Stars Over Clear Lake: A Hometown Reflection

 

There's something timeless about Clear Lake, Iowa. The lake breeze carries whispers from decades past, and if you listen close enough, you might just hear the music echoing from the Surf Ballroom — the heartbeat of stories both real and imagined. 

I finally read Stars Over Clear Lake by Loretta Ellsworth, a novel that beautifully intertwines a wartime love story with the very place I call home. It tugged at my heartstrings in ways I didn't expect— bittersweet and haunting, yet full of hope. 

Set against the backdrop of the Surf Ballroom, the story follows Loralee, a woman whose memories unfold as she recounts a forbidden love with a German POW during World War II. The narrative moves between past and present, slowly unraveling the secrets she's carried for decades. 

Reading it felt like stepping into a memory—not just of someone else's story, but of my own hometown's soul. 

As I turned the pages, I found myself picturing the spots I know so well:

The Surf's neon lights glowing through the night

Couples dancing under the stars to big band music

The stillness of the lake when the music finally fades

Growing up around Clear Lake, you hear the legends: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. But Stars Over Clear Lake reminded me that every town—no matter how small—holds countless quiet love stories too. One that don't always make headlines but live on in glances, journals, and maybe even novels like this one. 

It makes me think of my own grandparents, of war letters tucked in drawers, of hometown dances, of family stories that deserve to be written down. Maybe this book was the nudge I needed to start capturing more of those stories right here on my blog. 

If you love historical fiction, music nostalgia, or just want to be swept into a story where Clear Lake becomes a character all on its own—this book is for you. 

Have you read Stars Over Clear Lake? I'd love to hear your thoughts—or your own Surf Ballroom memories. Let's keep the stories dancing.