I read all genre of books, new titles and rereads. But memoirs have been favored recently. Maybe it’s a sign of getting older. I recently finished “Michener and Me: a memoir” (1999) by Herman Silverman. It’s a read prompted by my recent viewing of the movie South Pacific and reading “Tales of the South Pacific.”
It’s a very personal account of a decades long friendship between Doylestown’s James Michener and Herman Silverman, owner of Sylvan Pools. A lot is revealed about Michener’s life and personality.
Part of my Michener fascination, besides the fact that I’ve enjoyed his writing, is his lifestyle. After his success with South Pacific, he traveled the world writing epics about places, could be the Chesapeake, Texas, Mexico, Hawaii, Colorado, or Afghanistan. He frequently lived in the area of research; sometimes buying a house. His memoir is titled, “The World is my Home.” Maybe I have a copy to reread.
For decades Silverman and Michener built a friendship. Jim and his second wife, Mari, often live at the Silverman house when visiting Bucks County. Eventually Michener bought a house Bucks County. In 1987 he wrote:
“We had in our town the county jail where mysterious things happened, and the two great Mercer castles, which made Doylestown distinctive. It was a lively place for a boyhood and it enhanced whatever propensities I had for study, for scholarship and for a life of the imagination. I grew up believing that I lived in a town which was enormously superior to more reckless towns like Lambertville across the river in New Jersey and Lansdale, almost a metropolis, to the west. We were also much more stable than Easton, far to the north, but we were perpetually seduced by the really major city of Philadelphia to the south. That we could easily get to its fine stores, theaters, concerts and museums made Doylestown not only a rural retreat but also a participant in the grandeur of the world.
As I look back upon those exciting days I’d say that fifty-five percent of my character was formed by what happened in Doylestown, forty-five percent, including my attraction to the arts, by my experiences in Philadelphia, and that’s a heady mix for any young fellow” (Bucks County Herald).
Mitchener tended toward conservative Eisenhower Republicanism. Silverman was more liberal. Over the years Mitchener slided. He campaigned for Kennedy and made a liberal run for County Commissioner.
I didn’t know that it was Michener and Silverman that invested in the New Hope Aqua Club. We lived not far away on Old York Road for several years. It was a financial disaster.
Silverman was a promoter and backer of the James Mitchener Art Museum in Doylestown. I’ve been a member for years. The museum collected and promoted the Bucks County Impressionist school that had formed in New Hope in the early 1900s. It’s amazing how little was know about these artists — Redfield, Lathrop, Garber, Folinsbee, Spencer, Coppedge — before the Michener. Bucks County or Pennsylvania Impressionists are among my favorite painters. James Michener is a favorite novilist.
Yes, Bucks County.
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