When was misty of chincoteague written

Henry followed through with the agreement and published Misty of Chincoteague in , featuring Maureen, Paul, and the little filly as the main characters of the work. Previous Next. Go to Top. The woman depicted as the little girl in the "Misty of Chincoteague" book died over Memorial Day weekend, the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company announced.

The news of Maureen Beebe's death was announced on the fire company's Facebook page Saturday, May Beebe died around 8 a. Beebe inspired the girl character in the children's novel by Marguerite Henry. While the book is fiction, it is inspired by real people, according to Chincoteague. Both horses in the book were based on real-life Chincoteague ponies. Pony Penning is a week of events on Chincoteague Island that occurs every July. Still, fans worried about the beloved pony.

Their fears were magnified when they learned Misty was pregnant. Officials on the Eastern Shore told the Associated Press that their phones had been ringing off the hook with calls about Misty. Often, a child's voice was on the end of the line, asking if Misty was all right. While Misty made it through the storm, not all the ponies came out so lucky.

Of the living on both islands, 55 died on Assateague and 90 on Chincoteague. Many drowned, carried out to sea.

Meanwhile, Misty was ready to foal. Ralph Beebe took her to the veterinarian on mainland Virginia. There she gave birth to a delicate and sprightly filly with wide, bright eyes and a chestnut and white coat. As Misty had just made national headlines for surviving the storm, people around the country were eager for news of her foal. The Beebes were persuaded by one that addressed the natural disaster Misty had just lived through.

Though exact accounts of the letter that convinced the Beebes differed, in an article in the Chicago Tribune , Henry recounted the letter went something like this: "I think you were wonderful to bring Misty into your kitchen," she recalls. The happy news of the foal brought a welcome relief to the devastating aftermath of the storm.

Back on the islands, helicopters lifted dead ponies by rope, placed then in trucks, which then moved them to the mainland for burial. Many were newborn colts, or mares that had been ready to foal. The loss of the ponies was not only tragic, but a large threat to the local economy.

During the penning, volunteers on horseback—"saltwater cowboys"—round up ponies, which are then swum across the water from Assateague to Chincoteague and sold at auction. As Henry described it in Misty : " Onlookers fell back while Maureen, Grandpa Beebe, and the other horsemen surrounded the ponies and began driving them toward town.