a much longer history between the two nations.

She stressed the idea that their entire history is beautifully complicated; it does not fit into political slogans. “There’s no slogan from right or left that allows you to understand Cuban history or the Cuban present,” she said.

Most people, especially those who grew up during the Cold War, probably think immediately of communism, dictator Fidel Castro and the passionate emotions sparked by political fights of the era.

But the island’s history with the U.S. goes much further back than the 1950s, of course, including notable events like the Spanish-American War. Rather than a simple story of the United States riding in to free the Cubans from Spanish rule, that war was actually a short conflict at the end of decades of Cuban struggle for independence, Ferrer said – a fight the Cubans were winning without U.S. intervention.

Many people in that era expected Cuba to become part of the United States, she said. It had long been tied to the U.S. slave trade, and proponents of slavery would have liked to turn the island into slave states to boost the power of the South.

All that interaction is reflected in the book’s title. “I think of it as an invitation for readers in the U.S. to read the history of Cuba, and to allow themselves through that history to see the United States through a different lens,” Ferrer said.

Ferrer was born to Cuban parents who fled the country to live in Miami’s expatriate community. She recalled her childhood with its many cultural reminders of the country they left behind, and her teenage clashes with her parents, when she would remind them, “You’re not in Cuba anymore.”

But although that eventually led to her fascination with Cuban history, her knowledge of the country was built up through decades of research and visits to the island. She has written other books focused on earlier Cuban history, but her latest has a more modern slant and dives into the events that influenced her family so strongly.

In many ways, Cuba’s revolution was “one of the most radical revolutions of the modern world,” she said. “It completely upended the economic system, the property system … it eliminated almost every institution that existed before,” and it had a big impact on the relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. “It’s a huge event, not just in the history of Cuba, but really in the history of the modern world.”

While the Cold War has faded from memory, Cuba has remained a controversial part of American politics. It took center stage in recent years with President Barack Obama’s visit to the island and efforts to thaw tensions, followed by President Donald Trump’s rejection of that strategy. President Joe Biden has been slow to address Cuba, but Ferrer noted dryly, “He’s had a lot on his plate.”

Ferrer said her book tells a “sadder, more poignant, more complicated story, as is often the case, than many believe.”

Ferrer was interviewed for the book festival’s final session by Laurie Fulton, a former U.S. ambassador.

Festival board Co-chair Ron Collins said they were fortunate to have Ferrer and Fulton at the event. “It’s really quite something that [a Pulitzer winner] can come to Lewes,” he said.

Ferrer noted that she has a history in the area – she started writing her first book in Rehoboth, a line that got big applause from the crowd.

Although Lewes is a small town off the beaten track, the festival aims to bring in authors to connect directly with readers, board Co-chair Jen Mason said.

“Lewes values its human town scale and sense of face-to-face intimacy,” she said.

A huge crowd visited Bethel United Methodist Church in Lewes for the keynote address from Buzz Bissinger, author of “The Mosquito Bowl.” NICK ROTH PHOTO

Buzz Bissinger’s keynote address will be aired on CSPAN on Veterans Day weekend. NICK ROTH PHOTO

Ernest Marvel, a 98-year-old World War II veteran, attended the keynote address Sept. 23. NICK ROTH PHOTO

Jen Mason, festival co-chair, introduces Buzz Bissinger, author of “The Mosquito Bowl.” Bissinger was the keynote speaker. NICK ROTH PHOTO

Ronald Collins, festival co-chair, welcomes the large audience to the opening-night keynote address at Bethel United Methodist Church. NICK ROTH PHOTO

Laurie Fulton, right, interviews author Ada Ferrer at the Lewes History Book Festival Sept. 25 at the Lewes Public Library. ANDREW SHARP PHOTO

Author Ada Ferrer signs copies of her book "Cuba: An American History" for readers Sept. 25 after her talk at the Lewes History Book Festival. ANDREW SHARP PHOTO

Notes on the Beach performs at the Lewes library. DENY HOWETH PHOTO

Betsy Prioleau discusses her book “Diamonds and Deadlines” to a packed house at the Rollins Community Center. DENY HOWETH PHOTO

Lewes Historical Society Executive Director Andrew Lyter, left, has a conversation with author Thomas E. Crocker about his book “Captain Hale’s Covenant.” DENY HOWETH PHOTO

Thomas Elton Brown discusses his book “Where Menhaden Was King” with Lewes native Trina Brown-Hicks. DENY HOWETH PHOTO

Author Caleb Gayle has a conversation with Chief Dennis Coker about Gayle’s book “We Refuse to Forget.” DENY HOWETH PHOTO

Lewes History Book Festival provides engaging atmosphere

Keynote address

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