For Fred Gorton's writings
about his
family and people he knew,
Keep scrolling down to the GO buttons.
These files are available both as on-line links and as pdf files. The pdf files will look the same on all browsers. I won't guarantee the appearance of the html files. The pdf files are also fully searchable by using the "find" feature and typing in the name or place you are interested in. The font size can also be enlarged for easier reading. The text is being made available in this format so that it may be easily printed or downloaded, but I would appreciate acknowledgment of the source if you choose to reproduce any of the material elsewhere.
The complete LIFE OF A PLODDER contains the following: CHAPTER ONE: THE CHILD, CHAPTER TWO: THE YOUTH, CHAPTER THREE: THE MARRIED MAN, CHAPTER FOUR: THE R.F.D. CARRIER, CHAPTER FIVE: THE COMPANY MAN,
CHAPTER SIX: THE SENIOR CITIZEN, APPENDIX I: EXCERPTS FROM DAVID HALL'S DIARY, APPENDIX II: ACCOUNT WRITTEN BY FRED GORTON ON MAY 2, 1963, and
APPENDIX III: MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ABOUT PEOPLE FRED GORTON KNEW.
I have tried to select those events in his life and those entries in his diaries which best show the man and his times. I hope he would have been pleased. The original version of this book was made for Fred's children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. There were five copies printed in 1980 and then thirty-five more including additional photographs. This new version is revised and expanded, with an attempt made to identify the people Fred Gorton wrote about. Unless I was certain of the correction, I have left the spelling of names as he wrote them. I've also left his spelling for "trashing buckwheat" and the like. Typographical errors are mine. Those involving dates may well have been missed in proofreading, since they wouldn't be caught without checking each one against the original. Please feel free to send corrections to me at emerson@megalink.net.
The opinions expressed in these pages are Fred Gorton's. He was not politically correct by modern standards. Neither was he concerned about libel or slander. He may have been wrong in some of his statements, but he believed he was recording nothing but the truth. I make no apology for him, nor for sharing these records of historical interest with a wider audience. If any of the descendants of those mentioned herein wish to dispute one of my grandfather's comments, I will be happy to add their side of the story to this document and put the revised version on line.
Kathy Lynn Gorton Emerson
emerson@megalink.net
Wilton, Maine
February, 2005
Click here for the first section of Fred Gorton's story (1878 to 1901)
Click here for the first section of Fred Gorton's story (1878 to 1901) as a pdf file
Click here for the second section of Fred Gorton's story (1901 to 1917)
Click here for the second section of Fred Gorton's story (1901 to 1917) as a pdf file
Click here for part one and part two of the third section of Fred Gorton's story (1917 to 1973)
Click here for the third section of Fred Gorton's story (1917 to 1973) as a pdf file
Click here for the fourth section of Fred Gorton's story (1878+)
Click here for the fourth section of Fred Gorton's story (1878+) as a pdf file
Questions? Click here: 
Kathy Lynn Emerson
is a writer by profession and the author of
a number of novels and non-fiction books.
To visit her website, click here:
If you are interested in purchasing a copy of JULIA'S MENDING, the children's book (ages 8-12) based on Fred's memoirs, please click here:
If you are interested in reading about the other side of Kathy Lynn Gorton Emerson's family and about NO MORTAL REASON, her adult novel set in 1888 Liberty (publication date April, 2007), please click here:
© 2006 Kathy Lynn Gorton Emerson. All rights reserved.
Last updated 12/17/2006