Jim Roche's
Library Story

As a young boy I lived in Hartford, on Newbury Street, and attended St. Augustine’s School. We went to St. Augustine’s Church as well, which stood on the corner of Barker Street. On the other corner was the Campfield Avenue Library.

It was a small library, but I liked going in there. It was quiet, and any noise brought a shushing sound
from the librarian. I spent many afternoons at the Webster Theater watching the various westerns that played there.

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I loved cowboys, and horses. Especially horses, and years later Willie Nelson would poetically describe my life as a young boy in his song ‘My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys’.

One afternoon I was browsing the books in the library and the title of one jumped out at me, causing me to remove it from the shelf. The title of the book was ‘Mig O’ The Moor’ by Nancy Caffery. I don’t know what made me pull that book, but on the cover was a drawing of a beautiful stallion and I was hooked.

The story is about a ghost horse that ran the moors of Ireland, gliding through the mist with ease. It was an old woman named Moira who gave the horse to an Irish American horse dealer, named Shawn Flynn, warning him that only those of Irish blood would be able to ride him, and only someone who needed him.

Back in the states the stallion took ill, until a young boy named Danny O’Hara came to visit Shawn.
Danny was deathly afraid of horses, and that angered his father, a trainer. Danny had lost his mother
some time back, and it was only him and his dad. Danny would work in the stables, but never, ever,
mount a horse.

As soon as Danny and Mig met, they instantly bonded, and the gray stallion knew that Danny needed
him. The story goes on to describe how they became one, and that Danny couldn’t fall from that great horse, because each time it seemed he might, Mig would move right under him. In the end, Danny rode Mig O’ The Moor in the Tri County Race, winning by ten lengths. Danny and his dad were emotionally united thanks to that great gray stallion, Mig O’ The Moor.
After the race there was a great fire in the barn, and it was sure that Mig O’ The Moor perished, but they could find no remains. I believe that Mig returned to the Moors, where he runs free to this very day.

Two years later we move away from Hartford, to Windsor Locks. There I made friends with another
young boy named Lindo, who owned a horse names Sweet Sue. I helped around the barn just for the
chance to be around horses. I’d help Lynn when he went down the lower pasture to get Sue for the
night. He would turn her loose out of the pasture and she’d run all the way up to the barn, going directly into her stall. Occasionally he would climb up on her back as she waited at the gate. I’d slide the pole sideways and drop it to the ground, and she’d take off with Lindo up to the barn.

One day he asked me if I’d like to ride her up, and I jumped at the chance. I’d never been on a full grown horse in my life. As I sat on her back, waiting for him to drop the gate, I could feel her tensing in anticipation of being free. I grabbed her mane and looked out over, and between, her ears. I was scared to death. Lynn dropped the gate and Sue took off, running at a gallop. I was shocked, and surprised, at how smooth this ride was, and I knew that I just couldn’t fall off, and I thought of Danny O’Hara.

Then, two years later, I had my own adventure on horseback and wrote a short story titled ‘The
Runaway’ (attached). It’s part of a larger work titled ‘The Kid From Newbury Street’. For most of my adult life I’ve had horses around me. I rode for Gordon Hayes, who had a trick horse
show, in two operas at the Hartford Civic Center (Aida and Turnadot) and in several parades. My
daughter has owned horses for many, many years.

I went to the Campfield Avenue Library when I was in my thirties to see if they still had a copy of Mig O’ The Moor. They didn’t, but the Main Street branch did, and I re-read it. Then, some twenty years later, I purchased my own copy and have it to this very day.
 

So that’s my library story. Although it only involves one book, it had an impact on my life. And further, I finally got to see Ireland, and was inspired by a book to drive the country rather than take a tour bus. The name of that book is ‘The Last of the Donkey Pilgrims’ and was written by a fellow named

Kevin O’Hara. So you never know. A chance browsing for a book in the local library can change a kids life, or at the very least inspire him, or her, to explore every opportunity that comes along.

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