When Life Gives You Lemons: Widows In the Civil War Love stories come with all kinds of surprising twists and turns. Handed down through my own family is the fascinating story of a Civil War widow – with a quirky happy ending. As the tale goes, Sarah Jane Dukes […]
When Memoirs Bring Up Feelings
Watch out for the “Memoir Blues”! Working on a Memoir – your own tale, or the story of your family – can tap surprising, long-buried feelings. Memories and emotions you thought you’d worked out long ago. And definitely not just the happy ones. I know. Because it’s been happening […]
Carson City’s Oldest Home
The Foreman-Roberts House . . . . You may have spotted this cheerful yellow gem as you drive through Carson City. Dubbed the “Foreman-Roberts” home, it’s said to be the oldest surviving house in town! That’s bragging rights enough. But it’s also one of the few Gothic Revival-style structures in all of Nevada. Surprisingly, the home wasn’t built […]
A Gardnerville Classic
The Backstory to the Cheshire Antiques Building! As we saw in the last story, Arendt Jensen built what’s now the arched-window portion of Cheshire Antiques. Ground was broken in August 1906, and Jensen hired Reno builders to erect what was initially described as a “warehouse” some 50 x 100 feet in size. […]
Can Old Magazines Help Inspire Your Memoir?
Looking for a little visual inspiration for your memoir? Old magazines can prompt a flood of memories to write about! Check out these images, for example (from Family Circle magazine of September, 1954 and Good Housekeeping of August 1959). How much things have changed in over 60 years – Family […]
The Story Behind The Midland Garage
It was 1883 when young John Arendt Jensen left his native Denmark to come to America in 1883. Just 24 years old, Jensen was full of energy – and dreams. Arendt Jensen didn’t wait long to take a spouse; he married Pauline (Lena) Norgaard (also from Denmark) that same […]
Tips for Promoting Your Memoir
Some Tips for Promoting Your Memoir: So you’ve finished writing your memoir. Now, how the heck do you promote it? It’s one of the questions memoir writers struggle with the most! The awful, painful truth: book marketing is never easy. Worse yet, marketing a memoir can be especially difficult. That’s not […]
Bertha Benz’s Wild Ride
The year 1886 was a busy one. . . and not just for the heroine of my current novel. Since I’ve been writing about 1886, I thought it would be fun to peek at some of that year’s biggest news. And while some folks would consider the launch of Coca-Cola as that year’s […]
The Story of Warren Wasson
Today, it’s hard to imagine a gun battle taking place in the middle of Genoa. But that’s exactly what happened back in 1860, in a raucous dispute over property. And amazingly enough, there’s a silent reminder of that altercation you can still see today. Young Warren Wasson […]
Ever heard of ‘Bastardy Bonds’?
Ever heard of “bastardy bonds”? I certainly hadn’t. Not until I was researching my own family history, when TMCC genealogy librarian Sue Malek helped me discover a whole book about North Carolina Bastardy Bonds (with, yes, a few family surnames inside!) Turns out bastardy bonds were an early way […]
Preserving Your Family Photo Collection
Preserving Your Family Photo Collection Are you the keeper of your family photo collection? The one who inherited a giant, jumbled box of pictures, negatives and slides? Deciding what to do with all those family treasures can be a daunting prospect, indeed. But here are a few tips and resources to help! * * * * […]
Twelve Mile House
Twelve Mile House . . . . Back in the day, Twelve Mile House was one of a string of stage stations dotting the roads of Carson Valley. Little wonder it made a popular rest spot. For one thing, the waystation bordered the cool waters of the Carson River. For another, four […]