New Biography Details Life of Columnist Mildred “Brownie” Schrumpf
Contact: Pauleena MacDougall, 581-1891
ORONO — Everybody knew “Brownie” Schrumpf, or at least they thought they did. A new biography by author and UMaine alum Karen Dodge Tolstrup, published by the Maine Folklife Center, fills in many of the details of the diminutive cook and Bangor Daily News columnist’s early life on a Readfield Depot farm.
Tolstrup, of Old Town, spent more than a year researching Schrumpf’s life, using her papers and interviews with friends in the Orono area. The result — If Maine Had a Queen: The Life of Brownie Schrumpf — is an affectionate and detailed story of the forces that shaped Schrumpf’s life and work.
Published by the Folklife Center at UMaine as a volume of Northeast Folklore, the paperback book includes many early photographs of Schrumpf and her husband Bill.
Tolstrup is a 2003 UMaine graduate who earned a master’s degree in history in 2006. A recent VISTA volunteer, she now works part time at the United Way of Eastern Maine.
A planned book launching ceremony in the fall at the Page Farm and Home Museum on the Orono campus will provide opportunities to meet the author and purchase a signed copy of the book.
The book is available for $15 through the Maine Folklife Center or at local bookstores.
The Maine Folklife Center can be reached by telephone at (207) 581-1891 for more information.