The Silk Finisher: Bigotry, Murder, and Sacrifice in the Crossroads of America
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- USD 9.99
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- USD 9.99
Descripción editorial
In the "Crossroads of America," three active-duty US Army paratroopers commit a more heinous crime than the one they are trying to cover up. Their arrests and trial shock and divide residents of the town between those who see the soldiers as heroes and those who view them as cold-blooded killers.
Author Dan Melchior unearths the story of Rudolph Ziemer, known by some as the "Queer Undertaker." Along the way, he uncovers forgotten often toxic stories involving the Cold War and the Jim Crow south, infidelity, addiction, bigotry, murders, and accidents all woven into the fabric of one woman's life as a laboring silk finisher—the most skilled presser of clothes, the one who removes the deepest wrinkles from the most delicate weaves. The stories link the Civil Rights era to World War II to the march of the MAGA movement and parallel the divisions and challenges facing America today. Journey along with Melchior as he discovers how one man's murder—someone he never knew—led him to a deeper understanding of his family, his beliefs, his country and his triumphant relationship with his mom, a silk finisher.
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Melchior (Shared Services) examines the ripple effects of a 1963 murder in his hometown of Evansville, Ind., in this immersive blend of memoir and true crime. He opens with a thorough account of the death of Rudy Ziemer, a gay man who was killed by three paratroopers in a hate crime. A smear campaign against Ziemer resulted in a not guilty verdict, and the fallout divided Evansville, causing Melchior's mother, Dolores, to lose friends when she denounced the defendants. From there, Melchior chases multiple threads: Ziemer was a client at his grandfather's dry cleaning business, where Dolores worked as a "silk finisher," pressing out stubborn wrinkles in clothes. Melchior utilizes his mother's work as a metaphor for his attempts to untangle his relationship to Evansville and consider the ways his family history sheds light on contemporary political issues. He recounts his uncle's addiction to opioids, his great-uncle's closeted homosexuality, and Evansville's legacy of racism, artfully extrapolating the influences those stories—and Ziemer's—have had in shaping his life. With thorough research and sturdy prose, Melchior nimbly weaves many narrative strands into a fascinating tapestry. It's a unique and affecting account. Photos.
