Elton Family Book Club

Hi Guys,

Looks like we’re ready to kick off our first, “Elton Family 2011 Summer Reading Program,” aren’t you all excited?  This is how it will work.

Description:

Our focus will be on reading books that are fun to read, but also ones that should be familiar to well educated and knowledgeable people.  We will be reading books that are generally accepted as good literature, teach a moral or life lesson, and makes one think.  The books should be ones that a young person would probably encounter by the time he or she finishes high school, but have an allure for adults also.  We will stay away from books on the dark side, leaving them for AP English classes. Because this is a family book club we will try to select books that have appeal to all ages.  The stories can even be read or told to younger kids and explained by the reader.  This way all could get credit and become familiar with some great books.  There is no one way to do this.  Do it individually, two or more siblings, as a family whatever.

Duration:

Starts at the end of school or June 1^st and runs through August 1^st 2011.

Who can join:

Club is open to all and all ages.  Immediate family, extended family, friends, people we know people we don’t know.  Basically to anyone who likes this approach for a reading program.

Selected Books:

We will suggest one book to be read this summer.  Then we will provide a list of books which meet the above criteria and can be read in addition to the one suggested book.  If we choose to continue this program we will continue to add books to the list.

Credit for reading:

Once a book is completed the reader needs to answer two simple questions.

1.      What was your overall impression of the book?

2.      What will you remember about the book and why?

Answers can be very short. It could be a short one sentence to several sentences long, but no more than a paragraph.  The object here is to encourage some critical thinking.  This is a very useful skill to develop for school and life by the way.  Send you answer to larryelton@gmail.com or to the comments section under this heading on my blog at larryjacks.blogspot.com

How to join:

Just e-mail me at larryelton@gmail.com or add a comment under this heading on my blog at larryjacks.blogspot.com and say…Sign me up.  You can do it individually or as families just make sure I get all the names.

Recognition for completing the reading:

Everyone who reads the book and answers the questions by August 31, 2011 gets a certificate and an ice cream cone.  (Diane says the certificate is no good without an ice cream cone.  She wrote a 60 page professional paper on this for her master’s degree.  So who’s going to argue?)

This Year’s Suggested Book:

After innumerable hours of deliberation and intensive statistical analysis of our polls, the Elton Family Book Club selection committee (Diane and I) have chosen this summer’s book.  Drum roll please!   It will be:

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

This is simply a great book!  If anyone in the family disagrees, you will be summarily disowned and made to walk the plank.  Arrrrrrr

Hope to see you all this summer at the “Admiral Benbow” Inn.

Main Reading List:

We have revised the list somewhat so take a new look. Most of them can be found in a young reader’s version if needed.

Treasure Island, Robert Lewis Stevenson (Suggested book for this summer)

Captains Courageous, Rudyard Kipling

Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain

The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde

The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway

The Sea Wolf, Jack London

The Swiss Family Robinson, Johann Rudolf Wyss

Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas

Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie

Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne

Now I’m off to find some lost treasure.  I’ll need it to pay for all those ice cream cones.  Now where did I put that darn map?  Love you all,

Dad

Remembering my dad

Something about my dad I would like share with everyone.

I was talking to my big brother Bob this week and we got to reminiscing about when we were growing up.  During our conversation we got to talking about the old shop and Dad.  One of the events which stood out I feel should be passed on.

My dad, Jack Elton along with his dad Jack James (my grandfather changed his name from Elton to James, his first name was John but everyone called him Jack) owned Slauson Avenue Sheet Metal Works at 1863 W. Slauson Avenue in Los Angeles.  It was a union shop so to work there everyone had to belong to the International Sheet Metal Workers Union.

My dad was a kind man who had a strong sense of right and wrong.  He could, however, get very riled up if he felt something was wrong or his belief in fair play was challenged.  During the 1950’s in Los Angeles there was strong prejudice against blacks.  The unions were segregated and had many barriers in place to keep blacks out.  This was happening all over the country and Los Angeles was no exception.

Around about the mid 1950’s my father had hired a man named Lee Talbert who was black.  Lee worked hard, was very reliable, and dad wanted to maintain him.  So Lee applied for membership in the union.  He was promptly turned down.  This infuriated my dad.  Shop owners had say over who they hired so consequently they could influence who got into the union.  Most shop owners however, just followed the status quo and stayed away from hiring blacks.

Upon hearing that Lee had been denied membership in the union, dad got into his car and drove down to the union hall.  At 5’4” tall dad did not look real intimidating.  However, when he was angered you didn’t want that anger directed at you.  When he got into the hall dad demanded an explanation as to why Mr. Talbert’s application had been rejected.  Dad was told it was because Lee was unskilled and that only skilled journeymen could get in.  It was true that all union workers were skilled craftsmen.  However, by arbitrarily tagging all blacks as unskilled they effectually kept them out of the union.

When dad heard this he has incredulous.   He then asked, “Who do you think built all those beautiful old buildings in the South?  Who do you think built all those beautiful plantation homes?  Think about it…it wasn’t the old white plantation owners!  Blacks are every bit as skilled as the white guys, maybe more so.”  When dad left the union hall that day Lee Talbert was a member of the International Sheet Metal Workers Union, local 108.  And we believe Mr. Talbert was the first black member of the Los Angeles local, maybe the first, or one of the first, in the country.

Thanks for your example dad.