Eden Pond

Eden Pond is the main character in the Eden Pond Series.

Biography

Inspiration image for Eden's appearance. It is not intended as an exact likeness.

Born in 1917, Eden Pond grew up in the port town of Garibaldi, Oregon on Tillamook Bay. She and her twin brother Harry were raised by their much older brother Merton after their parents died of Spanish Flu in 1918.

Eden was twenty-five when the United States entered World War II, but still lived in her childhood home with Merton. At that time, Harry moved out, relocating to nearby Tillamook.

Eden's parents, Arabelle and Rufus, died in 1918 of the Spanish Flu. Though she had no memory of them, she often tried to imagine what they must have been like. Merton rarely spoke of their parents because, she believed, of his long grief for them. Though she was unsure if she'd ever even marry, were she ever to have children Eden intended to name them for her parents.

After Merton, Eden was closest to family friend Tillie Larkin, who helped Merton raise the twins. Tillie lived in Garibaldi near the Ponds. She would often invite Eden and Harry when the Larkin family went on outings, though Harry rarely joined them. Eden always looked up to Tillie, both as family and as a friend. After she grew up, Eden remained close to Tillie—in some ways even closer than to her brothers.

While Eden and Harry were close as young children, after his bout with polio when he was eleven they drifted apart.

In addition to keeping the books for Merton's repair business, Eden was a part-time secretary for Garibaldi Public School. She read and wrote poetry, though rarely shared her poems with anyone but Tillie.

Her favorite place to spend time was the second floor turret room that had been her father's when he was alive. She liked to sit in his red leather reading chair and read or write poetry.

Description
Eden had black, shoulder-length hair which she typically curled and wore off her face. She got her hair color and large brown eyes from her mother, and her sharp, narrow nose and small mouth from her father. When asked, she described herself as plain.

She was 5'10", tall, which seemed to be off putting to many who met her. The fact she was three inches taller than Harry was a source of some tension between them, a fact she found inexplicable. She was also broad shouldered and strong owing to the physical work she did for Merton and further encouraged by Tillie Larkin.

Vital Statistics

Date of Birth: 7 February 1917
Date of Death: —

Planned Novels

At present, there are four possible novels in the Eden Pond Series. Big plans, to be sure.

The first, working title Tillamook Guerillas, will take place in February through May of 1942 as America shifts to a war footing in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack. Murder at the Shipyard sees Eden living in Vanport and working at the Kaiser Shipyards, where labor clashes with management and an influx of women and minorities in the workplace lead to violence and murder. Women's Air Service will center on the U.S. Navy's Tillamook Naval Air Station and the death of a flamboyant member of the Women’s Air Service. Fire Balloon takes place late in the war, when a death blamed on one of Imperial Japan’s infamous fire balloons may be more than it seems.

Character Affiliations

• Merton Pond, brother
• Harry Pond, brother
• Tillie Larkin, long-time family friend
• Jonah Shibuya, Eden's and Harry's childhood friend
• Paul Berenger, Chief Deputy Sheriff for Tillamook County

Significant Locations

• Pond Salvage and Repair

Appearances

The following represent the working titles of four possible books in the series. Assuming they're ever written and published, the titles are subject to change, and other book ideas may be added or take the place of those currently listed.

• Tillamook Guerillas (working title), Eden Pond Book 1
• Murder at the Shipyard (working title), Eden Pond Book 2
• Women's Air Service (working title), Eden Pond Book 3
• Fire Balloon (working title), Eden Pond Book 4