December 22, 2005 Issue                                                 

©2005 The Chestnut Hill Local

Area novelist features Hill sites in latest book
by PAULA RILEY

Bennett Fairorth stands on Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill, where much of the action in his latest novel takes place. (Photo by Paula Riley)

You may not recognize the name Yin Yang, a Chinese restaurant with a bit of French flair, but once you read Philadelphia Holidays 2004, Turkish Pleasures 1997, you’ll surely know it as Cin Cin, the main character’s favorite dinner spot.

“I’ve enjoyed various events and dinners in Chestnut Hill. They were all so wonderful that I wanted to write a book about them,” explains the author Bennett Lear Fairorth. “The chapter on Yin Yang features a fantastic evening we had at Cin Cin on New Year’s Eve.”

King’s Garden became the Red Dragon, and the Chestnut Hill Local turned into The Hilltop. Despite many similar restaurant disguises, the stories are recognizably Philadelphian and comfortably familiar. They are colored with references to local events, Chestnut Hill scenery and the variety of dining options on the Hill.

Interspersed in the alternating chapters of this newly released novel are wonderful accounts of the dinners and relationships that the main character, Brent Franklin, enjoyed during his two-week tour of Turkey. With colorful expression he describes the magnificent chanting coming from the nearby mosques that woke him each morning. Fairorth’s descriptions of Istanbul, Troy, Ankara, Central Anatolia and the Hagia Sofia are as interesting as his encounters with the sea of international characters that accompany him on the 40-member escorted tour.

Fairorth, 79, has taken some fabulous trips since he retired in 1992. He’s been all over Western Europe and he has loved the chance to incorporate these wonderful experiences into his novels. “Writing these books gives me pleasure,” he explains. “What else is life about after you retire but to amuse yourself?”

Where My American Mother Died: Palermo, Sicily; Scandinavian September Sixty-Nine and French Fest, British Banquet are a few of Fairorth’s novels set in countries he toured. “Whenever I travel, I keep a journal detailing everything I did and saw. I use this to help me write my stories,” he explains.

Fairorth warms his listeners with his sincerity. His eyes sparkle when he tells his great stories of a long and colorful life. He makes no assumptions but listens intently, always eager to hear the stories of others. As a retired English teacher, he knows the power of language and the importance of captivating an audience.

Fairorth’s interest in teaching was sparked in the most peculiar place — on a dry dock. While serving in the Philippines during World War II, his commander asked him to teach classes on dry dock maintenance procedures to his fellow Navy sailors. “I loved it,” Fairorth exclaimed, “That was my first experience teaching, and it was great.”

When the war ended, Fairorth returned to the studies he had suspended when he was drafted. He completed his bachelor’s degree at Penn State and went on to receive a master’s from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. While a student, Fairorth had planned to become a business journalist, “but it didn’t turn out that way,” he explains.

Responding to his father’s request for help with his business, Fairorth worked with his dad for the next few years. His days were spent repairing jukeboxes at local taverns and luncheonettes. He changed records, collected the money and always encountered interesting people along the way. Longing to pursue his teaching dream, Fairorth began the certification program in the late 1950s.

“I just got lucky,” explains Fairorth. “The night class during which I was doing my teaching demonstration was the one time the director of Abington School District stopped by. After class, right then and there, he offered me a job. It was one of the best schools then, so I jumped at the chance.” Fairorth began teaching high school seniors Advanced English (later called Advanced Placement) and never left the 12th grade.

Though he loved teaching at Abington, after four years he couldn’t refuse the offer that came from Council Rock High School in Bucks County. “My daughter wasn’t crazy about me teaching where she went to school anyway,” the father of three replied. “I made the move and stayed at Council Rock for over 30 years. It was a wonderful career.”

Fairorth seems like he was every student’s dream English teacher. “There was always a free spirit in my classroom,” he explains. “I wanted to create a sense of openness so students never felt stifled.” He was known for his teaching of The Canterbury Tales. “The first day we studied Canterbury Tales,” Fairorth begins with his grin growing wide, “I started by reading the prologue to the kids in the original Middle English — you should have seen their expressions … well, they all broke up laughing!”

The Central High School alumnus (180th graduating class) left a lasting impression on his students, and many continue to stay in touch with him. In Philadelphia Holidays 2004, Turkish Pleasures, 1994, he includes letters received from former students. He talks with excitement and pride about the large number of letters he receives from former students each holiday season.

Fairorth stayed in contact with one student in particular through very long and witty letters. His novel, Dear Jon – Letters to and from a Former Teacher: 9-11-93 to 11-9-04, is based upon this correspondence that began during the student’s college years. Fairorth takes the reader on another wonderful journey as the student travels through South America, Australia and New Zealand, sharing his experiences in lively exchanges with his former teacher.

Despite retiring from his teaching job in 1991, Fairorth continues to teach and deliver some wonderful performances. As a volunteer tutor at Abington Library for many years, Fairorth loved helping high school dropouts work towards their G.E.D. As a Meals-on-Wheels volunteer driver, his client deliveries are always accompanied with a smile, an anecdote or a favor received,

Perhaps his best performance, though, is what he creates with a laptop. His novels are real and sincere. He speaks of the human experience in simple yet colorful stories, never afraid to include the exciting and mundane moments of life encircled in the same storyline. When asked towards what audience he had targeted his latest novel, he replied in his honest manner, “I don’t write for a certain audience, I just say what’s on my mind. I write about what I like, and I really like Chestnut Hill.”

You can purchase Fairorth’s books at iuniverse.com or amazon.com.