Mary Alice Dowdel Timeline and Summary

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• In 1937, Mary Alice Dowdel arrives in Grandma Dowdel's "hick-town" via train and goes immediately to the school—no chance to pass Go or collect $200.
• At school, a girl named Mildred threatens her and tries to shake her down for money. Joy.
• Around Halloween, Mary Alice helps her grandmother to lie in wait and teach some teenage boy pranksters a lesson. She also helps her grandmother to steal pecans and pumpkins from their neighbors in order to bake lots and lots of pies for the town party.
• Over Thanksgiving, Mary Alice attends the turkey shoot-out with her grandmother.
• As Christmas approaches, Mary Alice is picked to be the Virgin Mary in the nativity play. She spends her time practicing and going out fox-hunting with her grandmother.
• After the Christmas play, Grandma Dowdel surprises Mary Alice twice: not only has she flown Joey in for a visit, she's bought both Mary Alice and Joey tickets to go back to Chicago for the holidays.
• In February, Mary Alice pranks Carleen Lovejoy (score!) and attends the George Washington birthday tea that's held at Grandma Dowdel's house.
• In the spring, Grandma Dowdel rents a room in the house to Arnold Green, an artist from New York.
• Mary Alice works up the nerve to ask Royce McNabb—her crush—over one day. When he comes over, there's a huge commotion and a naked woman comes running out of the house with a big snake on her. You know, typical first date stuff.
• A few days later, Grandma has Mary Alice invite her prim English teacher, Miss Butler, over for dinner. Shockingly, Miss Butler hits it off with Arnold Green. Love is in the air.
• The school year comes to an end, and Mary Alice's parents write to let her know they've found an apartment so she can come back to Chicago.
• Around the same time, a tornado blows through town and Mary Alice takes shelter with her grandmother, helping her to check on some of their neighbors.
• After graduation, Royce McNabb heads off to the University of Illinois, but says he'll write letters to keep in touch with Mary Alice.
• Mary Alice returns to Chicago and becomes a journalist.
• In 1945, she's living alone in her family's old apartment because her brother, Joey, is fighting in the war and her parents are out in Seattle.
• Royce is fighting too, but he gets leave for a few days to come home and marry Mary Alice in Grandma Dowdel's front room.