The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion

Fritzi Jurdabralinski is the eldest of the Jurdabralinski siblings. She is born in Pulaski, Wisconsin, to Stanislaw and Linka Jurdabralinski, and is older sister to Wink, Tula, Gertrude, and Sophie. From the start, Fritzi is the most adventurous of her siblings, with her mother worrying that she will get into trouble. However, it is also Fritzi’s fearlessness that makes her an excellent candidate to be a WASP, since she is an excellent pilot who ends up flying many different types of planes from airbase to airbase in the United States during World War II.

Sookie’s birth certificate suggests that Fritzi is her mother. While ultimately this proves to be untrue, readers spend much of the novel following Fritzi on her adventures, not knowing that it is Fritzi’s little sister Sophie who is Sookie’s mother. However, Fritzi’s journey illustrates the importance of women pilots to the war effort during World War II, as well as the many stereotypes that followed women during this time, including the idea that “[w]omen were far too high-strung and emotional. Flying was and always would be a man’s job” (181). These gender biases never deter Fritzi, and her confidence and determination end up saving the filling station from closing when she suggests that she and her sisters could run it.

Flying, to Fritzi, is the best feeling in the world. From her first time in a plane, she “fall[s] hopelessly in love with flying” (87). Her first trip with Billy to Milwaukee has an important effect on her, showing her what life could look like beyond Pulaski. She quickly joins his flying circus as a daring stuntwoman, and her act with Billy demonstrates her willingness to try new things and push herself. She is even patriotic, attempting to join the war effort. However, even though the WASP program is a landmark in its hiring of women pilots, they are still “the best-kept secret in the country, even to the army” (228). Although she contends with sexism and discrimination, she never loses her charismatic charm. Even as an older woman greeting Sookie decades after the war, Fritzi is still vibrant, marshaling the WASP reunion parade in Wisconsin and rallying her sisters for a reunion at the filling station.

Everyone in Point Clear, Alabama, knows Lenore Simmons Krackenberry. She is the larger-than-life figure who is always vocal about her opinions. She is also a proud daughter of the South, often boasting about her family’s history and their status. Lenore’s husband Alton passed away, but she still lives in their home, cared for by a hired nurse named Angel. She is the mother of Sookie and Buck and a doting grandmother.

Lenore is seen as an entertaining personality by most of the people outside of her family. She is also loved and admired by her family members, though many comment to Sookie that they wish she would stand up to Lenore more often. Lenore’s personality has occasionally gotten her into legal trouble, and Sookie is often the one to clean up her mess. Dr. Shapiro also informally diagnoses her as a “[n]arcissist with mild to severe illusions of grandeur” (126).

While Lenore keeps her secrets from Sookie, she does so because she believes that it is the best thing for her. She also keeps secret about how her mother left when she was a child, not wanting to think too much about the impact that it has had on her life. Instead, she lauds the Simmons side of her family for their bravery, relying on that side of her family history as her claim to fame. Her over-the-top personality shines throughout the novel as a hyperbolic representation of the pressure that mothers can place on their daughters. 

In Lenore’s case, such pressure also arises out of her own feelings of insufficiency about what she has achieved in her life, and, once she no longer has to raise children, she places herself at the center of attention. Her ideas are likely meant to garner this attention, and it works. For example, when Lenore calls Netta to declare that “[t]his democracy thing is just not working” (233), Sookie immediately rushes over to make sure that her mother has not gotten into trouble. However, her suspicions turn out to be correct about many things, such as the mayor’s corruption and the power of the Simmons family, showing how smart and intuitive Lenore really is.

Earle Poole Jr. is Sookie’s loyal husband. He is father to Dee Dee, Ce Ce, Le Le, and Carter and is a dentist. He provides emotional support to his wife throughout the novel, encouraging her to pursue her questions about her birth mother and family. He is a flat character, but his relationship with Sookie is evidence of one of the few times she stood up to Lenore, since her mother did not approve of her marriage to Earle.

Earle also altruistically always has Sookie’s best interests at heart. He is patient with her as she panics over the news of her adoption, and his support provides an important feeling of reassurance that gives Sookie the courage to go see her mother. Earle’s opinion is also of great importance to Sookie, and so when he tells her, “I haven’t heard you sound so happy in a long time” (307) during her first trip to see Fritzi, Sookie recognizes how freeing it is to be in a town that doesn’t know her mother. Earle’s words and his love ultimately help Sookie on her path to finding herself.