(Click on images to enlarge)
In all my years of researching local history, I never heard of Paul Darcy Boles.
His connection to Hobart is slight. He didn't live here long enough to be counted in a census. In the 1920 Census and 1930 Census, he was living in Gary with his father and stepmother.[1] They spelled their surname Bowles.
Paul did get into the Hobart High School 1931 yearbook, as a freshman.
Image from Ancestry.com
Here he is in the high-school band:
(Click on image to enlarge)
Image from Ancestry.com
According to later information, he dropped out of high school. By 1935 he was living in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, with his mother and stepfather.[2]
After The Streak, he went on to write more books and even to win a couple of literary prizes. His death in 1984 was reported in newspapers across the country. Here is one obituary from California:
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Fresno Bee, 6 May 1984.
So I went on Amazon and bought a copy of The Streak. And I read it. Forced myself to stick with it to the very end. The style reminds me of Hemingway.[3]
I will not be reading his later books to find out how (or if) his style progressed.
Here is Mr. Boles talking about himself on the 1953 dust jacket, brushing off his Indiana ties:
By the way, the date is wrong. It should be 1916.
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[1] That is, I think she was his stepmother. I'm not clear about his family of origin.
[2] Again, not sure about the family relations.
[3] I can't stand Hemingway.
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