He wanted to look around to see if he could find anything that could hint at the possibility that Bobby’s passing wasn’t an accident. It was Frank’s nature to allow his natural curiosity and determination to learn the truth that easily trumped his parents’ orders not to hang out on the trestle.įrank convinced the more reticent Jake to come with him to the trestle. Doyle’s comment made Frank think more than ever that Bobby’s death was not an accident. Officer Doyle, one of the local cops, warned them that there were bad men who hung out around the trestle. Nathan and Ruth forbade the boys to play on the tracks or go near the trestle. It was a stunning occurrence in the small town where nothing out of the ordinary ever happened. A young boy, Bobby Cole, who was a contemporary of Frank’s was found dead on the train tracks just beyond the Flats. There was a disturbing undercurrent in the small town community. It was hot and muggy in the summer of 1961.

She publicly smoked and drank, skipped meetings of the women’s auxiliary and had a lot of questions about God and his very existence. Ruth wasn’t the typical minister’s wife by any stretch. He became a dedicated Methodist minister in atonement for his sins. Nathan struggled the rest of his life for what he was forced to do during the war. Killing the enemy changed his career plans and the life that Ruth thought she would have. He enlisted in the Army and served in Europe during World War II.

When she married Nathan he had just earned his law degree and was heading for a long and lucrative career as an attorney. Ruth liked the music but never planned to be a minister’s wife. All five members of the family were required to attend all three services. Thirteen-year-old Frank and his younger brother by two years, Jake, handed out flyers. Ariel was a brilliant musician and budding composer who played the organ at the churches.

Ruth, a lover of music, led the choir at all three churches. Nathan was a bright and devout man who also led the worship at two other churches in the region, Cadbury Methodist and Fosburg Methodist. Nathan was the minister at the Third Avenue Methodist Church in what was known as the Flats in New Bremen, Minnesota. The Drum family consisted of Nathan and Ruth and their three children, Ariel, Frank and Jake. The story is told thirty years later by Frank Drum who was 13-years old at the time. “Ordinary Grace” by William Kent Krueger is the story of the Drum family’s summer in 1961.

Ordinary grace book summary