"At the Lake,"(2008) by William Cumming
( short story by Wolfgang Hampel - Der wilde Maler ( The wild artist )
Ma and Pa Kettle - and Betty MacDonald fan club fans,
William Cumming, famous artist in the Pacific Northwest School, was born in Montana on March 24, 1917.
In 1940, Betty MacDonald headed the National Youth Administration Division of Information in Seattle.
William Cumming became Betty's assistant.
His regular salary was $25 per month.
William Cumming described Betty MacDonald's personality:
Betty MacDonald's humor wasn't kindly, nor homey, nor friendly. It had the malicious edge of a scalpel, and it could cut. Betty MacDonald saw the flaws of the race as vicious. The fact that these flaws generally ended in hilarious pratfalls didn't make them any less lethal in her eyes" (Sketchbook: A Memoir of the 1930s and the Northwest School)
In 1942 William Cumming entered Firland Sanatorium with tuberculosis. Betty MacDonald, who had served her own time in Firland (The Plague and I), drove him there.
William Cumming was a very good friend of Wolfgang Hampel, Betty MacDonald Memorial Award Winner and author of Betty MacDonald biography.
Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel wrote a very touching story of William Cumming.
William Cumming is part of Wolfgang Hampel's new project 'Vita Magica'.
Wolfgang Hampel's stories and satirical poems will be published in several languages for his many fans from all over the world.
You'll be able to find all these very interesting info in Betty MacDonald fan club newsletter August.
William Cumming's outstanding artwork, letters and documents are included in the Betty MacDonald Fan Club Memorial Collection in Switzerland and Scandinavia.
William Cumming died of congestive heart failure on the morning of November 22, 2010. He was 93 years old.
Take care,
Bengt
Vita Magica
Betty MacDonald fan club
Betty MacDonald forum
Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel
Betty MacDonald fan club items
Betty MacDonald fan club items - comments
Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund
William 'Bill' Cumming,
celebrity in the local art scene and longest-standing member of 'The
Northwest School' died Nov. 22, 2010 at age 93.
