Dale Christopher - Behind the Desk with... Matt Christopher: The #1 Sportswriter for Kids

Copyright 2004 by Dale Christopher

All rights reserved.

Little, Brown and Company

Hachette Book Group,
237 Park Avenue,
New York, NY 10017

Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com

Matt Christopher is a registered trademark of Catherine M. Christopher.

First eBook Edition: July 2007

ISBN: 978-0-316-02547-8

This book is dedicated to my Dad,
whose works enrich the lives of all his
readers and who led me on a journey of
wonderful memories infused with love.

I want to thank more than anyone, my mother, who has provided me so much of my fathers life. I also want to thank my wife, Karen, and my siblings: Marty, Pam, and Duane. I wish to thank my aunts and uncles for their input: John, Tony, Rudy, Dominic, Celeste, and my dear Aunt Mary, who recently passed away.

Also, thank you to Doug Phillips for his writings about Dad when he played for the Smiths Falls Beaver Yankees in Ontario, Canada, and Anita Martin who helped me put this story together.

He (Bobby Canfield) glanced over his shoulder to see what Walter was doing, and almost jumped out of his skin as he saw the boy trying to light up a cigarette.

No smoking, Walt!

from THE FOX STEALS HOME, by Matt Christopher

Hey, Matt, Jake said, ever smoke a cigarette?

Six-year-old Matt Christopher stared at the boy. Jake was taller than Matt and much huskier. Me? Are you crazy? No.

Jake grinned. Ive got some dough, he said. Come on. Ill buy a pack. Jakes parents were inside the house visiting Matts father. That gave the boys plenty of time to head down to the local store to buy a pack of cigarettes.

How are you going to get cigarettes? Matt asked as the boys walked along. Youre just a Kid.

Youll see, Jake said, smiling. Ive bought them lots of times.

When they reached the store, Jake went inside. Matt stayed outside, staring up and down the street, hoping no one he knew came by. Before long, Jake came out of the store with a pack of Lucky Strikes.

Matt was astonished. How did you do it? he asked.

Jake gave him a smart, wise-guy grin. I just told him its for my father.

What a sneak! Matt thought to himself.

Matt and Jake headed back to Matts house. Making sure the adults didnt see them, they hurried around to the backyard. Jake tore open the pack of cigarettes. He took out one and handed it to Matt, then took out another one for himself. From his pocket he took a pack of matches, lit his cigarette, and then lit Matts.

I cant, Matt said, holding the cigarette, shaking like a leaf in the wind. If my father finds out

How could he? Jake cut Matt short. Im not gonna tell. And youre dumb if you do. Go head. Put it in your mouth and puff on it. Watch me.

Matt watched him take a long puff on the cigarette, hold his breath a minute, and then blow out the smoke. It was clear that Jake had done this before.

Try it, Jake said.

Still scared but not wanting to seem like a baby, Matt put the cigarette between his lips and inhaled. At first nothing happened. Then the smoke hit his throat. Matt started to cough and couldnt stop. As he struggled for breath, three thoughts crossed his mind. First, that his father would surely hear him hacking, discover him with a cigarette, and punish him. Second, that smoking was one of the stupidest things hed ever tried. And third, that if he felt awful right now, it was his own fault for letting Jake talk him into doing something he knew was bad.

When his throat finally stopped burning and he could breathe again, Matt threw the cigarette on the ground and crushed it under the sole of his shoe. Then he looked at Jake through tearstained eyes and said, Forget it. You can smoke the rest of the Luckies yourself.

The events of that day stuck with Matt Christopher for a long time. For one thing, he never smoked another cigarette in his life! And years later in 1978, to be exact that same event found its way into one of the many books for young readers that Matt Christopher authored. In fact, the situations, characters, settings, and conflicts he wrote about were often drawn from the experiences he had in his life.

Perhaps his strongest, most positive memories were of his three greatest loves: family, sports, and writing. That he was able to combine those three loves into a career that spans fifty years is a tribute to his hard work. More important, it shows his determination to pursue his dream, a dream he never lost sight of even when the odds seemed stacked against him.

Chapter One:
19171929

A Writer Is Born

Matthew Frederick Christopher was born on August 16, 1917, in a small mining community outside of Allentown, Pennsylvania. He was the first child of Frederick and Mary Christopher, and the first of the Christopher family to be born in the United States.

Matts father, Frederick Cristoforo, was born in Italy on May 17, 1895. When Frederick was about ten years old, he, his father, Matteo Cristoforo, and his uncle immigrated to America. They Americanized their last name to Christopher and settled in Bath, Pennsylvania, where the men found jobs at the local cement plant.

Bath was like many other industrial communities of that era. It consisted of a downtown section with gravel streets, dirt alleys, and vacant lots, or sandlots, as they were called. The houses that surrounded the town were small bungalows with three or four rooms. Very few people could afford to buy their own home. Instead, they rented from one of the mining companies. Some houses were painted white, but most were natural wood seasoned gray over the years. The whole town was very dirty, blanketed in a thin coating of dust that traveled from the cement plant.

The same year that Frederick Christopher left Italy, ten-year-old Mary Rose Vass and her parents left their native land of Hungary to come to the United States. Like the Christophers, the Vasses were in search of the American dream. They, too, made Bath their home.

Frederick and Mary met while living in Bath. When they were old enough, they began dating. They were married in 1916 and soon after welcomed their first baby. They named him Matthew, the English version of Matteo. They called him Matt for short.

Matt was still a toddler when the Christophers made the first of many moves, from Bath to Bath Portland, another small industrial town a few miles away. Their new house was a bungalow similar to the one in Bath. It was within walking distance of the Penn-Dixie Cement Plant where both Frederick and Matteo worked.

Matt Christopher, future childrens book author!

While the men were busy putting in long days at the plant, Mary did her best to make the Christopher house a home. Some of her time was spent cleaning away the dust and dirt that constantly blew in from the plant. She also made sure to have hearty meals ready when the tired men returned home after work. The rest of her day was spent caring for the growing number of children in the Christopher family.

Matts sister Mary was born March 3, 1919, his brother Frederick arrived April 5, 1922, and another brother, Michael, on March 17,1924. Eventually, Frederick and Mary would have eight children. Matt, the oldest, was expected to help around the house however he could. One of his tasks was weeding the garden.

The garden was Fredericks pride and joy. It was located on the hill behind their house and was part of a four-acre plot shared by other families who rented houses from the cement company. Because supermarkets were a thing of the future, buying fresh produce was a luxury. For many families, these gardens were their primary source of vegetables. Potatoes, corn, lettuce, and green and hot peppers were the mainstays. Each fall, the vegetables were harvested, canned, and put in the cold cellar for meals in the winter.