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Taffy Of Torpedo Junction

Wednesday, May 09 2007 by

Generations of North Carolinians remember the free-spirited teenager who exposed a Nazi spy ring on Hatteras Island during World War II. Her name was Taffy Willis and she was the heroine of Nell Wise Wechter's award-winning 1957 children's book, "Taffy of Torpedo Junction" (University of North Carolina Press/1996). She was so beloved that fans refused to let the book go out of print, and today Taffy celebrates her 50th birthday. Host Frank Stasio recounts the significance of the story with the author's daughter, Marcia Wechter Kass, and with Carol Dillon, the real-life woman who inspired the fictional Taffy. Plus, News and Observer reporter Dennis Rogers tells how Taffy's fans saved her from retirement.