White Sheets : Where The Hippies Meet The Klan

In the spring of 1970 in towns across the country, traditions are being challenged by a puzzling new generation. Swarms of barefooted, long-haired hippies are speaking out against the war in Vietnam, marching, holding sit-ins and burning draft cards, with a rallying cry of “Make Peace not War.”In this small-town story inspired by actual events, one group of protesters, aiming toward a march in Atlanta, have taken a wrong turn in backwoods Northwest Florida, winding up in a field beside the Choctawhatchee River in deep-south Wiregrass country. Warmth, humor and intrigue unfold against a backdrop of growing tension as a welcoming faction of locals bond with the hippies while members of the Ku Klux Klan form a wall of distrust and hatred. With 12-year-old female main character Pidge at the helm, the mystery of a familiar face among the visiting campers propels the novel’s journey, along with suspense and secrecy. She is determined to rescue her missing friend whom she suspects was kidnapped and yet seems to be willingly hiding in the mass of Volkswagen vans and half-dressed peaceniks. Pidge’s family’s corner store becomes a hub for gossip and a melting pot for cross-cultural friendships.Hippies in need happily take handouts, offer help, and swap ideas and stories. Differing perspectives play out. Pidge’s father Josh is torn between his admiration for the eagerness and zeal of the young protesters and his loyalty to the military. Pidge’s mother Rose becomes heroic, adopting an urgently expectant mother as if she were family, determined to focus on what really matters, everyone’s health and well being. Meanwhile men for whom the values of decency and empathy, caring and equality, do not take precedence, start rounding up members of the White Sheets, the feared Ku Klux Klan. This story is a portrait of a southern neighborhood’s journey during a time when loyalties were split and conflict erupted not only on Vietnam battlefields, but in cities, small towns, and rural areas over the United States. Like the slow-moving waters of the river, themes of love, family and friendship, with a generous dose of Southern hospitality, remain steady throughout the novel’s journey. It highlights, with an upbeat enthusiasm, the little miracles of everyday life that happen, regardless of the news, when people are just being people.