Bryson Ripsaw ~ District 7 Mayor

Mayor Bryson Ripsaw was born in the area of what would become District Seven before Panem had been firmly founded. Born in the middle of the rebel war, Ripsaw was one of the first citizens of the shining new country of Panem, but also one of the first to have their name cast into the Reaping bowl. While Ripsaw doesn't often talk about those early days I can tell they haunt him, especially on Reaping day which he usually spends locked in his office with a bottle of spirits. I have many theories about this- the shame he must feel sending children off to die, or more intriguing the guilt he might feel at having a chance to prevent this whole system yet being unable to. One evening I entered his office to deliver some papers to find he had been drinking, which was not a rare occurrence. What was unusual were his words. Muttering about being too young to stop it and being too old to save them now.

As you can see there are many layers to the current District Seven Mayor, shall we start to peel them back?

I Shiana Strout have been assigned personally by the mayor to write his biography. I will not disappoint him I will write about Mayor Ripsaw's life to my complete and best ability.

Bryson Ripsaw was born before the creation of the Hunger Games and was only 5 years old when the first Reaping took place. His mother, Warna Yelswood, was part of the rebel force before Panem was firmly established and was taken prisoner when the war was over. Being as young as he was, Ripsaw doesn't have any memories of the woman but his father, Regald Wanton, has told him many stories. Bryson's father as part of the resistance too, only he never spoke of what he saw or what he had done. Ripsaw has always assumed his father chickened out when the Capitol took over and fell in line while Warna resisted. When he was grown and won the office of mayor he looked into files in an attempt to find out what had happened to his family but nothing came up. The event was too old, and frankly, there wasn't much hope that she was still alive.

You might be wondering- how did Bryson get the name Ripsaw from "Yelswood" and "Wanton?" Well when the first Reaping was put together and Bryson and his father were relocated to District Seven, Regald decided to rename their tiny family. Seeing what their trade would be, he picked the name Ripsaw from the various tools used in the lumber business in hopes that his son would slip into District life easily. A name is one thing, spirit is something completely different.

Growing up, Bryson Ripsaw became a very determined lad. Everything became a competition with him. The boy to chop the most fire wood- the first worker to finish their shift- the man to win the election. Of course you know he won the last of those... eventually. Ripsaw conducted many campaigns for mayor but they usually ended in failure. However at the last election he beat out the incompetent current mayor and won the seat for himself. However, he isn't exactly the best politician. Ripsaw has a flaming temper that can spark at any moment which affects his work and District Seven's standing with the Capitol. His personal life since hitting adult hood can only be described as a circus. When he was only nineteen years old he married Reina Ashaul. A girl two years younger than himself who seemed to put a real spark into his life.

Mr and Mrs Bryson Ripsaw snapped by George Holliday.

However young love can only go so far and by the time Bryson was twenty five and Reina was twenty three the two had had enough and called a quits. The divorce was relatively easy seeing as they had no children together but not from lack of trying. Reina had a total of three miscarriages before being advised to stop typing to conceive. Heart broken, the diagnosis had shaken them both which was the start of the downward spiral of their marriage. At the time Ripsaw was just a saw jockey at Sawmill #8 and only made just enough for the two to live off of. However, the divorce emptied out his savings from his time at the mill which left the young man bitter and hollow.

Throwing himself into work, Ripsaw managed to rise in the ranks at #8 and was eventually made Manager of the entire operation at the age of twenty seven. He not only won the dream job, but Bryson won himself a dream girl too. Manda Carson was the sister of one of Ripsaw's co-workers and when the two met they hit it off right away. During the final days of the Thirty Second Hunger Games, the two were married with the hopes that this time it would really last.

Bryson Ripsaw and Manda Carson, courtesy of George Holliday.

However, not even a year after the two were married did problems develop. Manda soon felt suffocated by their relationship, often begging her friends to let her stay over at their place. There were instances of Manda calling Ripsaw a "brute" "hot-headed" and even "abusive." It was during this period that Bryson began dabbling in politics and such an outburst from his wife would simply not do. So after a year and three months of marriage the two filed for divorced ending Ripsaw's second unhappy marriage.

During his bachelor years after Manda, Ripsaw completely immersed himself into politics. However, it was known throughout the district that he wasn't the nicest, nor the most well respected politician of the day. Ripsaw developed a drinking problem in those years and spent most of his time either at the office or in a bar. Most of the time he'd wake up the next morning in someone's house and have to sneak out to get to work on time. It is unknown how many children he has fathered throughout the district in this period of time alone, but it is estimated to be in the double digits.

At the age of twenty three, Ripsaw decided to run for Mayor. However many of his advisers suggested that to make Bryson look more appealing to the general public- especially families- that he get married. That way Ripsaw could cover up his drunken one night stands and claim his faithfulness to his wife. So a match was quickly arranged and he married June Holliday, the ex-wife of the District photographer.

June Holliday and Bryson Ripsaw, courtesy of Quinn Sowers.