Rick Niece

Rick D. Niece recounts his time growing up in DeGraff, Ohio in The Side-Yard Superhero. In this first book of a trilogy, readers are introduced to some of the colorful characters of Niece's childhood, including a young man named Bernie Jones who is wheelchair bound due to cerebral palsy. Rick and Bernie become friends when Rick takes time on his paper route to really get to know Bernie.

I very much enjoyed getting to know the people of DeGraff through Rick Niece's memories. Each of the people that the reader meets along the way had some sort of impact on Niece's life and helped shape him into the man he is today. The stories flow easily, as if the reader is actually listening to Niece remember. He easily conveys the warm feelings that he continues to carry for these people and this town.

Interspersed with the stories are poems. These poems demonstrate strongly how large of an impact these people had on Niece's life as he searches for some universal truths or meanings in the experiences they shared.

The Side-Yard Superhero is a wonderful written memoir and a fantastic beginning to a trilogy. I am looking forward to the next two installments and learning more about the folks in DeGraff.… (more)

When Rick Niece was four years old, his family moved to DeGraff, Ohio. DeGraff’s population hovered around 900. When he was nine, he snagged one of the four paper routes in DeGraff - a job he kept until he left for college. During those nine years, he got to know the people along his route and befriended Bernie Jones, a young man who was confined to a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy.

In The Side-Yard Superhero, Rick D. Niece recounts many of the tales of his childhood and small town living in the 1950’s and 60’s. These were the days when the paperboy delivered your paper on his bike and came by your house to collect. Rick’s dalmatian, Lady, accompanied him on his route daily. Rick would take the time to stop and read Dick Tracy to Bernie Jones every day. Rick had a great family life and was compassionate and accepting. He became so close to the customers on his route that his leaving was bittersweet for him. I think my favorite story was when Rick and Bernie helped one of Bernie’s reclusive neighbors hand out pumpkin bread one Halloween. Bernie insisted that they had to wear costumes. Bernie became Superman by tying his father’s red long johns around his neck, Rick became Clark Kent by wearing glasses and Miss Lizzie was Lois Lane by wearing a pencil behind her ear. When one young child recognized Bernie as Superman, it was enough for him. This book also contains some touching poems between some of the chapters.

I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful book. It made me long for the simpler times of yesteryear when a small town contained everything you needed and really felt like a community. It made me long for the days when children were raised to have compassion and respect for others. I cried at the end of the book when Rick found and visited Bernie in a nursing home.… (more)

Rick Niece is the President of The University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas. The Side-Yard Superhero is his "automythography". What’s an automythography you ask? According to Rick it is "A work of nonfiction that looks reflectively at what we think we remember and how we think we remember it; an iridescent memory based upon truth and fact."

The Side-Yard Superhero is Rick’s account of what it was like to grow up in DeGraff (a small town in Ohio) with about 900 residents. Rick (back then known as Ricky) recounts his job of paperboy (that he kept until he moved out for college) and the neighbors he met on his daily route, along with what it was like growing up in a town where you knew everyone, local Friday hangouts and the carnival coming to town.

Through Ricky we are introduced to several characters:

Fern an elderly woman who worked for a newspaper at the turn of the century and who now resided with her dog. Fern had a tendency of walking around the neighborhood in just her brassiere and pants (this was her normal everyday attire). We meet Miss Lizzie - she was somewhat of a recluse due to the loss of her fiancé during WWI but who could bake the best pumpkin loaf in town. But especially we meet Bernie Jones. Bernie Jones is a boy Ricky befriends on his paper route who is wheelchair bound due to cerebral palsy. Everyday Ricky delivered the paper - Bernie waited in the side-yard of his home so that they could sit together and read Dick Tracy comics, talk about school, life and dreams.

Each chapter is a story of its own. We learn of the Saturday that Rickie took Bernie along with him on his paper route, and the Halloween where he and Bernie helped Miss Lizzie hand out her pumpkin loaf to all the towns trick-or-treaters. Bernie gets his name of Side-Yard Superhero from dressing up like Superman that year. We also read of the year the carnival came to town and Ricky was able to ride Bernie on the teacup ride. I enjoyed reading of the stories that relate to the wonderful support and relationships Ricky and his neighbors had. It makes you think about the importance of your roots. I also found myself looking forward to reading the fantastic poems at the beginning of each chapter.

Overall, I thought this book was touching and insightful. It helps you think of the simplicity in life and the basics of what is important. It’s a story about friendships, promises and growing up. This was just such a nice, feel good read. I highly recommend it .… (more)