POETIC WORDS

Post by Doris McCraw

writing as Angela Raines

Photo property of the author

For this first Sunday in April, and my scheduled post day, I want to talk about poetry. I realize that poetry is not for everyone. Still, April is National Poetry Month and I want to share some poems and the reason I love this writing form. I love Tennyson, Frost, and Ferlinghetti, however, this time around I will be looking at poems that inspire my imagination and touch something within me.

One of the first poems that had an impact on me was ‘The Highwayman’ by Alfred Noyes. From the first stanza, the imagery and cadence captured my young girl's heart. I could see it and became a part of the story. (You can google the poem and find the complete poem)

The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees.

The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas

The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,

And the highwayman came riding—

Riding—riding—

The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.

Photo property of the author

Later I found the work of fellow Illinois resident, who wrote about a town eight-four miles from where I grew up. The stories of the residents of Galesburg, Illinois inspired Edgar Lee Masters to write “Spoon River Anthology” named for the river that ran through the area. It is told via the idea of what would be on the headstones in the graveyard. Each piece tells the life of the resident as you read the secrets and the intertwining of the lives in the town. Three of my favorites are, Lucinda Matlock, Dorcas Gustine, and Mabel Osborne. The last line of Lucinda’s verse is one that has stayed with me since I first read it. (You can download the book from the Gutenburg Foundation Books.)

At ninety-six I had lived enough, that is all,

And passed to a sweet repose.

What is this I hear of sorrow and weariness,

Anger, discontent and drooping hopes?

Degenerate sons and daughters,

Life is too strong for you -

It takes life to love Life.

Although there are many more poets I love, I found Helen Jackson and fell in love with her work. Admittedly I also perform as her and live not far from where she lived here in Colorado. I truly do enjoy most of her poetry, and her poem, ‘Last Words’ brings tears when I read it. At the same time, her poem ‘Two Truths’ is a story I someday want to write.

‘Darling,’ he said,‘I never meant

To hurt you;’ and his eyes were wet.

‘I would not hurt you for the world:

Am I to blame if I forget?’

‘Forgive my selfish tears!’ she cried,

‘Forgive! I knew that it was not

Because you meant to hurt me, sweet-

I knew it was that you forgot!’

But all the same, deep in her heart

Rankles this thought, and rankles yet,-

‘When love is at its best, one loves

So much that he cannot forget.’

Photo property of the author

As I finish up this poetry post for National Poetry Month, I will leave you with the rough draft of a poem I wrote when I visited Helen’s gravesite the other day.

A Visit with Helen

She said,

“I hear the wind

Remembering its feel

Caressing my skin.

The earth heats and cools

Memory seeing

Night and day

Winter and Spring

Roots wind around

The place I stay

Visualizing flowers, trees

Grasses, plants

Words written long ago

Sustaining me

Through eternity.”

Copyright 2020

May you all have a safe, productive April. My thoughts are with you as we navigate this stressful and for some a scary time. For me, the beauty of thoughts, events, and words from the past helps sustain me as I continue this journey of imagination, joy, and creativity. I wish the same for you.

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

Books: Angela Raines Books

Photo and Poem: Click Here 

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

NEW YEAR - NEW/OLD IDEAS

Post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines

Photo property of the author

First post of 2020. So what kind of year will it be? One of the writing prompts from the December 26 improv writing session was, "What do you want to accomplish in 2020?" Well, I wrote, "I want to finish this blasted book."

You see I've been working on a book that I hope to finish and submit soon. It is a story that has taken on a life of its own and I've been learning so much about the characters. That is one of the reasons for the delay. I want to make sure their story is told the best I can tell it.

In the meantime, I continue to read and perform as Helen. In honor of the New Year, I want to share a poem of hers that resonated with me. Additionally, I like to share what I garnered from her writing practices that may be helpful. I'll start with the poem.

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New Year's Morning
by Helen Hunt Jackson

Only a night from old to new!

Only a night, and so much wrought!

The Old Year's heart all weary grew,

But said: "The New Year rest has brought."

The Old Year's hopes its heart laid down,

"The blossoms of the New Year's crown

As in a grave; but, trusting, said: Bloom from the ashes of the dead."

And cried: "I have not half I need.

The Old Year's heart was full of greed; With selfishness it longed and ached,

True love it shall understand;

My thirst is bitter and unslaked. But to the New Year's generous hand All gifts in plenty shall return;

I was a slave; it shall go free,

By all my failures it shall learn. I have been reckless; it shall be Quiet and calm and pure of life.

The Old Year had its work to do;

And find sweet peace where I leave strife." Only a night from old to new! Never a night such changes brought. No New Year miracles are wrought.

All nights are sacred nights to make

Always a night from old to new! Night and the healing balm of sleep! Each morn is New Year's morn come true, Morn of a festival to keep. Confession and resolve and prayer;

Each sunrise sees a new year born.

All days are sacred days to wake New gladness in the sunny air. Only a night from old to new; Only a sleep from night to morn.

The new is but the old come true;

Each sunrise sees a new year born.

What I learned from Helen's writing and business practices

1. Helen would rise and start writing around 5 AM and continue until about Noon every day of the week, unless she was feeling ill.

2. When she wrote "Ramona" she spent eight months in a hotel in New York writing the story. (Remember this was hand written)

3. If a publisher did not want to pay her what she thought her work was worth, she would find someone who would.

4. She kept a journal where she would track her submission and what she was paid for them.

5. Helen started writing late in life, but the amount of work she turned out was amazing

6. Helen observed the world around her, vividly writing about the people, places and things she saw. 

7. Helen did not limit her work to just one genre. She wrote poetry, essays, novels and of course non-fiction books. 

8. Helen not only read other authors, she reviewed their works and encouraged others to put their work out into the world. (This also included her friend, Emily Dickenson)

So there you have what I've garnered from my study of Helen (Hunt) Jackson. I find her a great role model.

I wish all of you the very best in 2020, that your stories find their readers, that your fingers fly across your keyboards, and you find joy in the books you read. I also thank each and every one of you for the continued support and ro Prairie Rose Publications for bringing our stories out into the world.

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History


Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet



Books: Angela Raines Books

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

SERENDIPITY ??? #history #roadtrip

Post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines

Outside Fort Vasquez

By now, most everyone knows how much I love researching and writing about history. I even include events from the time period I write about in my fiction whenever possible. So where does serendipity fit in?

I was originally scheduled to present Helen (Hunt) Jackson in Fort Collins, CO on March 15, 2019. For those who may have missed it, we were the center of the 'bomb cyclone' blizzard of March 13, 2019. Due to weather we rescheduled that event to March 29, 2019. Of course, being Colorado we had snow that day, at least in the northern part of the state where I was heading. I made the trip before any snow fell, did the program and went back to the hotel room. ( I wasn't driving back that night.)

Instead of heading back down on Interstate 25, I took a side trip and returned on US 85 east of the Interstate on March 30, 2019.  Now here's where serendipity fits in. (Serendipity- the occurrence and development of events by chance in a beneficial way.)

Area just to the right of the white painted area was where
the kitchen in the original fort was located

On the way home, I stop by Fort Vasquez, now a visitor center, museum. The current building was partially reconstructed in the 1930s by the WPA. Article 1 here. I'd been there before, and had wanted to return but had been unable to. On the visit this time, there was a new museum curator who loved his job. Needless to say, we spent a good hour just talking about the new exhibit he was preparing for the public. (Yes, I was the first non-staff to see it. It isn't even finished.) I learned even more about the site of this first fur trading fort to be built in the area in 1835, three years after the beginning of the building of Bent's fort. It amazed me that trade goods came from all over the world, including the Far East. I wonder what life would be like back then? The people who traveled to these unknown areas had to have strong reasons. Their lives are the stuff of legends.

Tower at reconstructed Fort Lupton

Once I left the Platteville area, where one of the early women doctors was supposed to have had a practice, I headed south. Cruising along, I looked to the right and saw that the reconstruction of Fort Lupton had been finished. I pulled in and started taking photos of the outside. When I pulled around back, there were people there, although it was not open to the public. A lovely lady invited me inside and I was able to take inside photos. Turns out they were preparing for a private event, and the lady who invited me in was one of those who was instrumental in getting the fort rebuilt.

Interior - Fort Lupton

Fort Lupton, built in 1836, was about seven miles south of Fort Vasquez. (There were four trading posts withing fifteen miles of each other in this area.) For more history on Fort Lupton Brief History

Now I don't know about you, but these kinds of trips just make my day.

And just in case you wonder, I also write fiction. I enjoyed telling the story in "Angel of Salvation Valley" a story with a few ' hidden? ' supernatural elements.

Purchase here on Amazon

Here's an excerpt:

 "What do you say, Carson?" Luke asked with a smile.

Andrew 'Drew' Carson stared at the man. Here was the break he had been praying for, or would have, if he were the praying kind. He looked at the stone walls around him, inhaled the musty smell of decay. Not just the decay smell of the buildings, but the decay of a soul, of hopes and dreams. Three long years he had dreamed of leaving this prison. But the cost, it seemed high and Luke was too smooth.

"Why the hesitation? You want out of here don't you?"

"Of course," Drew answered, cautious of the well–dressed man opposite him. The differences between the two were striking. Drew knew he smelled of old sweat and dirt. Luke was polished, smelling of bay rum and another scent Drew couldn't quite place, but recognized from somewhere.

"Then what is the hold up, if you will pardon the term?" The question came with a slight smile, a quick wink.

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

First Ladies of the Pikes Peak Region - Helen (Hunt) Jackson #history #writing

View of Pikes Peak covered in clouds
photo (c) by rhe author

The next lady in the series is one many people know: Helen (Hunt) Jackson. Since there is a great deal of information on this lady, this post will cover an 'interview' and information about the writing of the book "Ramona" near the end of her life.

For information on the early ladies in the series:
Elizabeth McAllister
Cara Bell
Grace Greenwood
Lucy Maggard

Helen (Hunt) Jackson from Wikipedia

First an 'interview':

As you were traveling to the west you made some unique observations. Would you share some of those thoughts?

Prairie, unfenced, undivided, unmeasured, unmarked, save by the different tints of different growths of grass or grain; great droves of cattle grazing here and there; acres of willow saplings, pale yellowish green; and solitary trees, which look like hermits in a wilderness. These, and now and then a shapeless village, which looks even lonelier than the empty loneliness by which it is surrounded, - these are all for hours and hours. We think, “now we are getting out into the great spaces.” “This is what the word ‘West’ has sounded like.”

You seem to like the lower elevations as opposed to the high peaks. Why do you think that?

I think that true delight, true realization, of the gracious, tender, unutterable beauty of the earth and all created things are to be found in outlooks from lower points—vistas which shut more than they show, sweet and unexpected revealings in level places and valley, secrets of near woods, and glories of every-day paths.

You are quoted as saying there are nine places of worship in Colorado Springs. What are the?

There are nine “places of divine worship” in Colorado Springs, -- the Presbyterian, the Cumberland Presbyterian, the Methodist, the South Methodist, the Episcopal, the Congregationalist, the Baptist, the Unitarian, and Cheyenne Canyon.

Helen Hunt Falls -North Cheyenne Canyon
Photo (c) by author 

What do you do when the snow covers the ground?

... winter..... memory and fancy will have their way; and, as we sit cowering over fires, and the snow piles up outside our window sills, we shall gaze dreamily into the glowing coals, and, living the summer over again, shall recall it in a minuteness of joy, for summer days were too short and summer light too strong. Then, when joy becomes reverie, and reverie takes shape, a truer record can be written....

Ruth Odell wrote one of the early biographies of Helen. It was published in 1939. Her book talks about the writing of "Ramona" and the end of Helen's life. I share some of that with you here:

According to Odell, Helen wrote Ramona in New York between Dec, 1883 and April 1884.

1883-1884

Berkeley Hotel, New York

Wrote first words of Ramona on Dec. 1, 1883

Pg 210-211 of the book says:

"The novel which Helen hoped so ardently would “tell” in a manner in which A Century of Dishonor had not was written with lightening speed. She was frightened at the intensity of her own interest, which drove her to compose at the rate of from two to three thousand words in a day. It was as if she were haunted and obsessed. So loath was she to stop writing that her concentration resulted in two serious attacks of illness. …..From time to time she drove herself to write a short story, an article....but with the feeling always that she was suffering an actual deprivation in having to turn away from the thing she wished to be doing.....By late February she had finished twenty chapters."

Below is a timeline of the release of the book.

April 12 of 1884  the 'Critic' announced that Mrs. Helen Jackson would soon publish the first long novel under her own name.

May 1, 1884 'The Christian Union' noted that it would begin in a fortnight a serial presentation of the novel Ramona.

On a side note, "Ramona" has had at least 300 printings since that date.

Time line of Helen's last months

June 28, 1884 Helen broke her hip. The fall of 1884 she went to CA .

By Feb 1885 she became seriously ill of what she believed to be “malarial poisoning”.

From Page 212 of the Odell book:

When she could no longer postpone it, the doctor sent a telegram to her husband, who arrived Aug 2. Ten days later the end came. Subsequent dispatches gave the cause of her death as cancer. Fortunately she had not known.

Evergreen Cemetery Colorado Springs
Photo (c) by the author

Helen made her home in Colorado Springs from 1873 to her death in 1885. She supported the growth of the new town, wrote glowing articles and even supported reading and libraries. Her final resting place is in Evergreen Cemetery next to her second husband William S. Jackson.

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 

Photo and Poem: Click Here 

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

WHAT TO DO, IT'S APRIL FOOLS

As I sat down to write this months post, I was beset with so many options for a post this month. Today is Easter Sunday, and April Fools Day. April is national poetry month. And lest we forget, April is also known as the 'growing' month, the month where dormant plants begin to show signs of growth.

April 1 is also national one-cent day and national sourdough day. You can view a list of national days in April here: April National Holiday calendar

So let's see if I can find a way to incorporate some of the options for this day and month.

I will start with Helen (Hunt) Jackson's sonnet April:

No days such honored days as these! While yet 

Fair Aphrodite reigned, men seeking wide 

For some fair thing which should forever bide 

On earth, her beauteous memory to set 

In fitting frame that no age could forget, 

Her name in lovely April's name did hide, 

And leave it there, eternally allied 

To all the fairest flowers Spring did beget. 

And when fair Aphrodite passed from earth, 

Her shrines forgotten and her feasts of mirth, 

A holier symbol still in seal and sign, 

Sweet April took, of kingdom most divine, 

When Christ ascended, in the time of birth 

Of spring anemones, in Palestine. 

In this short poem, most of what makes April special was covered. I also confess, I love poetry and Helen's work in particular. I hope you don't mind.

But that pesky April fools day may be a problem. I've never been one to pull pranks on people, it just seems mean to me. Still, I need to find a way to honor the spirit of the concept. There is the question, where did it come from? I confess the truth is like finding a particular Mary Smith in history; there are just too many to chose from. So, I shall share what I believe is the true story:

As March winds blew across the land

The powers that were said this is bad

We need to give the people hope

So they sent the sun out at a lope

People praised the warming day

As April arrived with bright rays

Then as all started a joyous dance

One fool cursed and looked askance

The bright sky darkened fast

The people cried, their party past

And know you know the story true

It came about because of a fool.

by Doris McCraw

(APRIL FOOLS *GRIN*)

May everyone have a wonderful day, week, month and year. Keep your mind and fingers busy for there are readers to be found and kept happy. I wish everyone a Happy Easter, April Fool's Day and while you're at it, enjoy a piece of sourdough bread for me.

I will leave you with one last poem by Emily Dickinson, friend and contemporary of Helen (Hunt) Jackson:

The Robin is the One
That interrupt the Morn
With hurried—few—express Reports
When March is scarcely on—

The Robin is the One
That overflow the Noon
With her cherubic quantity—
An April but begun—

The Robin is the One
That speechless from her Nest
Submit that Home—and Certainty
And Sanctity, are best 

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Member of National League of American Pen Women,

Women Writing the West,

Pikes Peak Posse of the Westerners

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 

Photo and Poem: Click Here 

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

SOME 'FORGOTTEN' HISTORY, COURTESY OF H.H.

This is a re-post of an earlier piece from 2010. It concerns a woman who work and life I greatly admire. And of course, someone I portray to make sure we don't forget her.

East of the Great Mountain 

and West of the Sun

Helen’s Colorado Springs 1873

In 1873 Helen Hunt arrived in Colorado Springs. This was ten years after 

the death of her husband in 1863. His death followed that of their first son 

1854. Her second son died in 1865. That arrival and subsequent observations became part and parcel of her essay “Colorado Springs” published in August 

of 1874 in the New York Independent approximately nine months after her arrival in town.

So what was really happening in this town that she wrote about? 

At the time Colorado was still a territory with S. H Elbert as the territorial governor and M.A. Shaffenburg as the United States Marshall.

We know the town had a population of around three thousand. The town

was “governed by the following trustees.”: Matt. France, W. H. Macomber,

C.T. Barton, A. H. Weir and J. T. Wilson. They even had a town herder by 

the name of Thomas Hughes.

As Helen says in her essay “it might be said that three years ago the town 

of Colorado Springs did not exist….that it is also known as “The Fountain Colony””…. Helen felt that The Fountain Colony was a better name for,

“there is not a spring of any sort whatever in the town...” The trustees of 

the Fountain Colony as she stated in the essay, were “men of means,

position, and great executive ability.” (It should be noted the city and the Fountain Colony trustees were separate entities) The Fountain Colony 

Board consisted of: Gen. Wm. J. Palmer, President, Henry McAlister, Jr., Executive Director, Gerald De Coursey, Secretary, Wm. P. Mellen, Treasurer, M.L. DeCoursey, Assistant Treasurer. The Trustees: Wm. J. Palmer, 

Dr. Robert H. Lamborn, Col. Josiah C. Reiff, Col. W. H. Greenwood, 

Wm. P. Mellen and the Chief Engineer, E. S. Nettleton. Furthermore she

states these men are, “enthusiasts in their determination to exert their controlling power in the right direction.” 

One of those directions was in the “contest of wills” between theboard and the 

liquor dealers. This contest appears to have gone on for some time and in

1873 at the time of Helen’s arrival the town was trying yet again to deal 

with the liquor dealers who continued to make and sell their wares despite a ban

against such actions. 

This is the only mention of the area's growth pangs. She then moves

onto a description of the scenery in and around the town. But there was so 

much more going on in the area.

In August of that year there was discussion and later voting on whether to 

retain Colorado City as the county seat or move it to Colorado Springs. 

The results of the voting: Colorado Springs became the new county seat of

the county of El Paso, in the territory of Colorado. This change would

eventually help fulfill the vision of men like Gen. Palmer and others who 

were called by Helen, “enthusiasts in their faith in the future of the region.”

The financial crisis of 1873 also touched Colorado Springs. At the end of 

October of that year the bank of Wm. B Young & Co. had to suspend 

operations due to the drains on the deposits of the bank. This was the 

result of the financial panic in part caused by the failure of Henry Crews

and Company of New York. At the same time the “El Paso County Bank” 

was opened. The men who formed this banking house were: W. S. Jackson,

who at the time was the Secretary/Treasurer of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway, along with Mr. Wolfe, Mr. White and Mr. Goodrich. ( W. S. Jackson became Helen’s second husband.) 

Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region received a boost with the 

Signal Corps deciding o place a signal station on the top of Pikes Peak.

The local paper would print the readings that were taken at the top of the mountain. The Colorado Springs Company also purchased from a Mr. Nat 

Colby the entrance to Cheyenne Canyon, so that “the enjoyment of its

beauties may be assured to visitors for all time.”

Although not mentioned directly in the Colorado Springs essay Helen would speak at length about Cheyenne Canyon. 

One of the last events that happened that year was the death of Judge 

Baldwin. His death on November 3 created a mystery that is still unsolved to this day. (His body was found in a well and the circumstances were not conclusive as to whether it was foul play or accident.) This may have occurred just before or around the time Helen arrived in Colorado Springs. *An added note, the title of Judge was given Baldwin for judging a sheep contest, for he was a sheep man who had a sheep farm northeast of downtown. Sheep were big business in the early days of the town.

Regardless of the events, both positive and negative, as Helen stated in her essay “for those alone whom I might possibly win to love Colorado Springs as I love it, I repeat that it is a town lying east of the Great Mountain and west of the sun." Helen continued to experience and love this city at the foot of Pikes Peak as a place of both beauty and growth for the remainder of her life.

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Member of National League of American Pen Women,

Women Writing the West,

Pikes Peak Posse of the Westerners

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 

Photo and Poem: Click Here 

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here