She carefully stepped forward, not wanting to slip on the icy film now clinging to the cement sidewalks surrounding the Well House. One step and then another, and Maggie made it inside the place where love rang true across the Hoosier campus for thousands of young couples seeking the same truth she sought tonight.
Nearly 50 years ago in 1966, Mark Van Voorhis enrolled in IU’s ROTC program, and Ed Kugler was shipped off to Vietnam as a Marine. Forty years later, the two friends brought to life an idea for a novel. It would be a book about the war, life in Indiana and a tragic romance.
Van Voorhis, a self-described romantic, said the first version, self-published more than a decade ago, wasn’t ideal. It was much too long, making it a difficult read. So, in the last two years, he and Kugler rewrote their book, “The Well House,” which he said he’s wholly proud of.
“I believe this fictional novel is the first romance/war novel of its kind that includes the rich tradition of Indiana University, Bloomington, events and places in Indiana and Chicago and the small farming community of Hope, Indiana during the 1960’s Vietnam era,” he said.
The book begins inside the mind of a soldier, Clayton, about to die in Vietnam. His final thought is of Maggie, a very close friend he made during his time as a student at IU before he enlisted in the Marines and was sent to war.
The reader sees Maggie’s written letters to Clayton throughout the book. Van Voorhis said these were written in collaboration with archivist, historian, writer and artist Kathleen Connors. The segments about Vietnam, on the other hand, were written largely by Kugler, who was a sniper during his two 2 1/2 years in the Marines.
In the novel, the reader learns Clayton and Maggie met at the Well House — a gift to IU from Theodore F. Rose and listed on the National Register for Historical Landmarks — forming an anchor throughout the rest of the story. Along with being a student at IU, Maggie is a journalist for what is now the Indiana Daily Student.
Van Voorhis said he experienced the turmoil during the Vietnam war first-hand while on campus, in the midst of passionate, though nonviolent, opposition.
“It is our desire and belief that the book captures the hope, values, customs and heart of the Hoosier spirit,” Van Voorhis said.
Hope, Indiana, is another important location in the story. Van Voorhis grew up in Columbus, Indiana, but he had many friends in Hope and said the town was a major inspiration.
“Hope is a central theme throughout the novel and that we must never give up hope in our struggles and the trials that we face on a day-to-day basis,” Van Voorhis said.
Van Voorhis said he and Kugler hope everyone who reads the novel remembers it when they visit the Well House, and that they recall the structure as where Clayton and Maggie met.
“The Well House” was written to appeal to IU students and alumni, residents of Chicago and Hope, Vietnam war veterans and the baby boomers of that era, Van Voorhis said.
It is available at the IU and TIS bookstores and may also be purchased through Amazon.
Van Voorhis now lives in Spanish Fort, Utah, but he said he hoped to return to Bloomington as soon as possible to promote the novel. Though the release of “The Well House” was a major accomplishment, he’s got one more goal in mind.
“I’d like to someday have it turned into a movie if I can find some people who want to do that,” he said. “I think it’s a great story.”
