In the Shadow of the Sugar Factory
An illustrated, historic fiction chapter book for middle grade readers.
By Amy Marino Lyons
Book Blurb
In the summer of 1902 Freddy Hoeft sails to New York harbor with both of his parents and loses one to Smallpox quarantine before his ship touches the shore. He and his father settle into a boarding house in Brooklyn for workers at the American Sugar Refinery. While his father toils in the sweltering sugar factory, he tries to fit in at school and often stops along his delivery route to admire the new East River bridge being built in his neighborhood. Freddy must leap from his childhood into a new world of responsibilities and heartaches. After he starts to work in the sugar factory himself, tragedy strikes. He finds friends who show him that life has different challenges in store for everyone, and that he is not alone in his journey. He discovers that he is a bridge enthusiast and a book lover and a beloved friend.
Excerpt
Joe spoke softly, “Turn to face the wall and put one foot up on the slant to balance.”
As soon as Freddy did, he lost his balance and had to reach his hand out to catch himself. “Ouch!” He yanked it back while smartly thrusting his scraper forward into the sticky hot wall with his other hand to rebalance his position.
“Every filter scraper needs to feel the coating once. Now you’ll never forget your gloves,” Joe said. “Scrape side to side, against the grain of the draining sugar. And move around the tank to your left.”
Freddy quickly understood that if he balanced the weight on his bent leg with the pressure he applied to the scraper, he wouldn’t need the other hand to steady himself. It was a challenging task nevertheless, especially when it came time to lower the foot to scoot over to the next section. All he could think was, Mr. Goler was right about the smell, “like stickin yer head into a can of raw meat and ashes”. It was overpowering. He thought he might throw up and then the feeling passed.
Suddenly, the scratching sound began to irritate him; in both his ears, the wire on metal made his brain and his jaw ache. He focused his attention on trying to match Joe’s scraping tempo. He squinted his eyes nearly closed so the flying wet bone dust wouldn’t land in them. And then he couldn’t breathe. The air was thick and wet. He thought his mask was clogged, so he pushed off the wall to stand upright on both feet. He pulled the mask down around his neck with his free hand which was raw from touching the burning rough surface. He held his breath until he could yank the fresh rag from his pocket and cover his nose and mouth and then shouted over to the still scraping Joe, “I’m going out.”
Freddy didn’t wait for an answer. He sat on the inner seal of the porthole and thrust his butt through until his feet landed on the floor. His head was pounding as he gasped for air. What seemed like narrow passageways between these tanks before, now appeared like wide boulevards. He had to squint his eyes because the larger room was as bright as blue sky after being inside that darkness.
After Joe’s feet were safely planted on solid ground as well, he closed the porthole and signaled to the hamper man. He turned back to Freddy then, “Are you all right?”
“Ya, I’m sorry I left you. I couldn’t breathe.”
“You will get used to it. The first time inside is always too much for guys to bear. But now that you know what to expect, you will learn how to cope.”
Moodboard
