Bettejane Synott Wesson

The View From Cracker Hill Bettejane Synott Wesson

The View From Cracker Hill describes life in Waterbury, Connecticut, Brass Capitol of the World, in the 1950s. it's a story told from the perspective of a young girl living in the inner city five blocks north of downtown in a section known as Cracker Hill. It's not a comprehensive history of place and time, but it's a lot of fun to read. The author's impression of city happenings, family events and Catholic school are told with humor and a growing awareness of the chances brought to her own town by the post war economy. But whether she's describing an air raid drill or a trip to Woolworth's her love for her subject is obvious. She says, "People sometimes ask, 'What do you see in Waterbury?' For me, it's not simply about memories, the way it was in my beloved past. It's also about Waterbury's potential, what it could be one day yet to come."