If there is one thing that Happy Hollisters fans of all ages can agree on, it’s that Joey Brill is one big, bad bully. From setting White Nose and her kittens adrift on a raft in The Happy Hollisters (volume 1) to handcuffing Ricky Hollister to a light post in The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery in Skyscraper City, Joey’s pranks are always mean and often dangerous. Can you imagine a boy who is even worse than Joey Brill? Yikes!
Corinne P. of Yonkers, NY, wrote to Happy Hollisters author Jerry West in 1965 and told him of just such a boy.
It was not easy to find a current address for Corinne after 60 years. The return address on her letter gave only her school’s address in Yonkers, New York, so it was a challenge to locate her family’s home address, which is where we usually start our sleuthing. We kept searching the internet and finally found a possible match in New Jersey.
At first, Corinne thought the letter she received recently from Jerry West’s grandson was a scam. Fortunately, she figured out we were legit, and she wrote back. The current whereabouts of “her” Joey Brill remain unknown, but her memories of becoming a voracious reader are delightful!
Hi! Yes indeed I am Corinne P., the little girl who wrote to your grandfather all those years ago to thank him for his mystery books. I am now a grand 70 years old so please forgive me for not writing back sooner. When I started to read your letter at first I thought it was a scam of sorts but then recognized my handwriting [we include a partial photocopy of the original letters with our queries] and began to reread your letter. What a surprise!!! I was so full of joy that someone would take the time to write me all these years past. I did enjoy all types of mystery stories and I do so to this day. Sorry to say I do not remember which books of your grandfather’s I read. Maybe I should read them all? [Yes, Corinne. You should!]
My amazing journey of becoming a voracious reader began like this: When I was in 4th grade—ten years old—my teacher was Miss Rich and boy was she ever. She came up with all kinds of special projects for us to do. One day she announced we would be starting a reading contest. Every kid would read a book, write a book report about it and then a sticker would be placed on a big poster in the classroom for all to see how many books you had read. At the end of the contest there was a prize but my REAL prize was yet to come. We had to read a few books in several categories such as biography, history, etc. but there was a separate section where you could read any type of book.
I said to myself “I can do this and win!” so off I went, reading my little heart out. Of course ALL my reading in the free choice category was mystery stories but I quickly finished the reading in all sections. Yes, I WON THE CONTEST! But my very special prize was this: I never slowed down in my reading. It was like a magic switch was turned on inside me and I have continued to read one to two books a week for a long, long time. I just kept going. What a blessing. I am very sure your grandfather played a big part in this as I do not recall writing to anyone else about their books And now you have given me this memory, this recollection of a very special time. I was so very excited to receive your letter and the small picture of your grandfather’s books. I am going to put them in my photo album as a keepsake. It was a great kindness for you to take precious time out of your life to write to me.
God Bless you and yours,
Sincerely,
Corinne
Teaneck, NJ
We are so pleased that we reconnected with Corinne and she took the time to share this story with us! Jerry West would have loved the image of a “magic switch” that was turned on and energized her lifetime love of reading. That would be an invention Mr. Hollister would have been proud of!