A Nonagenarian’s Loving Legacy for His Mother

A page from "Mister Deedle’s Tree House."

Mother’s Day held special significance for one Idaho family this year. Thanks to a devoted son, his supporting family, and a determined publisher, a mother’s 76-year-old dream of publishing a children’s book she wrote and illustrated in 1948 is now a reality. 

The path was anything but easy, but award-winning artist Margaret Morrison Roeth’s whimsical book, “Mister Deedle’s Tree House,” is now available to a whole new generation of children. 

“I’ve always thought it was a good story. It’s a fine children’s book without all the political stuff in it. It’s about kids and for kids,” the late author’s 93-year-old son, Chuck Roeth, said in a recent phone interview from his home in Rathdrum, Idaho. “I just wanted to make sure it got published while I could.”

Mr. Roeth says he’s always enjoyed woodworking and making things. Perhaps it was his passion for making things and his father’s previous career as an architect (Roeth Sr. was forced to switch careers during the Great Depression) that inspired his mother, Margaret, to write an imaginative tale built around a tree house.

As charming as the book is, however, the back story of breathing life into a 76-year-old tale highlighted by dozens of original hand-drawn and oversized painted illustrations is a story in itself. It’s no wonder that Mr. Roeth described the challenges and obstacles of getting the book published over the past 15 years as “a legacy of love” for his mother.

Korean War Navy veteran Chuck Roeth labored for 15 years to get his mother's (Margaret Morrison Roeth) children's book published. Courtesy of Chuck Roeth

Margaret Morrison Roeth

The author of “Mister Deedle’s Tree House” was born in 1894 in Tacoma, Washington. She studied at the California School of Arts and Crafts in Berkeley, California, before graduating from the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Margaret won several art awards over her lifetime.

Chuck’s father, Charles F.B. Roeth, graduated from the University of California–Berkeley in 1916 before serving with the American Field Service (AFS) in World War I, driving ambulances for the French army. After the United States entered the war, the military absorbed the AFS ambulance units, and Roeth Sr. served as a second lieutenant before finishing the war as a commissioned officer.

The children's book that Margaret Morrison Roeth wrote in 1948 was finally published in April by Morgan Pierce Media & Publishing. Courtesy of Chuck Roeth

Margaret and Charles Sr. married after a brief courtship and had two children, Charles (Chuck) and Helen Elizabeth (Betsy) Roeth. Margaret modeled Peter and Peggy, the two main characters in “Mister Deedle’s Tree House,” after her own two children. Art was her passion, and the idea of writing a children’s book with her own illustrations was her dream.

“She did various art work throughout her life. She would draw pictures of squirrels and things like that at the park,” Mr. Roeth recalled. He also recalled a fond memory of spending time with his mother, aunt, and cousin at Big Sur, California, with its seaside cliffs and misty coastline.

After penning “Mister Deedle’s Tree House” accompanied by over 50 illustrations, Margaret had high hopes for her literary effort when submitting the book to a San Francisco publisher. Her family described the subsequent rejection of her book as devastating. Margaret reluctantly stored the manuscript away, focusing exclusively on raising her children and on her art. Over the passing years, the manuscript was all but forgotten, first by Margaret and, after her passing, later by Helen Betsy. 

“This amazingly gifted woman had been shot down and her work wasn’t appreciated the way it should have been,” said Carrie Pierce, also on the phone call. She is co-founder and co-director of Morgan Pierce Media & Publishing along with fellow co-founder and co-director Sandra Morgan, the book’s publisher. 

When Margaret Roeth wrote her book in 1948 and submitted it to the San Francisco publisher in 1950, her son was busy serving his country after enlisting in the U.S. Navy.

A Devoted Son and His Family

During his four years of military service, Chuck Roeth worked as a metalsmith based out of Barber’s Point, Hawaii. In 1950, he was stationed in Guam when the Korean War broke out, the same year his mother’s book was being rejected by the San Francisco publisher. For the next two-and-a-half years, Mr. Roeth serviced Navy aircraft and also performed nighttime patrols in Okinawa, Taiwan, and off the coast of North Korea. When he finished his military stint in 1952, he had attained the rank of Aviation Structural Mechanic Petty Officer 1st Class. 

Chuck Roeth served in the U.S. Navy for four years, from 1948 to 1952, and attained the rank of Aviation Structural Mechanic Petty Officer. Courtesy of Chuck Roeth

After his military service, he used the GI Bill to attend junior college, eventually graduating from the University of California–Berkeley with a degree in mechanical engineering. After graduation, he worked as a mechanical engineer for Georgia Pacific and Louisiana Pacific, primarily designing lumbermill equipment. 

It wasn’t until a 2009 trip to California to visit his sister that Mr. Roeth first learned of his mother’s book. Helen Betsy knew she was seriously ill (she passed in 2013) and gave her brother the original artwork and manuscript in the hope that he could get it published. Over the next 15 years, Mr. Roeth and Janet, his wife of nearly 58 years, and daughters Gretchen and Jennifer worked tirelessly to fulfill Margaret’s dream.

The Evolution of ‘Mister Deedle’s Tree House’

Comprising 52 pages, five highly imaginative chapters, and dozens of extraordinary hand-drawn illustrations by the author, the book captures the adventures of Peter, Peggy, and their dog Kirby in a simpler, more genteel time. In the book, the children visit their Aunt Kate at her house high on a mountaintop in the Andes. They pretend they are very small and can go places like to an oak tree, where they meet the fanciful Mr. Deedle. Mr. Deedle and the kids have tea, go to China, and host their first ever Christmas party, among other adventures.

“The book is like a time capsule to a gentler time. The drawings are so comforting, and the old time Christmas tree is my favorite,” said Ms. Pierce. “The story is precious and highly imaginative.”

A page from "Mister Deedle’s Tree House."

Morgan Pierce first learned of the book and Mr. Roeth’s unsuccessful attempts at publication at a ladies’ group meeting in 2023. Mr. Roeth’s wife, Janet, said she felt led by the Lord to sit next to Ms. Pierce, though she admits she didn’t know why. The two women began talking about music genres they liked and it wasn’t until Janet learned what Ms. Pierce did for a living that the former learned why she felt led to sit next to Ms. Pierce out of the dozens in attendance.

Janet shared the story of her mother-in-law’s 75-year-old unpublished book and invited Ms. Pierce to her home to view it. Unfortunately, Ms. Pierce broke several ribs in a fall immediately after the invitation, and it wasn’t until 10 months later that she first saw the book. “I couldn’t believe my eyes,” she exclaimed! “Had Jan not been directed to come sit by me and strike up a conversation, we never would have met. It was our Divine Appointment for the day!”

Challenges in Creating a Literary Family Heirloom

The 52 meticulously hand-drawn illustrations presented some unique challenges for publication, as Mr. Roeth learned after trying to digitize some of the work himself. “Mother had some images and some text in place, but that was all,” he recalled.

His mother’s illustrations exceeded the standard dimensions for book printing, so conventional scanning and digitizing methods weren’t feasible. Morgan Pierce did locate machines capable of handling large artwork, but neither they nor the Roeth family wanted to risk damaging the original illustrations. Morgan Pierce was finally able to locate a small Idaho company who shared their enthusiasm for the project and agreed to take it on.

“Each pencil mark, each smudge ... everything was cleaned up by hand, and then they ran each illustration through several print cycles to move the background color from a time-stained yellowish beige to pristine white, all the while carefully preserving Margaret’s brushstrokes and all the heart and personality of each illustration,” Ms. Pierce told The Epoch Times via email. 

Another challenge was meshing the artwork with the story verbiage. Margaret painted scallops around most of her illustrations, and because those were hand-drawn, it was difficult to place the illustrations to display correctly. “The verbiage had to be laid in by hand on top of each individual illustration and then reformatted to ensure it displayed correctly on each page,” Ms. Pierce said.

The Morgan Pierce team generally take five to eight months to publish a book, but by working around the clock, they were able to publish “Mr. Deedle’s Tree House” in just two-and-a-half months and complete the digital imaging of the 52 illustrations in three weeks. In April, the culmination of Mr. Roeth’s 76-year dream became a published reality.

“My mother would be very happy her book is published and out into the world. She was just wanting to help children enjoy and be engaged in reading,“ Mr. Roeth said. ”I am thrilled that her aspiration has finally become a reality.”

Mister Deedle’s Tree House By Margaret Morrison Roeth Morgan Pierce Media & Publishing, April 22, 2024 Paperback: 60 pages

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