By Evan Walsh
Contributing Writer
HUDSON – Linda LeSage laid nine pieces of paper across her dining room table, using Scotch tape to secure them in place. On one end of the table, she wrote 1924; on the other, 2021. She created a timeline, and, as memories came to her, put them on the sheet.
Those became her chapters. She wrote every sentence longhand before it was converted to text.
All LeSage’s effort was in an attempt to honor one person: Jean V. Beddow-Arnth, an English woman who dealt with childhood sickness, immigrated to America with only $543 to her name, and went on to found Jean’s School of Gymnastics in Marlborough.
“It’s a story about a woman who left a long legacy of giving back to her community. It’s an immigrant’s story, it’s a woman’s story,” LeSage told the Fifty Plus Advocate. “She had a storied life. And I knew I wanted to write that story.”
LeSage knew Jean her whole life – she was a “second mother,” a dance teacher, and a mentor to her. As time went on, the two became friends and business partners at Jean’s School of Gymnastics, later deciding to travel the world together.
LeSage had never been a writer, but she knew Jean’s life was a story she had to share. She’d speak to Jean in front of the fireplace, asking her about her motivations and backstory. “This won’t be a particularly interesting book,” Jean, always humble, would joke. Jean remembers World War II well, and “left incredible footprints on the sands of time,” said LeSage.
“Coming from England, there was a sophistication about her. There was a great passion you could see within her that wasn’t self-centered – it was about giving back to kids. It was about more than herself. Jean represented to me, personally, someone I could look up to. She was determined, she was independent,” said LeSage.
For LeSage, seeing people discover Jean’s story is well worth the effort.
“It warms my heart,” she said.
The book, “A Cuppa Tea with Miss Jean,” can be found at Islay’s Terrace (Hudson), Serendipity (Hudson), and Word on the Street (Marlborough), as well as online on Amazon, Target, and Walmart’s websites. For more information, visit https://lindalesage.com/.
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