Nell Coleman

Corrigan's Place Nell Coleman

A freak accident leaves Corrigan's Place, an orchard in the Okanagan Valley, untended. What to do? The parents are on a secret filming mission and can't be reached - but a neighbour, Mr Clark, writes to Pete, the second eldest of the five Thomson boys, and tells him all about it. The boys are staying with their grandmother in Victoria, and they are fed up with having to behave properly and wear school uniforms and talk politely all the time. They decide to go back to the Okanagan and look after the orchard themselves. Getting home is an adventure in itself. They split up; Mike and Pete hitch south to the States, carrying with them a letter that they hope will put the RCMP on the wrong trail. Alec takes David and Glen north by bus - not such an exciting journey - but they all meet up again in Winfield and all reach Corrigan's Place together. And then reality hits! With neither Ma nor Bill around, Alec has to take charge - but it's not a burden he enjoys! Each of his four brothers have strong characters, and each of them is striving to find their own place in the scheme of things! Running an orchard farm isn't easy either. Thank goodness for Mr Clark and Antimas, who 'keep an eye' on things. But danger and hard work are wonderful teachers and eventually, the boys learn to work together and the crop is saved. But then the farm is in danger! Mr Howard, the greedy landowner who wants to own all of the valley, tries to get the boys taken back to Victoria! Luckily, there is a lot more to Gran than having polite tea parties and when she flies out to BC and sees for herself what a good job the boys are making of farming - and how devious Howard is being - she stays and helps and deals with all 'authority' until her daughter and son-in-law come home and the family can all be together again - at Corrigan's Place! Though the story is fictional and the names have been changed, this book is based on the happy years we spent in the orchards of the Okanagan valley.