Dirk Hikken Baumfalk married Folka Freese in Norden, Germany, on April 26, 1862. He was twenty-eight, she was twenty-six. I have a porcelain teacup with a painted inscription that looks like “Fuleke Baumfalk geb, Freese.” When we inherited this item through my husband’s family, I assumed it was used at this wedding. Since then, IContinue reading “THE MYSTERY OF THE GERMAN WEDDING CUP”
Category Archives: Other HIstorical Fiction
The Story Behind The Love Genes
I’m sure many of you have done a DNA test now that they have become widely available for matching up relatives. Even if you haven’t, many television programs focus on how detectives can use DNA to identify suspects in crimes, and how genealogists use genetics to trace the guest stars’ roots. The science becomes moreContinue reading “The Story Behind The Love Genes”
Toby, Elaine, and the Lord
This story starts out being about me. Facebook reminded me this morning that it had been five years since my brother, Clay, and I went to visit the Art Institute of Chicago. It was quite inspiring for me, and probably more so for Clay, an artist who paints with oils. One of my favorite paintingsContinue reading “Toby, Elaine, and the Lord”
1968 is calling…
I’ve been writing a series of books set beginning in the late 1960s. The first, Catch It Spinning, was published recently. One of the fun things for me in writing in this era is to remember some of the ways that world was different than the one we now inhabit. In 1968, in the middleContinue reading “1968 is calling…”
The Day After Infamy
December 8, 1941 Lincoln, Nebraska Maryellen McCracken woke up early on her twentieth birthday so she could have breakfast with her brother and sister. As was their tradition, she had candle on her pancake, and there was a rush of activity. Her sister, June, age sixteen, was headed to Lincoln High School, while her youngerContinue reading “The Day After Infamy”
The Era of the E.R.A.
I didn’t expect to like Mrs. America, the new miniseries on Hulu. What I remember about Phyllis Schlafly was that she was a thorn in the side of feminism. Honestly, I didn’t know much about her. But why would an actress of Cate Blanchett’s panache want to glorify her? So far, in the first fiveContinue reading “The Era of the E.R.A.”