Sir Philip Sidney, poet-soldier and contemporary of Shakespeare, once allowed that the aim of writing was to “instruct and delight.” Countless readers of the essays and vignettes of Bernie Marvin in The Bridge Weekly know what Sidney meant. Bernie has been a matchless devotee of that idea for almost two decades.
For a long time, Bernie has both entertained and informed his readers with wit and wisdom, crafting sharp verbal portraits of a person, places and things that he’s discovered in and around the Upper Valley. Like the writers Studs Terkel, Ernie Pyle, John Hersey and E.B. White—great writers of another generation—Bernie has captured what it means to live in the Upper Valley surrounded by a wonderfully diverse collection of men, women and youngsters who enrich our lives.
Bernie’s portraits of dairy farmers and their families, auto and tractor mechanics, grizzled war veterans, wannabe political candidates, loggers and school teachers are all drawn with matchless skill. So are his graphic accounts of flooded streams, washed out bridges, village green ballgames, dangerous canoe rapids and how to avoid local byways in winter-slick weather.
Most of us revel in sharing Bernie’s keen eye and sharp hearing as he surveys the world around him—and us, as well. Imagine an inventive piece written not long ago about a large spider who’d taken up residence in Bernie’s tractor. Or the thoughtful essay written about a World War II woman aircraft pilot. Such pieces reveal a man who looks for the usual and the unusual, and brings to life so much of the Upper Valley and those who live here.
All who read The Bridge Weekly every week feel lucky to have him as a spokesman among us who shares what it means to be an Upper Valley New Englander.
This is a new book to accompany his first Volume 1 of The Best of Bernie’s Beat published last year.
Author Bernie Marvin is an accomplished photojournalist and former US Marine Combat Photographer. He has written these stories and interviews (and included a dozen photographs) about the lives and experiences of veterans living in the North Country of New Hampshire and Vermont. This is a strong blend of historic and untold experiences and memoirs from grunts, sailors, airmen, and others familiar with a C-Rat can of ham ‘n claymores or a dose of beef n’ boulders sweetened off with a bar of mushy nomelt tropical chocolate. His material is engaging and historically interesting, presented with a Jarhead’s sense of honor and admiration for his fellow veterans. Most of Bernie’s stories have been gleaned from his writings during his 15-year stint as the Senior Writer/Photographer at The Bridge Weekly newspaper and interesting life experiences before that. While the public eagerly reads what Bernie has to offer on many fronts, his military stories are known to be some of the most favored among his readers.
Bernie started in his chosen craft of writing stories and shooting
photographs as a kid in grade school and before he knew it, he was behind his three twin-lens Rollei cameras in the Middle East shooting and documenting the Marine Corps landings there. His work has appeared in Leatherneck Magazine and a host of other nationally published books and newspapers. He has covered a lot of hostile, dangerous assignments there and elsewhere. His life has also included his later experiences as a firefighter. police officer and emergency management director in the small towns of Haverhill and Piermont, New Hampshire. Earlier, he had founded several local community newspapers and is now setting down the opening chapters of his third book, this one on his experiences and challenging tales of four years in the Marines.
Piermont, New Hampshire, author Bernie Marvin is an accomplished photojournalist and former US Marine Combat Photographer. He has written these stories and interviews and included photographs about the lives and experiences of people living in the North Country of New Hampshire, Vermont, and elsewhere.
This book contains a blend of storytelling, untold experiences, and memoirs from a wide range of folks Bernie has interviewed and photographed. In this volume, some of Bernie’s stories have been gleaned from his writings during his nearly 20-year stint as the Senior Writer/Photographer at The Bridge Weekly newspaper.
Many of them also come from his unique life experiences and a mix of years he spent in the US Marines, in law enforcement as a police patrol officer and National Guard MP specializing in civil unrest, as a firefighter, dad to his two grown sons, Bernie and Spencer and husband to his wife, Polly.
While the public reads what Bernie says in his weekly stories in The Bridge Weekly, his Bernie’s Beat column is a favorite among his readers.
Bernie started in his chosen craft of writing stories and shooting photographs as a “kid with a camera” in grade school. Before he knew it, he was behind his two twin-lens Rollei cameras in the Middle East, photographing, documenting, and being a part of Marine Corps landings into Lebanon, completing motor and foot patrols into the city and adjacent hills day and night.
His work has appeared in Leatherneck Magazine and many other nationally published books and newspapers. He has covered a lot of dangerous assignments there and happier ones elsewhere. Earlier, he had founded and owned several local community newspapers. He is now setting down the opening chapters of his fourth book, this one on his experiences and challenging tales of four exciting years in the Marine Corps.