One thing that surprises me as I research the settlement of the American West is how much some pioneers moved around in the new territory. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised because many of these people—particularly the men—were intrepid explorers or filled with wanderlust. Daniel Boone is one famous example. […]
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The Northern Pacific Railroad
The importance of rail development in the West is one of the plot lines in my current work-in-progress. Recently, I’ve been researching the Northern Pacific Railroad, which was the third transcontinental railroad completed in the U.S.. The Northern Pacific line wasn’t finished until 1883—almost a generation after 1860, when the […]
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Local Newspapers, Then and Now
I’ve read several articles and editorials in recent months about the demise of local newspapers. An editorial in The New York Times last November reported that 204 counties in the United States had no local newspaper, and 1,562 counties had only one. The Medill Local News Initiative found that in […]
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St. Nicholas Day
Today, December 6, is St. Nicholas Day, a feast day honoring St. Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop of Myra (now part of Turkey). St. Nicholas was known for his charitable deeds, particularly toward children. For centuries, St. Nicholas Day was celebrated in many countries in Europe. It was a religious feast, […]
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Happy Thanksgiving from President Ulysses S. Grant, 1872
My current work-in-progress begins in 1872, and I recently researched what was said about Thanksgiving that year. Here is the Thanksgiving Day proclamation by President Ulysses S. Grant that year: October 11, 1872 By the President of the United States of America A ProclamationWhereas the revolution of another year has […]
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Ben Holladay, Transportation Tycoon
I’ve written before about rail development in Oregon and the fierce competition between the East Side line and the West Side line in laying rails around Portland. Ben Holladay was the owner of the successful East Side line, and he had his finger (indeed, his whole fist) in many other […]
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Sarah Winnemucca: 19th Century Advocate for Native Americans
Last month I wrote about Winema Riddle, a Native American woman who pursued justice for her people in 19th century Oregon. Sarah Winnemucca was another prominent Native American woman in Oregon at the time who also advocated for her people. Sarah Winnemucca was born into an influential Northern Paiute family […]
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Winema Riddle: A Woman of Many Names and Talents
My next novel will include scenes with Winema Riddle, a Native American woman who lived in Oregon in the 19th century. She served as an interpreter between the Army and the Modoc tribe during the Modoc War in 1872-73. Although best known as Winema Riddle, this Modoc woman took many […]
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Portland, Oregon, Fires in 1872 and 1873: Plot Points for My Next Novel
Some of my novels have followed historical events quite closely, and others are almost entirely fiction. For example, Lead Me Home follows the route of an actual wagon train quite closely, Now I’m Found features a section on the California Constitutional Convention, and Safe Thus Far follows an actual Oregon […]
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The New Northwest: A Platform Advocating for Women’s Suffrage
As readers of this blog know, I have included Abigail Scott Duniway, a historical Oregon pioneer, as a character in my last two novels, and I intend to include her in my next novel. She moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1871, in order to start a newspaper, The New Northwest, […]
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