January 2nd is Dianna Mattson’s birthday. You all know Dianna as Dickens Station’s answer to Jessica Fletcher and as the co-manager of The Market Street General Store, along with her husband, Charley. But many of you may not know the mysterious story of how Dianna and Charley met that first week she came to live among us here in Dickens Station. So, I have republished for your enjoyment a DSDT article I wrote in 2023, introducing Dianna to our Dickens Stationers and guests. And I’ve included links to A Sugarbush Easter, the free short story about, as Dianna puts it, “the night I murdered the man who, years later, became my husband,” and one of Dianna’s mini mysteries, The Case of the Telltale Tiles. Please join me in wishing Dianna a happy birthday when you see her. – Emily Dodson, Editor –
Dickens Station Daily Telegraph
Monday, March 6, 2023 Dickens Station, Vermont
by Emily Dodson, Editor
Meet Dianna Mattson
While we are in the heart of maple syrup season here in Vermont, and with Easter fast approaching, I am reminded of one very early Easter many years ago when Dianna Mattson, then Dianna Norris, came to live with us in Dickens Station. It was one of the most memorable arrivals in our town. As Dianna puts it, “My new life in Dickens Station began the night I murdered the man who, years later, became my husband.”
So, in this edition of the Dickens Station Daily Telegraph, I thought you might like to get to know our resident General Store Co-Manager/detective, Dianna Mattson, a little better. I got the chance to sit down with Dianna over tea at The General Store. Here’s what she had to say.
Me: “You are known among Dickens Stationers as our own Jessica Fletcher, but you’re not actually a detective, are you?”
Dianna: “No, I’m merely the co-manager of The General Store, along with my husband, Charley.”
Me: “The man you ‘murdered?’”
My new life in Dickens Station began the night I murdered the man who, years later, became my husband.
Dianna: (Laughing) “Yeah, that’s a funny story for another time. But seriously, my father was a private investigator, and my mother was a lawyer, so, naturally, when I went to college at Hofstra University to study business administration, I just had to minor in criminology for the fun of it. I’ve always been a mystery girl.”
Me: “I’ll bet you read Nancy Drew as a kid?”
Dianna: “Yes, Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, then later Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr, all of the classics.”
Me: “You mentioned Christie. Are you camp Poirot or Miss Marple?”
Dianna: “Both, really. But I guess I lean a little toward team Poirot.”
Me: “And solving a mystery is how you met your husband, Charley?”
Dianna: “That’s right. The night I came to Dickens Station on the train to become the new manager of The General Store, I noticed Charley with several of his traveling companions. He didn’t look well. We all got stranded at Dickens Station by a snowstorm, and while they were waiting for the tracks to be cleared, we found out that Evan Marley had lost his sugarbush supervisor. Charley formerly owned and ran a sugarbush of his own. So, the next day we all went out to help Evan, and while firing up Evan’s sugar shack, I discovered something was amiss with Charley’s companions. The rest, as they say, is history. We married two years later, and now we run The General Store together.”
Me: “You also help our local Chief Constable, Robert Peeler, from time to time, isn’t that correct?”
Dianna: “Oh, he humors me. He knows I like to dabble in mysteries, so he lets me tag along when he has a particularly interesting case. Like the Case of the Telltale Tiles, where we recently recovered some black diamonds missing at Dickens Manor.”
Me: “With your retail experience and love of mysteries, is there enough excitement in Dickens Station to hold your interest?”
Dianna: “I’m reminded of something Amelia Dickens said to me when we first met. She said, ‘You’ll find, after you’ve been here for a while, that things happen for a reason at Dickens Station. Sometimes miraculous things.’ Dickens Station is never wanting for mysterious and miraculous adventure. I am thankful to be a part of it.”
Author’s Note: Explore the complete story of how Dianna and Charlie met in the free short story A Sugarbush Easter at https://donaldjay.com/download/a-sugarbush-easter-short-story/. You can also try to solve The Case of the Telltale Tiles along with Dianna at https://donaldjay.com/the-case-of-the-telltale-tiles/.
Dianna Kelly says:
This is great! One of my favorite lines you’ve ever written is “My new life in Dickens Station began the night I murdered the man who, years later, became my husband.” (I’m sure I’m not alone in that!)
Donald Jay says:
Thanks, Dianna. It makes for a really fun short story.