At the recent 2nd Biennial John Updike Society Conference in Boston, members toured Ipswich and got to see the stately elm that Updike wrote about—one of the oldest trees in Ipswich that stood directly across from the Polly Dole House at 26 East St., where Updike lived in the ’60s with his family.

Society members got to see that tree just in time. Today, The Salem News reported that the tree was taken down—but not without a proper ceremony which included David (pictured) and Michael Updike.

But it wasn’t only a case of good timing.  Michael Updike knew the tree had died and called city officials to see if they could wait until after the society toured Ipswich before cutting it down.

Thanks to member Bob Batchelor for calling it to our attention.

The John Updike Society is now a LinkedIn group, thanks to member Brian Steffen, who started the page.

Members might find it useful for discussions, Brian said.

Here’s the link and an article about LinkedIn from Forbes Magazine.

Member Andrew Moorhouse sent us this item about England’s new football manager, Roy Hodgson, being an Updike lover.

“Roy Hodgson liking Updike will take some getting used to; The new England manager is serious and classy so should he really be reading work by such a frisky author?”

It appeared online in the Guardian on Friday, May 18 and in the print version the following day.

Several days ago the partners who currently own the John Updike Childhood Home at 117 Philadelphia Ave. in Shillington signed an agreement of sale that  the Society signed last week. So we now have a deal in place to purchase the home with funds generously provided by a foundation to be named once the deal is closed. The sale is contingent upon the Society being able to obtain a variance to operate the house as a historic property.

Here is the article that appeared in this morning’s Reading Eagle:

“Deal reached on Updike home sale”

Another that more recently was published in The New York Times:

“John Updike Society Buys Author’s Boyhood Home for $200,000”

And a view from “across the pond” in The Guardian:

“Have we fallen out of love with John Updike?”

Short answer? No.

For the past several months, and with the authorization of the Board, the Society has been in discussions with a Shillington realtor, a benefactor, and current owners regarding the possible purchase of the John Updike childhood home at 117 Philadelphia Ave. We were trying to work quietly behind-the-scenes and not announce anything until we actually had something concrete to report, like a signed agreement. But one of the owners of the house went public with the story because he felt things weren’t moving quickly enough.

Here’s the Reading Eagle story about the “Author’s childhood home in limbo.” 

We have foundation support lined up to enable us to purchase the home and to cover a significant portion of the maintenance into the future. We believe that Updike is an important American author and that his home should be not only preserved as a historic site, but made available to the public in some small way. We think that the Society purchasing and maintaining the home will be a good thing for Shillington and the Greater Reading area. I’ve been in touch with three author homes that operate as museums or literary centers in heavily residential areas in three different states, and have learned that the amount of traffic will actually be minimal—with less coming and going than if a family lived there, or renters, or a business. As a result, we believe that Society ownership of the house will be a good thing for the neighborhood and for Shillington; however, if the people of Shillington aren’t of the same mind, then we’re comfortable walking away from this, because when all is said and done, it’s the works themselves that speak to Updike’s legacy.

So where are things at? Well, you’ve all seen that the house was first listed on eBay and never sold, and the article indicates that the owners previously offered it to Alvernia University and the Burough of Shillington—again, with no interest. We are very interested in acquiring the property and are moving forward, but we wish to respect the process and go through proper channels, letting local residents know of our intentions, then applying for a variance . . . if we can do so without great risk or expense. Likewise, if our desire to pursue this through proper channels puts the owners in an untenable position, we’ve told the owners that they can put the property on the market again.

When we have something to report, we’ll report it here. We apologize that our members weren’t the first to read about this, but we were as surprised as anybody when one of the owners went public with this. He seems to think that public opinion will help us get the variance; we’re of the mind that proper channels are the way to go.

The John Updike Review editor James Schiff passed along this item about New York City streets and a John Updike mention, invoking one of his old unsigned Talk of the Town features.

“John Updike Would Have Loved 6 1/2th Avenue Even If the Dailies Don’t”

Member Ken Krawchuk writes that he heard on the radio that NPR’s “Fresh Air with Terry Gross” will air archival interviews with John Updike today, in celebration of the author’s birthday and the rerelease of his works in paperback. You’ll have to check your local NPR station for the schedule.

Jack De Bellis provided this link for Pennsylvania area listeners, and here’s a link to the “Fresh Air” interviews that was just posted.

The Niemczyk Hoffman Group, which owns and occupies the Updike boyhood home in Shillington, has decided to test the market. They’ve put the house at 117 Philadelphia Avenue up for sale on Ebay. The price is $499,000, with the starting bid set at $249,000.00.

The description of the property is full of history, and they’ve also posted a list of Updike books and mentioned the Society archive at Alvernia.

Here’s the link.

And here’s how others see the sale:

“John Updike’s Boyhood Home Is a Real Fixer-Upper” (The Atlantic Wire)

“Do People Pay More for Houses Once Occupied by Famous Writers?” (Slate Magazine)

Thanks to member Larry C. Randen for the article links.