Peg Averyt pens book inspired by beloved dad Kirkman Finlay

“Dutch Dives In” is the delightful children’s story of a beloved father, a baby doll and the beach.

It was recently published by Columbia’s equally delightful Peg Finlay Averyt.

Averyt is an artist whose gallery, Finleaf Gallery, is tucked into an old Shandon home on Devine Street. Her support of other artists as they make their way in the art world is remarkable.

She’s also the little sister of former Columbia mayor Kirkman Finlay Jr., who once told her never to smoke because there was nothing tackier than a woman driving a car, turning a corner with both hands on the steering wheel, and thus having a cigarette sticking out of her mouth.

And, she is a lithe 77-year-old, slim as a tree limb, who ran the New York Marathon when she was 41 years old, and when, as she put it, “There were just a handful of women running.”

“They didn’t make jogging shoes for women. I had to wear men’s jogging shoes, which were too big for my feet.”

Averyt’s husband, Gayle, is the retired chairman of Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Co., but he still goes to the office.

“What a godsend,” she quipped. “Every man needs a place to go.”

But I digress.

This story is not about Mrs. Averyt’s big brother, loose shoes or godsends.

No, it’s a nostalgic tale of an 8-year-old child, nicknamed “Dutch” by her daddy, who one particular summer took her favorite baby doll, Mary California, to one of South Carolina’s equally favorite beaches, Pawleys Island.

“(The book) is inspired by my daddy, Kirkman Finlay,” Averyt said.

“He had a great sense of humor and he raised homing pigeons. Then he started carving animals out of wood. Then he started making this stuff called scrapple. He just was an interesting and attractive man.”

And, he was besotted with his daughter.

“He adored me. My mother used to say that when I walked in the room, Daddy would get a simple look on his face … He gave me the nickname Dutch for my blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin.”

And he gave his family a week at the beach every summer, from whence came the inspiration for “Dutch Dives In.”

“(It’s) a true story about me and my favorite doll, Mary California. My great-grandmother made her play clothes and hats. I always took her on vacation with me. I wanted her to have a special outing with me. I would get all of her clothes washed up. And her little blankets. She had some sort of little bathing suit and I would pack her suitcase. I treated my dolls like people.”

“I just loved the ocean and I would stay out on the beach all day. Mary California and I would swim and swim and swim and then we just played out on the beach. And then we’d come off the beach, and I would let her shower.”

And while I will leave you to discover for yourself what happens when Mary California gets away from Dutch in the ocean, rest assured, there is a happy ending.

“Dutch Dives In” is Averyt’s second children’s book. The first is called “Willowbell’s Wagon” and is about a brown rabbit that lives on Heathwood Circle in Columbia.

Averyt illustrated both stories by way of watercolor images on pieces of fine, batiste material.

“I found the material in an old textile mill closing down in Union. They just had stacks and stacks of the stuff.”

And there will be stacks of “Dutch Dives In” for sale at a book signing event from 4-7 p.m. Thursday at Finleaf Gallery, 2323 Devine St.

Everyone is welcome. There will be wine and appetizers.

And, of course, beach music.

This story was originally published May 12, 2017 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Peg Averyt pens book inspired by beloved dad Kirkman Finlay."