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I was raised in a small town of 1,200 residents 75 miles south of St. Louis. Bismarck’s biggest industry was the Ozark Oak Flooring Company, but it was also a part of the Lead Belt, now called the (harmless) Mineral Area. Many of the townsmen worked in the mines or on the railroad but, my father was a minister. There were five churches and two funeral parlors in town. One of them also served as the emergency dispatch center. My first job was there. I sat in a room, next to the viewing parlor where the corpse would be and answered calls for the fire and ambulance. At 15, I was a receptionist in a doctor’s office. I I could type and take shorthand and I wasn’t afraid of the sight of blood. I graduated with honors then went off to Southeast Missouri State College. After a year, during the Vietnam War, I dropped out and went to the big city where I worked in a bomb factory.
Fortunately, I was laid off, (a temporary hiatus in those days) but before I was called back I landed a job as a reporter at a weekly newspaper and decided to resume my education. I graduated from Webster College (now University) with honors and was later employed there in the graduate school. I LOVED my job first as a news reporter, then editor of two editions, but I had a family situation that required regular hours so after seven years I went to work for a public school district. That began a career in public service that included a stint at KDHX Public Radio and St. Louis Job Corps. I retired at 50 with plans to travel and write the great American novel. After seeing a good bit of the world, I started this novel in 2010. Family stuff got in the way, so 15 years later – here it is. I love cars! My friend, Jack, and I have restored two small European roadsters in the past four years and are currently working on the ‘53 MG YB and a 1925 Model T. I belong to two car clubs, the St. Louis Artists Guild, and the Heritage Club at the Missouri Botanical Garden. I am a fairly good photographer and have had two successful shows but now I am more of an art collector specializing in Missouri artists. I also paint and especially enjoy creating murals. I am send a couple of photos in another email. I lead an active life and travel often.
The Sycamores is a deeply intimate, emotionally layered historical novel that explores what it means to love someone through mental illness, grief, and the quiet wars waged inside a home. The story follows Nathan Thaddeus Wallace — a faithful, working-class bread truck driver — as he navigates the complexities of a post-war American life filled with simple routines, unspeakable loss, and a marriage unraveling under the weight of trauma. As he works tirelessly to provide stability for his wife Carly and daughter Denise, he clings to a dream of one day owning a home in the country — a dream that keeps him afloat, even when everything else threatens to drown him. When Nathan takes on a new rural route, he encounters the elegance and quiet strength of Correll Farrington, a horsewoman whose life contrasts sharply with his own. As these two worlds gently touch, a story of emotional conflict, loyalty, and the human need to be seen unfolds. A novel that balances sorrow with serenity, hardship with hope, The Sycamore is a testament to quiet heroism, the long road of healing, and the fragile threads that hold families together.
Discover powerful stories and insights from Char Mason, where every word resonates.
