McFARLAND, Henry O. 1934-

(Henry "Hammer" McFarland)

PERSONAL: Born March 4, 1934, in Concord, NH; son of Donald J. (a businessman) and Frances (a teacher and homemaker; maiden name, Morton) McFarland; married Nancy Norton, November 2, 1955; children: Susan M. McFarland Moynahan, Jay D. Ethnicity: "Anglo Saxon." Education: Middlebury College, B.A.; University of New Hampshire, graduate study. Politics: Independent. Religion: Protestant. Hobbies and other interests: Golf, skiing, crosswords, bridge.

ADDRESSES: Home—12 Concord Point, P.O. Box 275, Rye, NH 03870. Agent—Patrika Vaughn, Advocate House, 888 Boulevard of the Arts, Suite 1503, Sarasota, FL 34236. E-mail—hankrye@aol.com.

CAREER: McFarland Ford Sales, Inc., president, 1955-2002; writer. Hampton Ford-Hyundai, Inc., treasurer.

MEMBER: National Auto Dealer Association.

WRITINGS:

AS HENRY "HAMMER" MCFARLAND

Ralph's World, illustrated by Martha Gilfeather, A Cappella Publishing, 2002.

Ralph and Jimbo's Great Golf Adventure, illustrated by Martha Gilfeather, Advocate House (Sarasota, FL), 2002.

WORK IN PROGRESS: It's a Dog's World, completion expected in 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Henry O. McFarland worked as an automobile dealer for almost fifty years, but that was not his original intention. Until 1955 he intended to be a teacher or, perhaps, a writer. After a long and rewarding career in the automobile business, McFarland found himself remembering his college days as an American literature major and his early desire to teach.

When he became a grandfather, McFarland had an opportunity to explore that early dream by making up humorous children's stories he hoped would entertain, educate, and tickle the imagination. By the time his fifth grandchild arrived, he had created Ralph and Jimbo.

Ralph is a young rhinoceros who lives on a small island with his parents. His best friend is an elephant named Jimbo. In the middle of the island is a magic volcano named Mount Hood, which erupts every afternoon. The remarkable thing about Mount Hood is that its daily eruption is in the form of ice cream. Ralph's World tells of the terrible, sad day when Mount Hood falls still and Ralph learns a lesson in life: there are more important things than ice cream.

In Ralph and Jimbo's Great Golf Adventure, humans have come to the island and constructed a golf course. The two friends observe these funny people and their antics with a ball and stick. When Ralph and Jimbo ask if they can play, too, the answer at first is "no animals allowed." The golfer reconsiders when he realizes that teaching a rhinoceros and an elephant to play golf would be a newsworthy achievement. Of course, no one could anticipate what happens next.

McFarland designed his stories for their entertainment value, hoping that they would also stimulate imagination. As the stories developed, however, he added subtle instructional messages and problem-solving opportunities that classroom teachers have declared to be useful. Letters to the author from his younger readers indicate their enjoyment of the stories, but they reveal far less enthusiasm for the idea of cauliflower-spinach ice cream, no matter how "good for you" it may be.

McFarland told CA: "I love to write for recreation and intellectual stimulation. I mostly write about things in my life or, when writing children's books, I like to try to jump-start their imaginations.

"My writing process involves thinking about my project in its entirety, then filling in the details.

"The subjects I have written about until now involve writing imaginative children's stories and telling the life story of one of our pets from the animal's perspective."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

ONLINE

Ralph-Jimbo.com,http://www.ralph-jimbo.com/ (February 11, 2003).