TOM SWIFTIES AND THE ADVERBIAL WRITING CRAFT By Mark Dreisonstok, PM Arminius Lodge No. 25
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n an era of popular series of juvenile adventure fiction—books like the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Three Investigators — Tom Swift stands out as one of the most durable, having been the hero of four different book series spanning over a century. Now Tom is back, and it gives us a moment to reflect on this youthful adventurer and the word game his creators inspired, with an intriguing segue into our gentle Craft. The last comes first: the initial series of Tom Swift books began in 1910, and the first two of these (Tom Swift and the Motorcycle and Tom Swift and the Motorboat) have been dramatized with full cast on sound recordings by the Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air and available through their website. These and later works feature the inventor as hero, with a performance of youthful exuberance by Colin Budzyna as young Swift supported by Jerry Robbins as Tom’s father Barton Swift.
Tom Swift and His Motorcycle. Cover to 2015 Compact Disc, courtesy Colonial Radio Theater on the Air.
Mr. Robbins, the producer and star of many audio series which have aired on Sirius XM such as Perry Mason Radio Dramas, tells the Voice of Freemasonry of how he came to produce this 2015-2016 audio series, which features John Williamslike film music (composed by Jared DePasquale) and wonderful sound effects of retro-sounding machines and engines (a vintage World War I motorcycle) for Tom Swift: “I always knew of the books, and when we were looking for something to do for a younger audience, I remembered Tom Swift and thought they would make a good audio drama series.” As for why he chose the first series of Tom Swift books of more than 100 years ago, Jerry explains: “The earliest books were more grounded, and I liked the ‘Americana’ Tom Swift and His Motorboat. Cover to 2016 Compact Disc, courtesy Colonial Radio Theater on the Air.
36 | THE VOICE OF FREEMASONRY ISSUE 3, 2020
