On the Move

 In today’s jet-setting world, we tend to forget how laborious and time-consuming travel used to be. Sure, we occasionally think of the Oregon Trail and the people who traversed the western United States along its continuous pathway. We even like to read stories with characters that are struggling to cross those endless plains and mighty mountains. However, I’ve noticed a trend in my own writing, and a connecting one in some of my readers’ minds when they read my historical western romances. You see, in my historical western romances, my characters are on the move. Since my stories take place long after the prime era of the Oregon Trail migration, railway travel is the mode my characters most often use. And, well, they use it a lot. How exactly they manage to pay the expensive travel fare is something I usually leave up to the reader's imagination.

 

 

In my first Pinkerton Matchmaker book, An Agent for Elizabeth, however, I had 18-year-old Elizabeth purchase a train ticket for $122 to travel from Kansas City to Denver. I, along with a few of the authors in the series, made an educated guess based on a travel log that one of the authors was able to pull up online. Turns out that we were pretty close! Other sources I have since run across mention that train fare cost 2-3 cents per mile, and in 1870, a trip from New York to San Francisco cost around $136 if traveling first-class in a Pullman car. That was quite a lot of cash for the average person to hand over back then. It was Elizabeth's stepmother who provided her with the funds to make this trip. What neither of them knew was that Elizabeth wasn’t just going to meet her beau—who didn’t know he was her beau—she would need to become a Pinkerton agent in order to snag his interest!

 

As for my heroine, Susannah Eversoll, in my Brides of Hope Hollow story, Hope Springs Eternal, she migrated from Missouri, where she grew up, to Dakota Territory, when her first husband took a job there, and then to Piedmont, Wyoming. I imagine, as the general notion goes, most regular folks in those days didn’t travel more than five to ten miles beyond their childhood homes is true. However, as Laura Ingalls Wilder, along with other journals from people who lived back then have proven, there were some brave souls who did step into the great unknown and make long treks for the purpose of bettering their lives. My own ancestors were some of these folks. I’m not sure how desirous they were for seeking riches or seeing parts of the country they hadn’t seen before, but they were Mormons who were being driven out of their homes and needed a place of refuge. They traveled right alongside the folks who were going to Oregon or to the California gold fields, only they stayed on one side of the Platte River while the rest of the travelers stayed on their side, mainly for protection against anyone who might hold strong sentiments against them and therefore cause more trouble than they’d already faced back East.

 

Back to Susannah, though. She and her husband wouldn’t have traveled by rail up to Dakota Territory from Missouri. This was during the time of the Civil War. They left that state because of the conflicts that were happening (and unbeknownst to Susannah, her husband was deeply involved in them). Maps from that era show there were no rail lines heading up that way. It would have been a long and arduous journey, especially since their daughter, Melissa, was so young at the time.

 

Courtesy of Library of Congress

 

One reason that I chose to place Susannah and her first husband in Dakota Territory, even though it didn’t have a huge bearing on the story, was that in 2019, my family and I traveled up from Arizona to Wyoming, stopping at Independence Rock. From there, we went into Deadwood, South Dakota, and then down to western Nebraska, visiting a few historic places there, and home through Colorado and New Mexico. So it was one big loop for us—and an incredibly enlightening trip for me. In South Dakota, I fell in love with the beautiful, fragrant blossoms there. I never imagined the prairie land looking and smelling so vibrant and fresh. I was amazed! Perhaps someday I’ll write a book that fully takes place there. Here are a few pictures from that trip. It’s definitely time to take another one!

 

 

As you can also see from the map above, there were no rail lines going straight into southern Oregon from Wyoming and Idaho in the 1880s, where the Brides of Hope Hollow series takes place, so my brides have to travel through California and then up that way. Ariana, the schoolteacher in my last BofHH story, On the Wings of Hope, did some major traveling before finally settling in Hope Hollow. Her reason? She was being chased by a strange man. She started teaching in western Nebraska and then made her way to Rawlins, Wyomings, then to Carson City, Nevada, and a fictional town in northern California. And still the man followed her! I don’t know about you, but I would keep on the move if I were a lone woman in 1882 and a man whom I didn’t know kept showing up in the places I moved to!

 

Courtesy of Union Pacific website

 

Incidentally, Ariana's story doesn't begin in Nebraska. She was a rider on an orphan train. As you can see from this map, at the time Ariana rode the rails to her new home, the Union Pacific Railroad only went a little ways past Omaha, and that's where she was adopted into a not-so-loving family.

 

 So while the stories of these women traveling such far distances, and many times on their own, might seem farfetched, there were actually several brave females who did this in real life (check out the real life story of Charley Parkhurst here). And I want to pay homage to them. I don’t know that I would have had the fortitude to do such a thing. Perhaps some of them were escaping a bad situation at home. Perhaps they felt there were no opportunities for them. I especially like the fact that they put their trust in God to bring them to a place of prosperity. I am of the mindset that we shouldn’t settle for less than happiness. Yes, the old adage to bloom where you’re planted is a good one. But we can also plant ourselves where the soil is more fertile.

 

I hope these women and others in your life inspire you to take a leap of faith into the unknown. No matter what, we must keep plowing ahead until we reach our goals. 

 

One step at a time.

 

 

To learn more about Julia’s books, visit her Amazon page.

TEACHING WAS MUCH DIFFERENT BACK THEN

 Growing up, I discovered a love of pen and paper early. It was a really strange love for it in which I exulted in the actual smell of a new ream of paper or a box of pencil erasers just after it had been opened. At that time, I knew I enjoyed making up little stories for characters I liked to draw on paper, but I didn't quite understand my fascination with paper and other school supplies itself until I became a serious writer later in life. But back to those early days . . . My father was a 5th-grade teacher. Every summer I enjoyed going down to his classroom with him and setting up desks, getting school supplies ready (those were the days when the schools supplied everything), and putting up some nice bulletin boards. Everything had to be done just so, which was a little tedious, but it also showed me how much my dad cared about his students and wanted them to have the best year possible.

At that time, I also thought that I wanted to become a teacher when I grew up. I carried an ideal in my head of teaching writing and literature, mathematics, some art and music, and having a perfectly running classroom much like having a well-oiled machine. Little did I know how difficult it was to actually teach. Students could become unruly at times, and teachers often find themselves in the middle of their students' parents and their administrators' desires. It's a difficult profession made even more difficult by these outside factors as well as increasingly stringent expectations that come from state legislators as well. Even though my desire to teach school didn't last beyond earning my teaching degree (which I did in 1999), I still have a profound respect for teachers and all the pressures they have to deal with. I often think that I may have enjoyed being a teacher in the 1800s more.

But would I have, really? Teachers back then didn't have it any easier, though life was much different. Every morning the classroom had to be swept and a fire lit before the children arrived. Other janitorial duties were to be performed weekly. In rural communities, school often took place in one room, which sometimes was a church building or other building that was designated for multiple purposes. The teacher was expected to teach a range of age groups as well as a range of subjects that I'm not sure I would have done well at. There were no cars to drive up to the school building in. Everyone either walked or rode a horse to school, often in freezing temperatures. Since parents had to pay for their children's education, arrangements were made for the teacher to live with each family for a short time and rotate around in that fashion. Not every home provided decent accommodations.

Female teachers couldn't be married, and there were even strict guidelines for her social outings. She was expected to be a moral compass not only for her students, but for the entire community. Here is an example of the kind of conduct that was expected of a teacher.

 

 

 

Here is a puzzle that you might enjoy putting together which I created from a picture I took of what I believe is an older schoolhouse (or probably a rebuilt one) in a small town in Illinois when I visited the state in 2015. 

 https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=1aff4050681d

 

Also, the picture below depicts the inside of a replica of a one-room schoolhouse that exists at an environmental learning center in my area. This is a place that several students from various schools visited before COVID-19 on field trips to learn about animal habits, fossils, and more. I went with my youngest son on his field trip and we enjoyed learning about the footprints that various animals in our area leave on the ground. The children were able to use these rubber stamps to make animal prints on paper. What a terrific activity!

 

 

 

 

I really do appreciate all the hard work that teachers put into their profession. It is clearly not for the pay that they do it, but for the love of learning and love of the children.

 

In my current work in progress, Ariana Stover is a teacher in rural Oregon. She has been through some harrowing events in her younger years, but has overcome them admirably, and those events have shaped her character. When an unruly twelve-year-old boy's father abandons him, and motivated by those events from her younger years, Ariana volunteers to take the boy into her care and help him become a better contributing member of society. The sheriff of Hope Hollow, Ben Tolleson, isn't one to tolerate nonsense, however, and is keeping a close eye on the situation. He and Ariana butt heads for a while, but eventually they'll come to an agreement on the best way to handle Billy. One complication that neither of them foresees, however, is when Billy's much older half-brother steps into the picture. Will their uneasy truce disintegrate, or will Ben and Ariana's fledgling relationship come out stronger in the end?

 

 

 

On the Wings of Hope is scheduled to release on February 12, 2021. Don't miss this exciting continuation in the Brides of Hope Hollow series! And if you didn't get a chance to read the previous books yet, they will be temporarily marked down during that week, so keep an eye out for some great deals!

 

Here's the preorder link for On the Wings of Hope:  https://amzn.to/3b3iWbq

Reserve your copy today!

Ten Things You May Not Know About Blacksmithing

 

The blacksmithing trade has been around since the beginning of time and involves the forging or shaping of metal into useful or decorative objects. Heating iron to a certain temperature and then pounding it into shape before quenching it in water to cool is common practice. When I first decided to write the third book in my Brides of Hope Hollow series, that was about the extent of my knowledge on the subject. I knew that because my main character, Jake Mahoney, was a blacksmith, there was lots of work ahead of me! Below, I’ve listed several things I learned from researching more extensively:

 

1. Each town or village had a blacksmith. The blacksmith was what we would today call an “essential worker” and wasn’t only used for shoeing horses. A blacksmith was a true craftsman and could make anything from gardening tools like plows and spades to gates to decorative pieces. A blacksmith spent as much time repairing tools as he did making them. Blacksmithing, by nature, was hot and dirty work, but a profession that smiths took pride in nonetheless. The Industrial Revolution brought about the slow decline of this profession, though it is still a popular hobby today. One only has to type “blacksmithing” into YouTube’s search bar to bring up a plethora of interesting videos on how to make this or that. Modern-day blacksmiths are blessed with more advanced machines and tools with which to make beautiful objects.

 

2. Most blacksmiths made their own hand tools, which means that they were unique to them. And their set of tools were many. It would be impossible for me to name them all, but a blacksmith’s main tools are a forge, anvil, hardy/hardie (a sharp-pointed piece that can be placed into the hardie hole on the anvil to cut through metal when pounding), hammers of all kinds, including cross peen hammers and rounding hammers, a swage block, tongs, chisels, punches, and of course, a leather apron and gloves for safety.

 

3. Like hammers, chisels and punches come in a variety of sizes. They belong to a group of tools called “gravers” which are used to engrave metal. Engravings can range from basic to extremely intricate designs. As you can see from these pictures, various methods of engraving were used on these pieces. A variety of chisels and techniques were used to create the design in the center of the first tray, which you can find on this website for antique sellers and buyers. A punch was used to create the decorative holes around the edge. Punches could either punch completely through the metal, as it did with this piece, or it could be used to create indentations, as in the second piece below, which is found at Home Depot

 

 

 

 

 

   

     4. Before these were made, however, mined copper had to be purified and rolled into plates or sheets. You probably know that Paul Revere, who is most noted for his brave ride into Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of a British invasion, was a silversmith. He taught his sons the trade and employed several journeymen. He also printed (engraved) money for the new republic after the war. One lesser known fact about him, however, is that he later started the first copper-rolling mill in the U.S. as well a foundry. The copper he rolled was then used to plate the bottoms of ships. According to paulreverehouse.org, he firmly believed that copper sheeting should not have to be imported, and his endeavors added much-needed strength to the economy of his fledgling new country.

 

5. A blacksmith often employed a “striker” whose job it was to strike a piece of metal that the blacksmith was holding in the exact spot that the blacksmith indicated by tapping lightly with his own hammer there. These strikers were most often apprentices. 

 

6. As you might imagine, blacksmiths develop their own rhythms when working. Oftentimes, a blacksmith will hammer a piece of metal for four or five beats and then tap the forge lightly as a way to give his or her arm a short break without losing momentum.

 

7. Several techniques are used to shape metal, including, but not limited to, drawing out (thinning and elongating it), bending, and upsetting it (pounding on one end of a piece to make it thicker). Swaging, in which metal can be shaped into certain widths and shapes from the swage block, is similar to casting in that regard, but it is done with cold metal rather than pouring hot, molten material into a cast.

 

8. Historically, armies employed a traveling blacksmith, who used a forge that had been fashioned on wheels. That way, they always had someone on hand who could repair saddles, spurs, guns, and other important equipment.

 

9. Perhaps the most important object that a blacksmith created was the common nail. It’s something we don’t think about these days, with the convenience we have of going to the hardware store to pick up a box of nails, but one hundred years ago, nearly everything was made locally, including nails. A small section of an iron rod was drawn out and then tapered at the end. The blacksmith then cut almost all the way through the piece with his hardie before twisting the piece off completely with a vise. A nail header was then used to thread the almost completed nail into before the blacksmith could pound the end of the nail to finish it off.

 

10. As you might imagine, female blacksmiths were rare one hundred years ago. According to workingtheflame.com, two noteworthy female blacksmiths were Elizabeth Bennett (not the one you’re thinking of, but just imagine if she had been one, hehe) and Betsy Hager. The most common reasons for a woman to pursue blacksmithing was either because she was trained by her father or she needed to continue working her husband’s forge after he died.

 

Even with just these ten facts about blacksmithing, it is such a wide and interesting subject! Understandably, I felt quite overwhelmed with the idea of writing a story with not one blacksmith in it, but three: Jake, my male protagonist, who was taught the trade by Alexandra Carter’s father, Oscar; Oscar himself; and, interestingly (I hope for readers), Alexandra. As part of my research, I, along with my daughter, also visited a local farrier and we were able to ask him several questions as he was shoeing his horse. It was a really cool experience! In addition, I stumbled across this wonderful poem by famous poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, entitled “The Village Blacksmith”, parts of which I included in my story since it’s found in the public domain.

Under a spreading chestnut-tree
⁠The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands,
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

His hair is crisp, and black, and long;
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.

Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.

And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor.

He goes on Sunday to the church,
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter's voice
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.

It sounds to him like her mother's voice
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.

Toiling,—rejoicing,—sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.

 

In Her Only Hope, when Jake left Oscar’s employ to work as a blacksmith on his own in a different town, Oscar decided to train Alexandra as he still needed an assistant. After Oscar is murdered by a man seeking revenge on his estranged son, Alexandra must find Jake. She knows the killer is after her, so she disguises herself as a man and goes to the Carters’ last known location for Jake, Hope Hollow. There she discovers that he’s been in a serious accident and that both of his wrists are broken. He needs a temporary assistant. Provident timing, right? Except that Jake is irritated by the fact that he’s in this position and needs her help. What’s a girl to do?

 

 

 

Find out in my book, Her Only Hope, which releases today! I’m really excited that this book is finally available for readers. Its original release date was postponed due to the world situation we find ourselves in and it was good to finally revisit this wonderful town and its interesting characters! I hope you will enjoy visiting there again as well.