A Lunch Box Preview of Dreaming Big-

New Novel Inspired By Actual Events Growing Up

Dreaming Big- Ambition and Aspiration in 1970s Upstate New York is my latest novel.

My new book is a novel called Dreaming Big- Ambition and Aspiration in 1970s Upstate New York. It is a fictional account inspired by an actual event.

You may recall a column in this space about a year ago about my dad, grandfather, and uncle working away from home on a big construction project too far away for a daily commute.

For most of the construction season, they shared an apartment and would come home to their families every weekend.

The novel also examines the perspectives of the 1960s and 70s from the then Governor of New York Nelson Rockefeller and an up-and-coming state legislator who would eventually ascend to the Lieutenant Governor’s office.

But at a basic level, this is the story about a family coping with uncertain economic times, the strength of supportive relatives, and the hope for a better future. Here’s a preview:

After the grandparents left, Al tucked the boys in and started getting ready for bed. Greta remained in the kitchen to prepare Al’s lunch pail for his Monday midday meal.

Fixing up the lunch pail, as Greta often referred to as the chore, was a special task that she looked forward to doing. To her, it was much more than just making a sandwich and packing it in along with some cookies and a piece of fruit.

It was much more than something she did based on gender roles of the time. It was an act of affection for her spouse and of appreciation for what he did for a living as well as the sacrifices he made for his family.

Packing a lunch box was a daily occurrence for a blue-collar family living in upstate New York in the early 1970s. Photo illustration: Steve Newvine

It began with the aluminum lunch pail Al bought shortly after starting construction work back in the 1950s. It had a plastic handle, attached to the top of the container with metal loops that were riveted into the metal.

The top was curved so that a thermos bottle containing hot coffee could be stored. A firm wire holder kept the bottle in place so that it would not fall into the lower compartment where the food was packed.

The coffee would go in after it was brewed in the morning so that it would be as fresh as possible.

The family percolator was all ready for action the night before with the ground coffee and cold water already in the electric appliance. All Al had to do when he got up was plug the percolator in the wall socket.

The coffee pot was started ahead of time so that it could brew while Al shaved in the nearby bathroom. The soft popping sound of water flowing over the coffee grounds could be heard while the aroma from the fresh beverage began to take over the downstairs of their two-story home.

The water was visible through the glass bulb on top of the coffee pot lid. As the water transformed from clear to dark brown, the process would come to an end.

The book Dreaming Big is a novel based on the real event of (left to right) my father, grandfather, and uncle working away from their homes during a construction season back in the early 1970s. Photo: Steve Newvine

In the lower section of the lunch pail, Greta would place a sandwich, usually peanut butter and jelly as kept it fresh in the non-refrigerated container.

She would pack at least three cookies next to the sandwich. Al told her one time that he usually ate two of the cookies during lunch, and then kept the third one for a mid-afternoon break. The food items were wrapped in wax paper to maintain freshness.

Along with those two items, Greta would pack a piece of fresh fruit to complete the process.

Most of the time that fruit would be an apple as they were plentiful in upstate grocery stores, fruit stands, and even fresh from the trees at nearby orchards during the fall harvest season.

All of the items were made to fit the available space. If there was extra room, Greta might toss in a small chocolate bar or a couple of butterscotch hard candies.

All of it came together like clockwork every night before a working day.

For her, fixing the lunch pail was a combination of engineering wizardry (finding room for everything she wanted Al to have for his meal) and a shared journey toward building a better life.

She knew Al appreciated all she did to keep the house running. The fixing of the lunch pail was the denouement: the final part of this special activity.

All the preparations for living away from home were complete. Everything was ready for Al to leave the house for work.

Steve Newvine grew up in upstate New York.

He and his wife moved to Merced in 2006. His novel Dreaming Big is available now on Lulu.com and will soon be available at Barnes and Noble .com and at Amazon.

Steve thanks the members of the Merced Women’s Club for inviting him to speak at their fall meeting held at their clubhouse on 22nd Street. He’s available to speak for other civic clubs. You may reach him at SteveNewvine@sbcglobal.net

Medic Alert: Paying it Forward-

Non-profit organization started in Turlock in 1956

Medic Alert was founded as a non-profit organization in 1956 in Turlock, California.

This is a story about a teenager, her parents, and the start of a non-profit organization that has saved many lives over the past seven decades.

Thanks to the Collins family paying it forward, an estimated four million lives have been touched in life-saving ways.

The story begins with our neighbor city to the north of Merced County: Turlock, Stanislaus County, California. It was 1953 and thirteen year-old Linda Collins cut herself while playing with her cousins.

She was taken to the ER where the doctor followed standard procedure and administered a tetanus antitoxin.

Linda had an allergic reaction to the antitoxin and went into a coma. She nearly died. Had her parents been with her at the time, they could have told the doctor about the allergy.

Chrissie Collins and her husband Dr. Marion Collins shared the belief that medical information should be made available to emergency personnel. They started Medic Alert from their Turlock home.

Escaping a potential tragedy wore on the minds of Linda’s parents: Dr. Marion Collins and his wife Chrissie.

From that point forward, Chrissie attached a small note to her daughter’s bracelet stating what the allergy was in case something like what Linda went through should ever happen again.

But Chrissie and Marion knew there had to be a better way for medical professionals to get that kind of information. Their concern went beyond their own family.

They wondered how to prevent something like this from happening in any family. Within three years, the Collins’ formed a non-profit organization that we now know as MedicAlert.

It was all based in the family’s hometown of Turlock.

Medic Alert bracelets come in many styles, including a Citizens Watch version. Photo montage from various internet retail sites.

According to the MedicAlert website, the first bracelet was custom made by a San Francisco jeweler who inscribed Linda’s allergies (she was also allergic to aspirin and sulfa).

Upon entering college in 1956, classmates saw the bracelet and asked about having some made for others with similar needs. The MedicAlert Foundation was formed as the Collins’ family believed strongly that providing vital medical communication was a public service.

The bracelets led to other items of jewelry and eventually to the establishment of a 24-hour hotline for medical professionals to access critical information about the conditions of MedicAlert members.

Dr. Marion Collins was proud of the creation of Medic Alert.

On the MedicAlert website, he is quoted: “I believe I can save more lives with MedicAlert than I ever can with my scalpel.”

Dr. Marion Collins came up with the idea of a custom-made bracelet with information engraved on it to help emergency personnel know more about a patient’s allergies and conditions. Photo: MedicAlert.org

The Collins family remained in Turlock all their lives. Linda’s father, Doctor Marion Collins passed in 1977.

Chrissie remained in Turlock in the years following her husband’s death. She served on the MedicAlert board and was known to ask pointed questions about the non-profit’s operations and the foundation's huge computer system.

She passed in 2001. Linda graduated from Stanford University with a degree in nursing.

She married, had three children, and later divorced. Linda was a gifted golfer, winning amateur titles including the California Women's Golf Association Championship.

She turned professional and won the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) Senior Teaching Division National Championship.

She died from breast cancer in 2004.

A sign was erected at one of the entrances to the City of Turlock showing all the active civic clubs, and proudly reminding visitors that the City was the home of Medic Alert. Photo: MedicAlert.org

The community of Turlock has never forgotten the legacy left by the Collins family.

There’s a story in Chrissie Collins obituary about how the community of Turlock came together to get Medic Alert up and running in the late 1950s.

In 1960 after a story ran in This Week magazine, an insert in Sunday newspapers, the non-profit received one-hundred thousand orders for MedicAlert bracelets.

Chrissie was quoted at the time that the whole town of Turlock worked out of the family room of their home to sign up new members and ship bracelets.

In 1981 the Kiwanis Club of Turlock presented a stone marker that was placed in front of the non-profit’s office on Colorado Avenue.

On the marker, these words are inscribed:

Medic Alert Foundation International. Founded on March 26, 1956 in Turlock , California by Marion C. Collins, MD to provide a lifetime of emergency medical identification for all people.

Presented by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Turlock, March 26, 1981.

Medic Alert moved from Turlock to an office in Salida, Stanislaus County, in 2015.

Four years later, it moved back to Turlock occupying an office on Lander Avenue. A year later, COVID forced all employees to work from home.

Eventually, the non-profit moved out of the Lander Avenue office. Medic Alert is now exclusively on-line. From that humble start in the mid 1950s to now nearly seventy years later, Medic Alert has over four million members in fifty countries.

Members pay $35 to join, and $15 in annual dues. Over the years, the organization has entered into strategic alliances to expand the reach of the system.

For profit companies, such as Citizen Watch, license products such as the Citizen Eco Watch with the Medic Alert logo. Medic Alert demonstrated that a near tragic situation could be turned into something positive.

The non-profit estimates that four-thousand lives are saved annually thanks to the bracelet and the phone system that provides information on members to emergency personnel.

That original medical ID bracelet that Linda wore is now stored in the Smithsonian Institution.

It represents the story of a teenage girl and her parents who would not let a near tragedy go to waste. According to the non-profit website, over four million Medic Alert members may very well owe their lives to the thoughtfulness of the Collins family of Turlock way back in the 1950s.

The Collins’ story of paying it forward has established a seventy year legacy that began right here in the Central Valley.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced.

He first wrote on Medic Alert in his book 9 from 99-Experiences in the Central Valley.

On September 6, he will speak before the Merced Women’s Club at their facility on 707 W. 22nd Street in Merced.

He will talk about his writing for MercedCountyEvents and feature several of his books available for sale.

His latest novel is Dreaming Big, and it is available at Lulu.com The Medic Alert website is MedicAlert.org