Mary Lou Cimarolli recounts some of the more memorable occurrences in the life
of her beloved professor, Dr. Paul Wells Barrus.

 

Seymour Community Native Introduces
New Book at Library, Thursday Night

 

by: Bobby McDonald

 

You first were introduced to Seymour Community native, Mary Lou Cimarolli, when she published her first book, The Bootlegger's Other Daughter, about being reared on a hardscrabble farm in southern Hopkins County, during the Great Depression, as she recounts the hardships, challenges, and humor of the experience. Well, on Thursday night, she brought back to Hopkins County, her latest book, Man of Grace, A Remembrance of Paul Wells Barrus.

Out of the many, many students that graced the classes of Paul Wells Barrus, at East Texas State University and Texas A&M University-Commerce, Cimarolli was honored to write the memoirs of this outstanding individual, that had such an influence on his students, his community, and his church. Cimarolli brings to light a personal side of Barrus, as she was one of his students, and then has "sifted through" stacks of journals, publications, personal correspondence and documents, to capture the essence of the legendary professor and community servant.

"It's not a biography!" insists Cimarolli. "It's a heart-felt remembrance of a remarkable and influential man, that has left a legacy for all of us. A biography would mean that the legacy has ended. However, Barrus continues to 'live on' in our lives, as his influence continues to grow!"

Cimarolli introduced her remarkable new book at a reading and book signing, hosted by the Sulphur Springs Public Library Friends, on Thursday night, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

"I'm always captivated by Mary Lou Cimarolli, and can't think of anyone that would be better suited to capture the scope of Dr. Barrus' legacy," remarked local, former Barrus understudy, Markeda Price Fisher. "Cimarolli, like so many of us, had Dr. Barrus as a beloved professor, and she has the ability to place on paper, what we all feel in our hearts for this devoted professor!"

 

 

 

Cimarolli shares some of the humor of her former professor, Dr. Paul Well Barrus,
with the audience, at Thursday night's gathering in the Sulphur Springs Public Library.

 

 

 

 

Cimarolli was a finalist for the PEN/Martha Allbrand Award for the art of the Memoir in 2003, for her first book, The Bootlegger's Other Daughter, and this latest addition promises to meet with audience appeal just as well.

"It's Cimarolli's ability to access the situation and bring to life the real life characters in her works, that endears you to her books," continued Fisher. "I've already read the book and recommend it to anyone who is inspired by classic individuals, as well as those who were influenced by Dr. Barrus."

Thursday night's feature by the Friends of the Library, was well attended and ended with a question and answer period conducted by Mary Cimarolli.

Cimarolli, born the daughter of Mr. J.T. "Tice" Gammill and Mrs. Kate Gammill, on a farm between the Seymour and Arbala Communities in Hopkins County, one of three siblings, reared during the 1930's attending Seymour School, until the school closed and she was force bussed to Sulphur Springs. She received her degrees from East Texas State University and is now retired from teaching English, and now lives in Richardson, Texas, and Angel Fire, New Mexico. She is the mother of two children, one of which is Jim Cimarolli, who makes his home in Sulphur Springs!

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