Long ago, in my college days at SMU, my history professor advisor for my senior thesis asked my next step in the field. Where did I see myself after graduation? Grad school? I shyly revealed to him my ultimate goal in the …
Winter Weather and the Past
Every time we have unusual winter happenings, my mind drifts back to the Ingalls family and The Long Winter. Blizzards that shut down the trains. Burning hay when the coal ran out. Grinding wheat in the coffee grinder to make …
Vintage Baseball Game
We went to a vintage baseball game yesterday. They played by the rules of baseball from the 1860s. Yes, you read that right. 1860s, like during the Civil War. It was fascinating, really, like watching baby movies of a grown …
The Young Victoria
I’ll admit that I have a lifelong fascination with royalty. And truly, if I trace it back, it probably began with checking out Jean Plaidy’s The Queen’s Husband back when I was 11 or 12. It told the story of Victoria and …
Gleaning Historical Tidbits
I love learning about history. Not the history you learn in textbooks, necessarily, although knowledge of those things is an important background. I love the little things. The obscure things. Things important to the people …
Giving Thanks Day 13
I am grateful for indoor plumbing, grocery stores, telephones, automobiles, airplanes, and most other modern conveniences! As much as I love reading and writing about other time periods in history, I wouldn’t have enjoyed …
The State Fair of Texas
We went to the State Fair of Texas today. It’s a yearly pilgrimage to fried food and farm animals, with the new car building reminding us we are well into the 21st century. This year, as my feet walked familiar paths, I …
Clash of Cultures
Jeff and I will use any excuse to tour a historical site. And to stay over night in one? Well, that’s even better! Lately, I’ve been reading a lot about the history of southern Louisiana. In the space of a few hours, we got …
Pages of the Past
I went to look up just one little piece of information for my historical novel. I knew I needed it straight from the source my character would have had access to: the newspaper. Two hours and about twenty printed pages later, …
Did You Know . . .?
As I have researched my new novel, set in 1918, I’ve come across some fascinating facts. I thought it might be fun to pass some of these along once a week or so. Here’s your first installment: In 1917, Herbert Hoover was …