Byron Pengra and the Oregon Central Military Road
Once the emigrants to Oregon survived the plains and the Rockies, they still had to traverse Oregon Territory. I’ve written before about some of their choice—raft down the Columbia River, take the Barlow Road around Mount Hood, or take the Applegate Trail to the south then up the Willamette Valley. Each of these choices presented […]
An Update on My Work-in-Progress, and a Peek at a Possible Cover Image
In my monthly newsletter, I usually update readers on the status of my work-in-progress, but I haven’t posted about it on this blog in several months. (So subscribe to my newsletter!) My story is progressing, albeit slowly. I drafted the whole story during NaNoWriMo last November, ending the month with a very rough draft of […]
Random Photo: Spring Tulips and a Birthday Clue
I had no good ideas for a post today, so as I sometimes do, I looked through old photographs for inspiration. This time, I was looking for something spring-ish. And I found a snapshot of my brother and me examining spring tulips. I didn’t remember this picture, but it was one that my father saved […]
Vaccine Envy . . . No More
I wrote in early February that I was eagerly awaiting my COVID-19 vaccine, but at the time I thought it was still a few months away. I turned sixty-five this past Monday, which made me eligible under Missouri’s rules. I always expected that my birthday would give me little preference for the vaccine. I thought […]
Interview and Book Review: PARIS IN RUINS, by M.K. Tod
I’m always curious about the reasons other historical fiction writers are drawn to the genre. I have friends who write about Kansas City’s past and others who write about places they have traveled (France, Mongolia, and Hong Kong, for example). M.K. Tod’s latest novel, Paris in Ruins, is set in France in 1870. Here is […]
Abigail Scott Dunaway: First Suffragette in Oregon
In recognition of Women’s History Month, this post is about the beginning of the women’s suffrage movement in Oregon, with a focus on Abigail Scott Dunaway, known as Oregon’s “Mother of Equal Suffrage.” I came across Abigail Dunaway in researching prominent women in early Oregon. Abigail was born in Illinois in October 1834 and traveled […]
Recipe: Irish Soda Bread for St. Patrick’s Day (or Any Day)
I am not a cook, and I don’t aspire to be one. But like many of us cooped up at home, I have cooked more than usual this past year. One of my discoveries this year has been Irish soda bread. Although I am part Irish, and my mother always celebrated her Irish heritage, I […]
Nostalgia for Happier Times: Visits to Carmel
My OneDrive memories feed sends me pictures I’ve taken in prior years on that date. Lately, it has been sending me pictures of trips I took to Carmel, California, with my parents. Lovely pictures of happier times. My parents honeymooned in Carmel in 1955 and loved the location. Periodically, they returned to vacation there. In […]
New Technology: Short-Term Loss of Productivity for a Long-Term Gain (I Hope)
I’ve written several times before about setting up new computers and other digital devices. (See here and here.) I was at it again last month. Before the pandemic, my then-three-year-old laptop had started having battery problems. These problems took two forms. First, the laptop only held a charge for a few hours, and sometimes with […]
Colonel Charles Drew and the 1864 Treaty With the Klamath Indian Tribes
My current work-in-progress is set during the Civil War in Oregon. The Civil War was a factor in Oregon politics, but of more pressing concern to many of the citizens of Oregon were conflicts between whites and Native Americans. As emigrants to Oregon moved from the Willamette Valley into other parts of the state, conflicts […]