Jackson Freeman

Irene JOSEWICK Eckman is a native of Youngstown, Ohio. Her parents emigrated from Poland in their youth and settled in Youngstown, where her father ran a butcher shop. Much of what she remembers from her childhood is from the Great Depression. Money was scarce and times were difficult for everyone. Irene moved to New York City in the 1940s seeking her big break as an actress, but familial duty called and she returned home to help run the family store. She continued acting locally and was one of the founding members of the Youngstown Playhouse. During the late 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s, she and her husband worked in many productions both in front of the audience and behind the scenes. With the deterioration of grand productions in the 1960s, raising her daughter and caring for her husband and home became her full-time career. Her creative side still flourished as she switched gears, taking up painting and classical guitar. Always one to explore different ways to express herself, and having long been aware of and puzzled by the racism and bigotry she witnessed in neighbors, friends, and colleagues, she’d long had a story brewing within her. In 1987 she put pen to paper to make it come alive. Ten years later she published Jackson Freeman. Twenty-three years on, in the year 2020, comes a refreshed version just in time for her 99th birthday. Much of the background setting of this story is historically accurate. Irene traveled to Baltimore and conducted extensive research on the Great Baltimore Fire, hospital and hygiene practices surrounding influenza, and the culture of the era. Information about the Ohio area came from local museums and period folklore. Irene says the book’s characters took on lives of their own as she was writing. As she got to know them, they helped her tell their story; a story filled with the richness, warmth, and love only real people can tell. Her fondest wish is that someday our hearts will triumph over ignorance. Until then, she takes comfort in knowing that in this life there are good people of every color, a universe of books, endless ideas, and beloved family – both blood and chosen.