Carol Ryrie Brink
Many years before Carol Ryrie Brink received the Newbery Award for her children’s book, Caddie Woodlawn, she was a curious child who loved to explore her hometown and the surrounding countryside.
In December of 1895, Brink was born into an influential family in the small town of Moscow, Idaho.
Her grandfather, Dr. Watkins, was the president of the Idaho State Medical Association and a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Idaho.
Her father, Alexander Ryrie, was one of Moscow’s first mayors and was an accomplished businessman in insurance and real estate. He and his brother built several houses along South Polk Street. In fact, the house that Brink grew up in can still be admired today! This brightly painted home known as the “Pink House” will immediately catch your eye as you go past.
Unfortunately, these successful gentlemen and Brink’s mother passed away by the time she was eight years old – a difficult but formative time for the future author.
But the following years brought happier times. She loved listening to stories from her grandmother, who took her in after her parents’ deaths. It was these stories of her grandmother’s childhood adventures that inspired Brink to write Caddie Woodlawn.
When she wasn’t begging her grandmother for another story, you could find Brink at Childer’s Ice Cream Parlor and Shefrey’s Book Store, or perhaps you would find her roaming the rolling Palouse hills with her pony, Timmy.
In her book A Chain of Hands, a memoir developed through a series of vignettes, she describes the beautiful countryside: “During the long summers, I used to ride my pony all over the Idaho hills . . . jogging between dusty hedgerows and rail fences, climbing the hills to the place where the pines crowded out the wheat fields and looking back over the little town where so many interesting things were going on. I was curious about every tree, every flower, and how the seasons turned. I knew the animals I saw along the way; I could name the birds and recognize their songs.” From a young age, Brink was interested in every little detail of her surroundings, and she wrote in such a way that made her readers share this wide-eyed interest.
As a high school student, Brink wrote articles for the school magazine and later became the editor of the society page at the University of Idaho. During her college years, she moved away from her beloved hometown and eventually married Raymond Brink, who had tutored her in math while she attended Moscow Prep School. They had two children together: David and Nora.
It was only then that she started to publish her books, although it was much harder to find time to write with a family to care for. It was important to her that her husband and children came first and foremost, so her writing often happened on the end of the ironing board while the children were asleep or at school.
Brink wrote around thirty books, six of which were set in Idaho: All Over Town, Two Are Better Than One, Louly, Buffalo Coat, Snow in the River, and Strangers in the Forest.
After many years of pouring words out onto the page, she eventually retired in California and passed away in 1981.
In recognition of Brink’s literary achievements, the Moscow Public Library named the children’s wing after her. The library makes it easy for you to keep up with your young readers who have the same hunger for stories as Brink once did.
Moscow also acknowledged her by naming the Carol Ryrie Brink Nature Park in her honor, dedicated during the centennial celebration of her birth. This is the perfect place for a peaceful stroll or a summer picnic, the same kind of spot Brink would have loved to explore.
Carol Ryrie Brink is a reminder to all of us to find delight in the little things and to enjoy the stories developing all around us – the story of our lives and the lives of others.
- KAYTE CASEBOLT
Kayte Casebolt was born and raised in Moscow, Idaho and now is a freshman at New Saint Andrews College. She enjoys baking, reading, and running along Paradise Path.