Did you know John Thompson Prior? I have been reading about the siege of Bastogne, Christmas 1944. The many enormous sacrifices strike me with awe. There was love and humanity even for enemies. Most heroes never intended to be one. … Continued
Today is my birthday, commemorating sixty-nine years of circling the sun. I thought it would be fun to look back at the way things were when I was born, and what happened that year. Ten events from 1954: Cost of … Continued
IS SHE NOT PASSING FAIR?
Is she not passing fair,
She whom I love so well ?
Spain in Renaissance times was a place of strict rules and class distinctions, with the Roman Catholic Church overseeing most aspects of life. Women in particular had well-circumscribed roles and spheres of activity, particularly among the wealthy. Losing one’s respectability … Continued
An interview with the Historical Novel Society on my series, Across the Great Divide
the period of the cattle drives was relatively short, beginning in the 1850s, largely suspended during the Civil War, and ending in the 1890s due to railroad expansion. In the beginning, a group of cowboys would drive a herd of as many as a thousand cattle from pastures in Texas, Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico north and east to railheads. The towns at the end of the rails were those of western legend – Abeline, Dodge City, Wichita, Ellsworth, Cheyenne, Denver, Fort Worth, and Dallas.
Maggie was always spunky and adventurous, inclined to get her own way. She loved her parents but chafed under their rules. She valued her father’s hard work, coming from County Cork, Ireland to Missouri, and taking whatever labor jobs he could find to feed the family. As she grew to adulthood, she aspired to marry a rich man, to ease her father’s labors. When the family moved to Leadville, Colorado in 1898, she dropped that aspiration. She met JJ Brown and fell head over heels in love. After some internal struggle, she decided it best to marry a man for love rather than for money.
” I couldn’t recommend a young woman to take up law unless you’re ready for a fight. A boy might make it just by being average, but a girl needs to know much more than a boy to succeed.
Dr. Justina Ford (Jan. 22, 1871- Oct 14, 1952) was the first black female doctor in Denver, Colorado. Born Justina Laurena Warren in Knoxville, Illinois to Pryor Warren and Malissa Brisco, she was unconventional from an early age. Her father, … Continued
In those days, when I came to Fraser, there weren’t many good roads in the northern Colorado mountains. I carried a cowbell and a revolver when I went on night calls, to keep the mountain lions away. Even now, the ranchers in those mountains get snowed in by storms, but doctors make it through. There’s some 20 below mornings when I bundle into my scarf and boots with my sheep’s wool coat, strapping on snow shoes, when I dream about retiring to Indiana