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Reviews for Shuffletown USA
Collected Reminiscences Recall a Community Displaced by Progress
Shuffletown, USA: A Multi-Voice Memoir is the story of the rural village of Shuffletown, located outside of Charlotte. Shuffletown began as a ferry crossing along the Catawba River in 1840. Houses and shops were later built, centered on a nearby wagon crossroads. Farm families, black and white, moved to the area and went to work producing cotton and food crops and raising livestock. The city of Charlotte annexed Shuffletown in 1992 and its character was unalterably changed. It was transformed from a close-knit rural enclave to an area characterized by residential subdivisions, chain stores, and busy four-lane roads.
Rozzelle decided to write an informal oral history of Shuffletown several years ago after residents and relatives who had known her since childhood cared for her when she was diagnosed with cancer. These collected reminiscences from extended family members and long-time friends deal with every aspect of life in the community, from caring for children to the rituals at funerals. Rozzelle prefaces her book with a disclaimer. She changed the names of her informants and jumbled identifying characteristics.
Readers acquainted with the area and its residents should still be able to sort the identities of the sources. For those readers who are unfamiliar with Shuffletown, the stories can be read as emblematic of rural life in much of North Carolina in the early and mid twentieth century.
The Shuffletown stories are organized into three sections: events, customs, and "daily comforts of life." Important events include Christmas celebrations, the creation of a village fire department, the building of a community church, and the mixed blessings that followed from the decision to turn a farm field into the Shuffletown drag strip. Customs concern such topics as disciplining children, homegrown medical treatments, and overseeing the passing on of skills to the young.
Daily comforts focus on food, storytelling, childhood play, and shared hard work. Indeed, most readers will be struck by the prodigious efforts demanded of these rural families who had to be nearly self-sufficient. That they usually succeeded is a testament to their determination and to their willingness to share each another's burdens.
Rozzelle has been a freelance writer since 1971. Shuffletown, USA is her first book. It is not a documentary history nor is it historical fiction. Rozzelle's purpose, as she suggests in her elliptically written introduction, is to capture the essence of shared memories. In that she has succeeded. Shuffletown, USA is a good choice for academic and public libraries and should be on the reading list of anyone interested in life in the Charlotte area.
-- Mary C. Metzger, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, for the North Carolina Library Association
Judy Rozzelle has crafted both a paean and a historical timepiece. On one level, it is a collection of memories of interesting personalties, hilarious events and local tragedies that marked a community over several generations. These are the kind of stories that we would reminisce with our long-time friends. Yet, Shuffletown also is a symbol for a small-town America that has been all but swallowed by urban sprawl with its attendant roads, commercial developments and chain stores. Ultimately, Shuffletown should become required reading for future generations and serve as a reminder of the richness of a life in quieter towns where people know everyone and care for each other.
-- Nancy Sears, via Amazon.com
Love to have been there: Great fun to read. Shows a side of the people and places of the south seldom recounted.
-- Barry G. Sanderson, Amazon.com
A Delightful Surprise Awaits You in "Shuffletown"... "Shuffletown USA" is far from being your ordinary reminiscence on days gone by. Instead, Judy Rozzelle uses a unique and interesting technique of stepping out of the storyteller role and bringing her characters forward. Although one's immediate reaction is to think of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" in presentation, "Shuffletown USA" is, instead, not so much orchestrated by an on-stage interpreter/moderator but an off-stage, in the wings, facilitator. Suddenly, without the reader's conscious knowledge, the characters in the book are speaking directly to you in their own words rather than Judy reading their feelings and thoughts to you. For all of us who look back on our hometowns wistfully, this love letter masquerading as a memoir is touching, humorous and delightful in both content and presentation.
-- Linda B., Amazon.com
A Wonderful Tale of Dissappearance: Ms. Rozzelle has assembled the voices of her past - family and friends - the parts of self that have made her who she is. The backdrop is Shuffletown, a dissappearing rural town in North Carolina. It is the dissappearance of this place that creates the contemplative tone that allows the reader to join Ms. Rozzelle in remembering what was, and what may still be. A wonderful reflection of how where we're from shapes who we become.
-- Jay E, Amazon.com
Shuffletown USA feels like home: Judy Rozzelle sure has a way with words and capturing the essence of people. I certainly found this to be true in Shuffletown USA. I've always been a firm believer in maintaining a connection with the town in which you grew up. It doesn't matter how big or small it was. But, it is what makes us who we are. Ms. Rozzelle makes us feel as though we are living through her experiences and it makes us want to remember our own. We live in a world now that takes things too much for granted. If you want to "go home again", then I would suggest that you read this wonderfully warm and love filled book.
-- D. Freedman, Amazon.com
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