My Weekly Reader

In the fourth grade, my favorite day was Friday. Not just because the weekend was coming but on Fridays we received our very own copies of “My Weekly Reader”. To me, the short, shy kid in the second row, the little newspaper was a total gold mine of intrigue and adventure, packed with great stories and news. The added bonus was the flyer for new books from Scholastic Book Services.
There were so many books in there I wanted to order. I would carefully study all of the descriptions and circle the books I wanted with my pencil. Then, I’d take the catalog home and my Mom would say every time, “There’s just so many you want! Why don’t you just go to the library?” After days of whittling my list, cajoling and pouting, she’d finally give in and allow me to order two. But only two.
Once I graduated from college, I made a decision. I was out of my parents’ house and earning my own money as an adult. That meant I could make my own rules. And rule #1 was this: There are no limits on books!

I realized I would have to have a strict budget for bills, car payments, clothing and food. But I gave myself permission to buy any and all the books I wanted. No limit on two. It’s good to stand firm on the important things.

Back in the fourth grade, we never knew when our book orders would arrive. But one day during recess, a big box would arrive and the teacher would put those little paperbacks on each student’s desk while we were outside. It was so exciting to rush back in and see new books waiting! New books always smelled so good, with the promise of worlds to visit, people to meet, stories to learn I liked all kinds of books. One of my favorites was called Inky: Seeing Eye Dog. Not long ago, I found a copy of Inky on a website selling some of these books from the 1960s and bought it. Now I have Inky’s story back again (well, and a few others too).

I hadn’t recalled the author. Now I do. The book was written by Elizabeth P. Heppner, just after WWII, when Betty was back in Washington after having spent the war years serving as an operator with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Morale Operations Division.

A former newspaper reporter, she was a perfect choice to develop propaganda campaigns, targeting the Japanese Army. Betty served in the China Burma Theater of Operations and after the war, she was still looking to find her way. She wrote Undercover Girl, a memoir of her war years, before she and her first husband divorced. When her second husband Richard Heppner died, she joined the newly established CIA and returned to the field. There she met her third husband, Frederick McIntosh and wrote her most well-known book, Sisterhood of Spies. Her story, one of determination, creativity and adventure is included in The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line.

Betty McIntosh is at the center of many of the stories in my book. She was networked and connected in many ways to so many of the incredible women I’ve been privileged to learn about. Here are her books:

Undercover Girl by Elizabeth P. MacDonald
Inky: Seeing Eye Dog by Elizabeth P. Heppner
Palace Under the Sea by Elizabeth P. Heppner
Sisterhood of Spies: The Women of the OSS by Elizabeth P. McIntosh