Mark Whalon
John Mark Whalon[1][2] (June 16, 1886[3][4] – September 14, 1956[2]) was an American poet and author. He was a close friend of Bill Wilson, founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, and was an influential mentor and confindant to Wilson throughout his life.
Early life and education[edit]
Whalon was born in East Dorset, Vermont in 1886, and lived most of his life in the town.[1] Both of his parents, William C. and Rose Kelleher Whalon,[2] were immigrants from Ireland,[5] and his father was a laborer at the time of Whalon's birth.[3]
He graduated from Burr and Burton Seminary (later renamed Burr and Burton Academy), a boarding and day school in nearby Manchester, Vermont.[1] Afterwards he attended the University of Vermont.[1][6]
Career[edit]
As a young man, Whalon worked at the town's General Store, worked in the local quarries, worked as a lumberjack, and worked as a lineman for the telephone company.[7][8]
During World War I, he served as an aerial photographer for the 1102nd Aero Squadron.[1]
After the war, he returned to his hometown of East Dorset, and from 1925 to 1950 was the mail carrier throughout the small Valley of Vermont.[1]
Whalon also wrote poetry, and by 1928 was publishing his poems regularly in the Vermont daily newspaper Rutland Herald.[1] His work was also published in Yankee magazine.[9]
In 1933, he published a volume of his poetry, titled Rural Peace.
In 1942, he published his memoir, Rural Free Delivery: Recollections of a Rural Mailman.
In 1943 Whalon was the subject of a Life magazine photo-essay by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt.[10][1][11]
Influence on Bill Wilson[edit]
Whalon and Bill Wilson both grew up in East Dorset, Vermont, and first met in 1908.[8] Nine years Wilson's senior, Whalon was Wilson's closest childhood friend; he introduced him to the world of ideas,[12] and was a lifelong mentor.
Whalon knew everyone in town and showed Wilson the ropes.[7] He also drove Wilson around in the General Store delivery wagon to view the wealthy segment of the region.[7][8] The two friends discussed books and literature, ideas, class, wealth, social and socio-economic strata, political philosophy, local and world politics, spirituality, and democracy.[7][8]
They worked together on summer jobs and helped string the first telephone lines into East Dorset.[13] They hunted and fished together and shared an interest in Vermont history.[13]
Whalon continued to be a mentor, confidant, counselor, and emotional support to Wilson, even after Wilson became world famous,[7] and as of his death in 1956 was still Wilson's best friend.[13] Wilson later wrote of him, "He was a sort of uncle or father to me."[7][14]
Personal life[edit]
Whalon was married for a time to Kathleen Mitchell,[15] and had two sons, Lawrence J. Whalon[2][15] and Cornelius Bayard Whalon.[5]
By the 1950s, Whalon had developed Parkinson's disease.[7] He died in a nursing home in Bennington, Vermont in 1956 following a long illness.[2]
At the time of his death he had seven grandchildren.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h Mathewson, Jon (Autumn 2019). "Mark Whalon of East Dorset: Postal Carrier and Perceptive Poet" (PDF). Walloomsack Review. 25. Bennington Museum: 36–41. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Mark Whalon, Veteran Mail Carrier, Dies". Rutland Daily Herald. September 15, 1856. p. 11.
- ^ a b "Birth - Male: Walon, John Mark" Vermont, U.S., Vital Records, 1720-1908 for John Mark Whalon.
- ^ NOTE: The August 6, 1886 birth date given in Whalon's obituary is an error.
- ^ a b "AA History Lovers 2012" (PDF). Silkworth.net.
- ^ "1906 Ariel - University of Vermont Yearbook - Burlington, Vermont". JustAJoy.com. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g https://books.google.com/books?id=MNXOBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT40&lpg=PT40&
- ^ a b c d https://books.google.com/books?id=xRrXDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT37
- ^ Whalon, Mark (May 1938). "Yes, Sir, I'm the Rural Mailman!". Yankee. Vol. 4, no. 5. pp. 9–10.
- ^ Eisenstaedt, Alfred. "Life Rides the Route of a Rural Mailman in Vermont". Life. January 14, 1943. pp. 94-97.
- ^ Cosgrove, Ben (January 16, 2013). "In Praise of . . . Wait for It . . . the U.S. Postal Service". Time. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
- ^ White, W. L. (1998). Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America (PDF). Bloomington, Illinois: Chestnut Health Systems Publishing. p. 137. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
- ^ a b c 'Pass It On': The story of Bill Wilson and how the A.A. message reached the world (PDF). New York, New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Service, Inc. 1984. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
- ^ https://books.google.com/books?id=IkbXDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT12
- ^ a b "Obituaries: Dr. Lawrence Whalon". Rutland Daily Herald. March 14, 1986. p. 10.