FORGOTTEN BOOK: MISS PICKERELL AND THE GEIGER COUNTER

 Miss Pickerell and the Geiger Counter by Ellen MacGregor  (1953)

One of the greatest accomplishments in my life is that I never grew up.  I still have the same sense of wonder that I had as a child, as well as the same 11-year-old boy's sense of inappropriate humor.  Because of this I am sure that no one will know when (and if) I reach my dotage.  Also because of this I remain a big fan of the books and series I rea as a kid.  Take, for instance, Miss Pickerell.

Miss Lavinia Pickerell (her first name is seldom used) is a retired New England schoolteacher (at least, I think she was a schoolteacher; at least that is my impression -- although I don't remember specifically reading that; if she wasn't a schoolteacher, she should have been, IMHO) whose peculiar sense of appropriateness is undaunted.  Her sole companion is an unnamed cow of whom she is very fond, and which travels with her everywhere.  She is also fond of her nieces and nephews who quite often spend their vacations with her.  In Miss Pickerell and the Geiger Counter, the second book in the series, her nephews Homer and Harry are spending the summer with her.

She first appeared in a Ellen MacGregor's short story, "Swept into Space" (Liberty. May 1950), whi8ch was later expanded to the children's book Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars (1951).  MacGregor went on to publish three additional books about Miss Pickerell before the author's death in 1954.  eleven years later the series was continued by Dora Pantell, who used MacGregor's story notes and credited MacGregor as co-author, for an additional eleven novels, before signing her name as the sole author on a final two books.

As Geiger opens, Miss Pickerell is on a steamship going down the Square Toe River to take her nephews to Square Toe City to see the circus and also to visit the atomic energy exhibit at the state capital.  (Yeah, Square Toe City is the state capital.)  But the most important reason for the trip is to see veterinarian Dr. Haggerty, who has agreed to give her cow its annual physical examination following the circus performance.  Had Miss Pickerell know how the ship's crew were going to treat her cow she would have found another means of travel; they insisted the cow be locked in storage below decks rather than travel on the deck itself where the cow could appreciated the scenic view.  In the dank hold with the cow was a large pile of rocks, to which Miss Pickerell paid little attention, even though she was a big fan of rocks and had a rather large collection of her own -- including the red rocks she had bought back from Mars on her first adventure, rocks which had once won a gild medal at the state fair.

When Cornelius Lynch, the owner of the steamboat, discovered the Miss Pickerell's cow was on board, he decide it was against regulations.  He ordered the boat to stop at a nearby small town where a train could take Miss Pickerell and her cow for the rest of the journey.  Homer and Harry opted to remain on the boat so they could continued to swim in the canvas pool that had been set up on the steamship's deck, and would meet Miss Pickerell after the circus at the atomic energy exhibit.

The ticket seller at the train station refused to allow Miss Pickerell to take her cow on the train.  What a quandary.  She had to get to the city to meet up with her nephews but she wasn't allowed to get to the city with her cow.  She had to find someone to watch her cow while she went to pick up her nephews, but it could not be just anyone.  It had to be a very responsible person.  The ticket-seller suggested the local sheriff, who, because he hadn't been paid for the last six months, could always use some extra cash.  The sheriff was willing to watch Miss Pickerell's cow in the barn behind the sheriff's office, but sadky the sheriff was now feeling well; the bright sunlight was hurting his eyes.  Miss Pickerell looked at him closely:  the man had the measles!  

(The sheriff had also said that he spent most of his time looking at the dirt streets in the town, hoping to find some uranium ore that the town could sell to the Atomic Energy Commission to it could pay his salary.  Miss Pickerell, because of her great love for rocks, knew a lot about geology and knew that the area could not possibly have any uranium ore, despite a constant rumor that there was uranium along the banks of Square Toe River.  MacGregor, who always uses a science topic to anchor the Miss Pickerell adventures, discusses geology throughout the book, but always uses a light touch so as not to lose her young audience.)

Having made arrangement for both a doctor and a man to watch over the sheriff in his bedroom, all that remained was fir Miss Pickerell to bring her cow to the sheriff's barn, and then take the train to the city,  But when Miss Pickerell went back to the field where she had left the her cow, it had disappeared.

Now things are getting complicated.  she found the cow a distance off, by a building that housed an atomic energy experimental station but the cow was fenced in with a sign that said

AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

TRESPESSERS WILL BE PROSECURED

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW

Miss Pickerell was a stickler for obeying the law.  Yet she had to retrieve her cow.  the sheriff had said he would appoint a deputy while he was sick with the measles, so she went aback to get the sheriff's deputy to retrieve her cow.  But the sheriff had not appointed a deputy yet.  Miss Pickerell agreed to serve as a temporary deputy for only as long as it took to get her cow back.  By the time she was able to get the cow to the sheriff's barn, the train to the capital had already left.  Since she could not get to the capital, the sheriff asked her to continue to search for uranium in the city's streets, even though she knew there was no geological way for uranium to exist there.  So, off she went with a Geiger counter.

And the Geiger counter started clicking very fast.  But how?  And why?  And there's a ruined experiment at the atomic energy experimental station.  And the need for Miss Pickerell get her cow to the city for its veterinarian's appointment.  What about her nephews?  How are they managing in the city alone?  And the poor sheriff; Miss Pickerell discovers his secret desire...can she help him achieve it?

So many questions.  So few pages left to resolve it all.  Plus, we get to learn a lot about geology, radioactivity, and carbon dating in this whimsical tale.

Miss Pickerell is a force of nature.  Nothing can stop her from doing the right thing.  Nothing can prevent her from solving any problem she tackles.  Nothing can stop me from enjoying her adventures just as I did when I was in the fourth grade.

The Miss Pickerell books:

• Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars, 1951
• Miss Pickerell and the Geiger Counter, 1953
• Miss Pickerell Goes Unsersea, 1953
• Miss Pickerell Goes to the Arctic, 1954
• Miss Pickerell on the Moon, with Dora Pantell, 1965
• Miss Pickerell Goes on a Dig, with Dora Pantell, 1966
• Miss Pickerell Harvests the Sea, with Dora Pantell, 1968
• Miss Pickerell and the Weather Satellite, with Dora Pantell, 1971
• Miss Pickerell Meets Mr. H.U.M., with Dora Pantell, 1974
• Miss Pickerell Takes the Bull by the Horns, with Dora Pantell, 1976
• Miss Pickerell to the Earthquake Rescue, with Dora Pantell, 1977
• Miss Pickerell and the Supertanker, with Dora Pantell, 1978
• Miss Pickerell Tackles the Energy Crisis, with Dora Pantell, 1980
• Miss Pickerell on the Trail, with Dora Pantell, 1981
• Miss Pickerell and the Blue Whales, with Dora Pantell, 1983
• Miss Pickerell and the War of the Computers, by Dora Pantell alone, 1984
• Miss Pickerell and the Lost World, by Dora Pantell alone, 1986
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