Wednesday, December 24, 2025

The Great Brain - Series Continuation

 i have some ideas for a continuation of The Great Brain series.

- Chris DEC 2025

(above) "The Great Brain," a 1978 film starring Jimmy Osmond, based on the children's books written by John D. Fitzgerald and set in Utah in the late 19th century. For educational purposes.


. Hearkening back to long-hand research techniques, Carrie Lynn began a multi-decade hunt to learn the origins of John D. Fitzgerald’s family-oriented books.

Along the journey to find the real John D. Fitzgerald, she made new friends. Visited towns she had never heard of. Ventured out on her own. And she found love she never expected.


ORIGINAL SERIES



1 The Great Brain

Chapter 1 - The Magic Water Closet -
Chapter 2 - Revenge Can Be Sour -
Chapter 3 - The Great Brain Saves the Day
Chapter 4 - Abie Glassman Finds a Home
Chapter 5 - Greek Immigrant
Chapter 6 - A Wreath for Abie
Chapter 7 - The New Teacher
Chapter 8 - The Great Brain's Reformation 

2 More Adventures of the Great Brain 

CHAPTER 1 -  The Night the Monster Walked
Chapter 2 - The Taming of Britches Dotty
CHAPTER 3 - The Time Papa Got Lost
Chapter 4 -Tom Scoops Papa’s Newspaper
Chapter 5 - The Death of Old Butch. 
Chapter 6 - The Ghost of Silverlode

3 Me and My Little Brain

Chapter 1 - The Wheeler-Dealer
Chapter 2 - The Born Loser
Chapter 3 - Frankie Pennyworth
Chapter 4 - Solving Frankie's mental block.
Chapter 5 - Frankie Takes Over
CHAPTER 6 - The Escape of Cal Roberts     
CHAPTER 7 - Hostage     
CHAPTER 8 - My Little Brain Against Cal Roberts

4 The Great Brain at the Academy 

Chapter 1 - Tom Spots a Card Shark
Chapter 2 - Tom at the Throttle
Chapter 3 - Off on the Wrong Foot
Chapter 4 - Tom's First Day at the Academy
Chapter 5 - From Bad to Worse
Chapter 6 - The Academy Candy Store
Chapter 7 - Goodness Doesn't Pay
Chapter 8 - The Mental Marvel
Chapter 9 - Mystery of the Missing Mattress
Chapter 10 - Basketball and the Bishop


****MISSING STORYLINE ( JAN- JUNE 1898)  at The Catholic Academy!!

5 The Great Brain Reforms

Chapter 1 -  The Return Home
Chapter 2 - The Tin Can Swindle
Chapter 3 - The Tug of War
Chapter 4 - Tom Hooks a Fish Named Sweyn
Chapter 5 - Alkali Flats.
Chapter 6 - The Runaway
Chapter 7 - The Magnetic Stick
Chapter 8 - The Good Raft Explorer
Chapter 9 - The Wreck of the Explorer
Chapter 10 - The Trial of the Great Brain

6 The Return of the Great Brain

Chapter 1 - The Adenville Academy
Chapter 2  - Tom and the Wild Jackass
Chapter 3  - The Train Robbery
Chapter 4 - Tom and the Numbers Trick
Chapter 5 - Tom the Magician
Chapter 6 - Puppy Love
Chapter 7 - The Wheel of Fortune
Chapter 8 - The Game of Outlaw and Posse

7 The Great Brain Does it Again

Chapter 1 -  The Buried Treasure Swindle
Chapter 2 - The Missing Rocking Horse
Chapter 3 - The Horse Race
Chapter 4 - Tom and the Dude
Chapter 5 - The Chute-the-Chute
Chapter 6 - Tom Becomes an Indian Blood Brother
Chapter 7 - Herbie the Poet
Chapter 8 - Thirteen

8 The Great Brain is Back

Chapter 1 - The Slippery Soap Deal
Chapter 2 - The Numbers Game
Chapter 3 - Indians
Chapter 4 - The Great Spelling Bee
Chapter 5 - The Dogfights
Chapter 6 - Smoke
Chapter 7 - Blue Lake
Chapter 8 - The Swindler is Swindled 



ADENVILLE:
Fictional town located past Cedar City in lower Southwest Utah near Piute reservations, alkali flats, railroad lines, rivers, and mountains/canyons/plateau

City Layout (Conceptual)
Scale: A mile-square (approx. 1 sq mile) area, fitting the "Plat of Zion" ideal for 20,000, but scaled down for 2,000.
Blocks: Maybe 49 blocks total, with 3-7 central blocks for public use and others for housing/farming.
Population Density: Relatively low, allowing space for greenery and animals, reflecting agrarian roots.
 
Example Scenario (Scaled for 2,000)
Imagine a square city, about 1/2 mile by 1/2 mile, divided into a grid. The center holds a temple block and a civic block. Surrounding these are residential blocks, each with 20 large lots (perhaps 1/2 acre each), giving families room for homes, orchards, and livestock, creating a very green, self-sufficient, and religiously organized settlement in 1890. 

General Plat Characteristics

Grid System: The dominant layout would be a rigid grid of streets, a common practice for its ease of surveying, land division into standard lots (e.g., 50 by 140 feet), and administrative purposes.

Commercial District: A central area with storefronts, offices, and services, usually clustered around the main street intersection. This area would include:
General stores
Banks
Saloons
A hotel/boarding house
Civic buildings (town hall, post office)

Residential Areas: Surrounding the commercial core, these areas would primarily feature single-family houses on individual lots. Houses would vary from modest to more substantial, depending on the resident's wealth.

Industrial/Transportation Hub: This district would be situated near a railroad line, river, or major road to facilitate the transport of goods. Elements might include:
Railroad depot
Warehouses
Small mills or factories (e.g., lumber or grain)
Blacksmith shops

Civic/Public Spaces: The plat might designate a few key public spaces:
A central public square or park (reflecting aspirations for the "City Beautiful" movement that began around this time).
Sites for churches and a schoolhouse.
A small cemetery on the outskirts of the town.

Outskirts/Agricultural Land: Beyond the settled area, the plat would indicate larger land parcels for agriculture or future expansion. The town boundary itself would likely be a simple geometric line, perhaps encompassing more land than was currently developed, in anticipation of growth.

More historical data about small Utah towns:

Washington County in Utah is the area referred to as Dixie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah%27s_Dixie

Author was from Price, Utah southeast of Salt Lake City.
Price, Utah 2025 map
Price, Utah in 1890 had a population of 209, reached 2 ,777 in 1920, and  ~8,200 in 2020


Cedar City 1902

Cedar City central map

Cedar City population 1890 ~1,000 people, increasing ~1500 in 1900 but only reached 2400 in  1920


Kanarraville, Utah
Kanarraville is south of Cedar City and had ~300 people in 1890 and ~450 in 2020


Hurricane Utah 2009

Hurricane, Utah is more like Adenville



Kids

Andy Anderson, a boy who loses his lower left leg to infection

Parley Benson, son of a bounty hunter and possesses his own coonskin cap, a Bowie knife, repeating air rifle.

Dotty Blake, also known as "Britches Dotty", a "tomboy" Tom teaches to read and write, Dotty beats up Sammy Leeds when he teases her.

Muriel Cranston Girl whose pigtails get dipped in ink by an unknown culprit, leading to Tom's refusal to tattle and subsequent whipping by Mr. Standish.

Hal Evans - put a live frog in Muriel Cranston’s desk

Danny Forester son of the town's barber. Danny's left eye always seems half-shut

Roger Gillis - about six years old whose parents wouldn’t let him own a dog

Eddie Huddle, Frankie's best friend and son of the town blacksmith.

Frank and Allan Jensen, who are children of Scandinavian immigrants. Lost in cave.

Howard Kay, one of John's best friends, who has "a round face like a pumpkin"

Vasillios "Basil" Kokovinis, a Greek boy who recently immigrated to America.

Sammy Leeds, who is something of a bully. His father is bigoted

Christine Mackie - teases dotty, jumps rope

Irene Olsen - Girl jumping rope

Jimmie Peterson, another of John's best friends, mom owns the boarding house

Polly Reagan who becomes Tom's girlfriend when he turns 13

Seth Smith, a local Mormon boy close to Tom's age. He is friends with both Tom and John

Herbie Sties, a fat poet kid originally from SLC

Harold Vickers, son of the district attorney

Marie Vinson, daughter of the Vinsons


Larry Knudson and William Bartell - dead Mormon kids from 1892 in Silverlode

Jimmy Gruber, a diabetic boy who dies in 1897/1898

Joan Smedley, who died of pneumonia just before Christmas 1896





Adults

Bishop Aden Founder of Adenville and member of Mormon LDS church

Sheriff Baker - spent a great deal of time tracking down Paiute Indians who left the reservation in the county

— Robert Bates got stung on the horse he bought from Steve Andrews

Charles Blake - has to use a crutch to get around., father of dotty, moved there with help to old Fitzgerald home

Mr. James Bowman - owned a big ranch about twenty miles from Adenville

Mr. Brown - Hay, Grain, and Feed Store

Mr. Carter Runs the creamery.

Frank Collopy - bank worker

Pierre Dussierre - Sheep herder

Dave Ecord gave Blake and the daughter a ride into town

Pete Ferguson - runs a logging camp about twenty miles from here

Mr. Forester - Danny’s dad, the Barber

Mr. Douglas and Mrs. Granger Along with Calvin Whitlock, these two are members of the school board

Abie Glassman, a Jewish itinerant salesman who dies of starvation.

Mr. Haggerty - drunk

Mr. Harmon - owner of ZCMI store

Mrs. Hazzleton - Mr Whitlock’s housekeeper

Fred Harvey - Town Plumber

Reverend Holcomb - Protestant minister

Reverend Ingle came to town and held a revival meeting in a big tent on the campground, lasting one week. All the Protestants in town went to the revival meeting.

Mr. Jamison, the carpenter

Mr. and Mrs. Jensen Parents of Frank and Allan.

Father Giovanni - Father Joe - came once a year for one week; baptized /married Catholics, and held confessions / masses in Community Church

George Kokovinis - Runs Palace Cafe and speaks English, to America 5 years before wife/son.

Alex Kramer - Friend of papa, always trading up

Nels Larson - Stationmaster, ticket agent, telegrapher, express agent, and freight agent at the railroad depot

Mrs. Lee - brother, Stanley, isn’t in the Army like she tells people. He is serving time in the State Penitentiary. This fact was shared by Tom’s paper…

Dr. LeRoy - town doctor

Mr. Monaire the biggest sheepman in the county

Mrs. Olsen Bring sandwiches and milk for everyone standing vigil at entrance to Skeleton Cave

Mrs. Peterson - runs the boarding house, jimmie’s mom

Mr. Peters - a Civil War veteran

Sarah Pickens - is going to die an old maid

Judge Potter - local judge

Aunt Sarah - Danny Foresters aunt

Mr. and Mrs. Smedley - Own a big ranch about five miles from town. The mare belonged to their daughter, Joan, who died of pneumonia just before Christmas 1896

Steve Smith - Seth’s uncle who played a ghost at Silverlode

Miles Standish - teacher at original schoolhouse grade 1-6 replacing Miss Thatcher (retired)

Jerry Stout - leather worker, bridles, saddles

Fred Tanner livery stable.

Mrs. Taylor Lady in town whom Mamma visits when she is sick, also lives next to Petersons

Milton Tedford, worked on the railroad as a brakeman

Dave Teller shoemaker.

Mr. Thompson Butcher

Calvin Whitlock, the banker, widower no kids

Mrs. Winters Bring sandwiches and milk for everyone standing vigil at the entrance to Skeleton Cave




Fictional Academy

Father O’Malley - a middle-aged man wearing the traditional black robe and hood of a Jesuit priest.

Father Rodriguez - jet-black hair and a swarthy complexion inherited from his Spanish ancestors. But the dominant impression Tom had of the superintendent were the eyes and the face. The eyes were as black as wet coal and the stern face looked as if it would break if the priest smiled.

Bishop Miglaccio - bishop of the diocese that at the time consisted of four states.



Fitzgerald Family


John Dennis "J.D." Fitzgerald - narrator of the series, and youngest of the three brothers.

Thomas "Tom" Dennis "T.D." Fitzgerald Jr. - mischievous middle brother and swindler extraordinaire.

Sweyn Dennis "S.D." Fitzgerald - eldest brother


Thomas Dennis Fitzgerald Sr. ("Papa" or "Fitz") - patriarch of the family. Owner, editor, and publisher of the town paper, the "Adenville Weekly Advocate". He is an Irish Catholic originally from the eastern United States who headed west to seek his fortune as a newspaper writer and publisher. He is one of Adenville's leading citizens, and highly respected amongst the residents as he is the only citizen of Adenville to hold a university diploma.” I’ll send a telegram right off to the Smithsonian Institution”


Tena "Mamma" Fitzgerald - The matriarch of the family and homemaker, of Danish-Scandinavian ancestry. Her father was named Sweyn, which she named her first son in his honor.


Frankie Pennyworth - An unconscious boy rescued by Uncle Mark after a rock slide kills his brother and parents.

Aunt Bertha - A Methodist widow who lives with the Fitzgerald family, not actually a blood relative but still called "aunt" because she has been considered a part of their family. John explains that after Bertha's husband died, his parents took her in as she had no children, social network, or living relatives.


Uncle Mark - The town marshal and DEPUTY sheriff.

Aunt Cathie - Mark's wife and Papa's sister, adopts kid in SLC




New Book Ideas 2025


4.5 The Great Brain Returns to the Academy

TOM is 12, AT THE ACADEMY FOR THE LAST TIME in SLC  - JAN - JUNE 1898



UNNAMED BOOK - West High School 8th grade under fake name to avoid Academy

9 - SEPT 1899 - DECEMBER 1899 


UNNAMED BOOK West High School 8th grade

10 - Jan 1900 - May 1900



UNNAMED BOOK Summer with JD/Frankie

11 - June 1900 to August 1900



Proposed AGE and TIMELINE and Grade for JD, TD, SD, and Frankie..
 no known birthdays but references occur indicating time of year.. toms must be in Dec/Jan

YEARBookGradeJDGradeTomGradeSweynGradeFrankie
Jan 18961374106113
Feb 18961374106113
Mar 18961374106113
April 18961374106123
May 18961374106123
June 18961710123
July 18961810123
Aug 18961
8SKIP 5th!10123
Sep 18961486107123
Oct 18961486107123
Nov 18961486107124
Dec 18962486107124
Jan 18972486117124
Feb 18972486117124
Mar 18972486117124
April 18972486117134
May 18972486117134
June 18972811134
July 18972911134
Aug 18972911134
Sep 18973,4597118134
Oct 18973,4597118134
Nov 18973,4597118135
Dec 18974597118135
Jan 1898X597128135
Feb 1898X597128135
Mar 1898X597128135
April 1898X597128145
May 1898X597128145
June 18985912145
July 189851012145
Aug 18985,61012145
Sep 189866108129145
Oct 189866108129145
Nov 1898761081291416
Dec 1898761081291416
Jan 1899761081391416
Feb 1899761081391416
Mar 18997,861081391416
April 1899861081391516
May 1899861081391516
June 189981013156
July 189981113156
Aug 189981113156
Sep 18999711913101526
Oct 18999711913101526
Nov 18999711913101527
Dec 18999711913101527
Jan 190010711914101527
Feb 190010711914101527
Mar 190010711914101527
April 190010711914101627
May 190010711914101627
June 1900111114167
July 1900111214167
Aug 1900111214167

draft map of Adenville


The Great Brain - Series Continuation

 i have some ideas for a continuation of The Great Brain series. - Chris DEC 2025 (above) "The Great Brain," a 1978 film starring...