Judith Thompson Witmer

Jebbie: Vamp to Victim Judith Thompson Witmer

Jebbie: Vamp to Victim--the Truth about Miss Pifer  is the story of the author's aunt, Jessie Beverly Pifer, who was completely the product of Curwensville, Pennsylvania, where she was born, grew up with her parents and four sisters, attended the local schools, became a legendary teacher in the community, served her church as a deacon, became active in the DAR, and then spent her final days. She lived, laughed, and loved in Curwensville, remaining true to herself through every phase of her life. She was dashing, independent, and ever fashionable. Jessie revealed many personas, but all reflect the identity for which she is best remembered--as the beautiful, stylish, and vibrant "Jebbie," belle of the Class of 1924. She viewed herself as urbane, yet remained a small town girl whose beginnings are traced to the 18th century, when her forebears arrived in the new country, and are rooted in the 19th Century, particularly the period immediately following the Civil War.
 
The book follows Jessie throughout her life, providing a keen and personal perspective of the 20th Century. The culture of each decade is used to provide a personal sense of the times in which Jessie Pifer lived and by which she was shaped. First as a teacher in one-room country schools and then as a third grade teacher, Miss Pifer was described by a former student (Mary Catherine Milligan King) as "a marvelous breath of fresh air ... I can still recall thinking how beautiful she was and always so positive. I remember how she entered the room each day, greeting us every morning as if we were the joy of her life." Others refer to her as "the wonderful Jessie Pifer, delightful and entertaining," and noting "what an impact she made on so many lives and what a loving person she was."
 
The reader is drawn into this family as they become products of the era and then are caught in a web of deceit, making the tragedy, when it occurs, all the more real and unforgiving.
 
Everything in the biography is verifiable. Fifteen years in the research and writing, Jebbie has been edited from a manuscript twice its length and is an alert to others that even the most public members of a community can be robbed of their resources, independence, and dignity.