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| THE PATHFINDER |
https://youtu.be/tH2w6Oxx0kQ
How many of you have seen the movie "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure"? A 'live' lesson in history. There is the scene where Bill and Ted meet with Socrates and they quote from a song by Kansas, that makes me laugh every time. https://youtu.be/TiMO3PWziZk
I have noticed that death is a catalyst in a lot of my writing. I don't think I am morbid, but it does touch all of us. In "Home For His Heart", both Sam and Clara have lost parents early. Losing someone, while normal, seemed more prevalent in the Old West. The landscape, the people, the wars, all created situations where loss was a large part of lives.
In Victorian times, many were the photographs taken of the baby who died, the parents holding them, prior to placing them in the casket for burial. It was there way of keeping the memory alive. Weaving hair and placing it on a brooch was another way of remembering. Back East and in England there were prescribe periods of mourning, with designated clothing to be worn. Here is a link for a brief overview: http://www.tchevalier.com/fallingangels/bckgrnd/mourning/ . Mysteries, such as the "Silver Rush" series by Ann Parker, usually have a death. We may sometimes forget the West we want to create also had many of the habits and rules brought by those from back East.
For the deceased, they would either have been embalmed, if you had someone with the skill to do so, or simply placed in a casket or grave. If the ground were too hard or frozen, the bodies may have been placed in a cool place until burial was possible. The chapel in Evergreen Cemetery, built in 1909, has 'racks' to place the bodies or caskets until such time as the ceremony takes place. Below are photos of the 'bloat balls', as the cemetery calls them, the shelves and the downstairs.
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| "Bloat Ball" |
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| Interior Downstairs, Evergreen Chapel |
When the research bug strikes, one of the first places I go is to a cemetery. If I'm stuck with finding names for my character, I go to the cemetery. Now before you think I'm morbid, the stories told on the stones are priceless. My current research is on a town, a very short lived town, in southeastern Colorado. It came into existence in the late 1880's and was gone by 1910. Nothing is left of the town site, it is plowed fields. There may be a cemetery, but I need to find it, and photograph the headstones. Newspapers can tell some of the story, but many times they contradict each other.
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| Headstone in cemetery near SilverCliff, CO |
Of course, medicine was not as we know it today. A majority of doctors practiced homeopathy, there were no antibiotics, and germ theory was in its infancy. Colorado was a place many came to recover from consumption, which was considered any wasting disease. The air was clean and clear, unlike the coal laced air in the cities back East. Many were those who came for the cure, or to cure those who were coming. The first documented woman doctor in Colorado Springs, Julia E. Loomis, born in 1816, was one who came to cure. She graduated medical school in 1870-71 and arrived in Colorado Springs around 1876.Unfortunately she passed away in 1880, at sixty-four.
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| Julia E. Loomis headstone |
As you can see, life and research are like dust in the wind. It is scattered this way and that. Now lest you think I'm going to leave you on such a depressing note, here is another clip. This one from the second Bill and Ted adventure, where the two are playing games with death. https://youtu.be/PA5ryowAyLk
To a wonderful, creative and beautiful May. Let you thoughts be joyful and follow the wind as you create your worlds and characters.
I will leave you with a snippet from an upcoming work:
Drew
looked down, wondering if he should set the doctor straight. Rafe
looked at him with such intelligence and a slight shake of his head.
That convinced Drew against correcting the doctor's impression.
"He
is special, I'll give you that," Drew replied.
"Well,
I've got to be going, been away from the office too long, and it's a
bit of a trip back. Unless you have a relapse, I doubt I'll need to
return. Just keep that arm immobile for a couple more days to let
your shoulder heal." With that advice, the doctor left the room
and Drew relaxed. So he'd survived the bullets and Lizzie had brought
him back to her cabin. Drew was grateful, but still didn't know where
he stood. Still pondering the question he closed his eyes in thought
and was soon asleep.
Doris McCraw/Angela Raines:
Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in Colorado and Women's History.
Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in Colorado and Women's History.
Photo and Poem: http://fivesevenfivepage.blogspot.com
Doris, I always enjoy your posts about research! Names are such a hobby with me--and I always have to have the perfect name for my heroes and heroines--I think I have 4 or 5 name books in different places throughout the house. LOL Cemeteries are a great place to get names--obituaries, too, and I also discovered that when my daughter graduated, at least at that time (2005) they printed the students' full names on the program--that was great, too. Thanks so much for another wonderful post!
ReplyDeleteCheryl
Thank you Cheryl. I've always been fascinated by names, the way they change over time, and sometimes change gender. History offers so much for the writer. I know the seeds of stories are from something I read. Doris
DeleteLove your post. She was pretty old when she became a doctor, but at least she had 10 years to help people heal. Thanks for the blog. Cher'ley
ReplyDeleteCher'ley, Julia is still my favorite, perhaps because I found her after everyone had forgotten her. She did work as a healer prior to medical school, but that she wanted to learn more, that is a great role model. I appreciate your kind words on this post, Doris
DeleteThanks for such an interesting post Doris, I too like looking at the names on gravestones to see what names were popular in the time I am writing about.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jill. The early west was populated by people moving into the regions. Cemeteries hold and pass on those wonderful names and stories. There is a peace and joy in walking among the stones and their gifts. Doris
DeleteSounds as though many of us have a love of names, especially those in the Nineteenth Century.
ReplyDeleteMy sisters researched our genealogical line through our Daddy. Since they lived near each other they did all the work for two years to get us into the Daughters of the Republic of Texas--DRT (which my husband calls the DIRT Girls. ) But I would drive up to North Texas a few times so I could go on the cemetery hunts for long lost relatives. This is so much fun. We had a great- "Uncle Lum." That's the only name any of us knew him by. Lum Davis. So we went to the Parker County Cemetery to search for his headstone..We looked for Lum Davis--and we had the years of birth and death. While my sisters were on one side of the cemetery I wandered to the other side and found a very good headstone--name:
Columbus Americus Davis. True! So, that's where the "Lum" came from. I was thrilled that I found it.
I enjoyed your blog very much.
Celia, don't you just love those discoveries? Many times as I research the lives of the early women doctors, I come upon wonderful stories. Sometimes they are sad, sometimes eye-opening.
ReplyDeleteI was blessed to have known by paternal great grandparents, and the stories I cherish from them fill my heart. We may be dust in the wind, but that wind shares them with the world, if we will but look and listen. Doris
Your snippet has me intrigued! I'm with you on the cemeteries, not morbid but a great place for names and stories. In trying to put together a family tree, a cemetery was a great place and helped straighten out some confusion. Not to mention death affects us all. Losing someone can change the direction of those left behind, whether we realize it at the time or not. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteDiana, so glad to hear someone else also understands how wonderful and helpful cemeteries can be. More and more information is being made available online, but nothing can compare to walking the lanes between the stones.
DeleteGlad you also found the snippet intriguing. I'm in the midst of edits for this story. Hopefully it will see the light of day soon. Doris
I love "Bill and Ted's Adventure". Such a silly movie but with some really smart aspects to it. It was actually filmed at my high school in Scottsdale, AZ. Great post, Doris!
ReplyDeleteKristy, that is such a fun story, filming at your high school. To me the movie made learning fun. Glad you liked the post. Doris
DeleteGraveyards bring such peace. I love the older ones with headstones and epitaphs. I used to fly a kite with my husband in the old graveyard in Temple, Texas back when we lived there.
ReplyDeleteWhat are "bloat balls" for?
I am old enough now to think about death often. With gratitude, I enjoy each day here on Mother Earth. I am not afraid to die, but I sure do like seeing that sunrise every morning. I certainly don't take it for granted the way I did in my youth.
I enjoyed your snippet. How close are you to being finished with your WIP?
I wish you warm summer days, peace, and happiness to your corner of Mother Earth, Doris.
Sarah, I have always had a fascination with graveyards. Like you, I enjoy each day as a treasure being handed to me to use to the best of my ability.
DeleteI am in edits for this WIP, then we will see. I hope for publication shortly after that.
Sarah, I wish you the same gift back. Doris
We certainly share a lot of interests, Doris. When my husband and I travel, I always like to visit the oldest section of the oldest cemetery. I have a bunch of photos of the Silver City, ID, cemetery--everything from gut-wrenching sad to funny.
ReplyDeleteDon't they just call to you Jacquie? The stories on the stones, and even the lack of stones tell so much. Find a grave also has some interesting photos and stories. That's how I found Josephine Dunlops father's story. So many stories, so little time. Doris
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