18th Century Live Theater

By Kathy Kovach

As one who enjoys live performances, from my dabbling in the acting world to watching my son perform in high school, college, and community theaters, I find the evolution of performance art fascinating.

Joey Kovach (on left) as King Oberon in Midsummer Night’s Dream, Okaloosa-Walton Community College, Valparaiso, FL, 1998

From the Greek and Roman influences, to the Renaissance, and on into the 1700s, live theater boomed in Europe during the 18th century. Only two theaters had been licensed in England during the reign of Charles II, but by the end of the 18th century, seven more had been added. Two were extended to accommodate three thousand people. The First Industrial Revolution contributed heavily to this growth as the population moved from the country into the growing urban areas, taking advantage of the manufacturing boom. As a result, they sought out cultural entertainment.

Enter the different styles of performance art.

The Misanthrope, a comedy in five acts by Moliere

The grandiose spectacle of Baroque Theater used special effects via elaborate stage machinery. The sets were intricate and ornate, the plots multi-layered and complex, with an overabundance of emotional intensity and dramatic tension. The monarch and aristocrats powered the Baroque engine, fueling it with their wealth to produce artistic and technical wonders reflective of the Age of Enlightenment.

You know what they say: If it ain’t Baroque, don’t fix it.

Teatro Palladiano, a neoclassical theatre in Vicenza

However, some did feel the need to fix it, and as the grandness of the theater wore out its welcome, a new movement, Neoclassicism, emerged. Going back to basics, it recalled, once again, the Greek and Roman models. Simple performances, scaled down designs, and a call back to reason and morality became the focus.

Melodrama took the simplicity of the Neoclassic drama and added intense emotion and exaggerated reactions. Music played a huge part in raising the heart rate of theater goers. Melodrama became the prototype for Hollywood movies in the infancy of film. The trope of the damsel in distress comes to mind, calling out for her hero while the dastardly villain ties her to the railroad tracks. Such intensity! But it worked. So much so, that from the early 1900s to today, nearly 500 films can be categorized with the Melodramatic style.

The Payne Brothers – Harry as Clown and Fred as Harlequin, c. 1875

One avantgarde form was Pantomime. Hugely popular from the mid-1600s into the 1800s. Large gestures, physical comedy, and often elaborate costumes and makeup delighted audiences. Characterized by two figures, Clown and Harlequin, the Payne Brothers (Harry and Frederick, sons of classic Pantomime artist William Payne) popularized the act. The mime of today has brought this unique form of entertainment into contemporary times.

The Beggar’s Opera, Painting based on scene 11, act 3 by William Hogarth, c. 1728, Librettist John Gay, Wikipedia

With the rise of the middle class, Ballad Opera became popular. It incorporated well-known songs with spoken dialogue. A precursor to musical comedy, this was a farce of the traditional Italian operas and incorporated humor and satire, making it more relatable than the pretentious form of opera.

The style of the building itself saw changes that lasted for the next few centuries and are still the standard.

The Orchestra Pit on the floor

Live theater went from roving bands of actors, performing under the trees or in the town square, to large buildings with solid roofs. The stage itself was once close enough to the audience for interaction. However, when the orchestra began taking over a large percentage of the stage, sometimes with fifty musicians crowding the actors, it was moved to the front onto the floor, separating the audience from the stage. The main floor is still called the Orchestra Level. This worked fine for sophisticated audiences, but too often, a rowdy crowd would pelt the musicians with rotten fruit if they heard a sour note.

The Orchestra Pit under the stage

Still, it wouldn’t be until a century later that Richard Wagner came up with an innovative design to not only protect the musicians but hide them. Lowering the floor just in front of the stage and utilizing the space underneath, this was called, appropriately, the Orchestra Pit.

Note the five candelabras lighting the stage

Lighting changed as the auditoriums grew larger. At the beginning of the 18th century, the seating area was as bright as the stage, lit with candelabra rings. When the audience moved farther from their focal point, it became increasingly hard to see the performance. Thus, the house was darkened, and five rings of candelabras lit the actors.

Lighting the footlights

Footlights with tin reflectors, an invention of the previous century, were originally lit by candles and later with kerosene and oil. In the Haymarket Theatre in London, colored glass was raised and lowered to enhance effects on stage. As one would imagine, theaters were prone to burning down.

As live theater developed in Western civilization, it was inevitable that it would cross the pond and end up in America. However, Puritan settlers prohibited its development until the early 18th century. Surprisingly, Williamsburg, Virginia was the first to introduce this form of entertainment in 1716. Charleston, South Carolina adopted it in 1730, when several English actors began performing in various venues. By the mid-1730s, New York caught the vision and opened several theaters. New England legislatures attempted to prohibit live performances on moral grounds. One touring company, however, broke through with its presentation of Shakespeare’s Othello, arguing it to be a “moral dialogue in five acts”.

The Hallam Company, organized by actor-manager William Hallam and led by his brother Lewis Hallam, arrived by boat at Yorktown, Virginia June 2, 1752. When they moved to New York, they changed the name to The American Company (1758-1785), and later to The Old American Company (1785-1805).

If it weren’t for the ancient peoples, the driven creatives, and the royal lovers of live theater, I’d never have been able to enjoy seeing my son in the dozens of performances in which he’s participated over the years. He now teaches Theater Education at City College in New York as an Adjunct Professor.

Joey Kovach as Bottom in Midsummer Night’s Dream, Choctawhatchee High School 1997.

I’m a proud mom! 😊

Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal

A TIME-SLIP NOVEL

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection.

Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart.

To buy: Amazon

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother and a great-grandmother—though much too young for either. Kathleen has been a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

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The Humble Gristmill

by Denise Farnsworth

It could be argued that the gristmill provided life to a community of the 1700s and 1800s, grinding corn or wheat into meal to make bread, porridge, grits, and feed for livestock. Not only that, it served as a gathering place for neighbors to catch up on gossip, for families to picnic, and for baptisms to occur in the mill pond. And yet, we rarely find it as a central location for historical fiction novels. That plus my experience working as a docent at Freeman’s Mill in Gwinnett County, Georgia, inspired me to make the heroine of my recent novel a miller’s daughter, then a miller in her own right.

Let me take you on a virtual tour of how Freeman’s Mill on the Alcovy River—constructed shortly after the Civil War by brothers John Griffin and Levi Loveless—operated.

***

Freeman's Mill

A dam stores the water at the highest point above the mill. When the miller arrives, he turns the wheel on the millstone platform inside the mill to open the sliding sluice gate in the dam to channel water through the millrace to the wheel. The mill is in operation.

When a farmer approaches the ledger desk, the miller weighs his corn and keeps a portion for payment (often a tenth), which he places in the toll box. A peg panel on the side of the receiving hopper is used to tally the totals. The remaining corn is run through a sheller to separate the kernels from the cob, then sifted over to the receiving hopper with screens of various sizes to clean the kernels. Next, the miller lifts a lever on the side of the hopper to open and close the chute and drops the kernels to the basement. A grain elevator carries them up to the attic. Then they drop to the second floor through a gravity chute and are cleaned again as they pass a grain blower. The kernels land on the grinding surface of the millstone where the furrows crush them into cornmeal.

Using a wheel, the miller can raise or lower the stones. The base or bedstone is stationary. The top runner stone does the grinding. The stones should never contact each other. The smaller the space between the millstones, the finer the meal. The meal is dropped off the edge of the stones into the receiving bin. 

***

Inside & outside Hagood Mill, SC

A mill might operate six days a week during harvest season (June to October). The miller re-sharpened the stones at least once a year. The runner stone was removed using a millstone crane with bails attached to the end to lift it from the casing. Once the stone was safely laid down, the dresser would use the bush hammers and picks to redress the stones. The bush hammers removed the high points, then the picks chipped a pattern to create grooves called furrows and lands. The furrows allowed air to pass through and let out heat and ground material. The picks needed constant sharpening, and the miller would go through a bunch of them to dress a pair of millstones. A millstone dresser required a good blacksmith to re-temper his picks.

Book Two of The Twenty-Niners of the Georgia Gold Rush, The Maiden and the Mountie, is now available. A marriage of necessity. A secret buried deep. In Georgia’s gold country, love may be the most dangerous treasure of all. https://www.amazon.com/Maiden-Mountie-Twenty-Niners-Georgia-Gold-ebook/dp/B0FNYFLLJ3/

Denise Farnsworth, formerly Denise Weimer, writes historical and contemporary romance mostly set in Georgia and also serves as a freelance editor and the Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books. A wife and mother, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.

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How Many Patents Does It Take to Sew a Dress?

By Suzanne Norquist

I often think of a sewing machine as a single, compact unit, but a multitude of discrete parts fill its insides, each requiring a unique design and its own patent. So, what happens when different inventors own patents to various parts of the same machine? 

In the case of sewing machines in the mid-1800s, this led to bickering, patent infringement, and lawsuits between would-be manufacturers. Finally, the inventors came together to create the first-ever patent pool in US history, known as the Sewing Machine Trust. Over time, other industries involving complex technologies (like airplanes) followed this example. Then, of course, the government stepped in with antitrust laws to prevent monopolies. (But that’s another story.)

Nine patents were included in the Sewing Machine Trust, and inventors received royalties on every machine sold. Anyone could purchase a license and set their own price for the finished product. 

From the mid-1700s, various inventors tried to build a machine to mimic the motions of hand sewing. However, no one successfully mechanized a single needle with a hole at the back end like seamstresses used.

In 1834, Walter Hunt, a mechanic from New York City, designed a crude machine that used two threads with an interlocking stitch. The curved upper needle had an eye in the point. A shuttle pulled a second thread through the other side. Without an automatic feed and presser foot, the process was clunky. He sold a few machines but didn’t obtain a patent.

Building on this early design, Elias Howe patented the first working sewing machine in 1846. He included the presser foot and feed. When he failed to raise funding in America, he went to England and sold some machines. Three years later, when he returned to the United States, he found others, including Isaac Singer, building his machine without permission. And, thus, the patent wars began. 

Meanwhile, other inventors made improvements to the machines that would be included in the patent pool. Most of them built upon existing mechanisms.

In 1856, the Sewing Machine Trust was formed. It charged licensing fees and divided the proceeds among the inventors. Howe received a larger portion, since legal action had proved that his earlier patent was valid.

With a level playing field, sewing machine companies focused on marketing. Initially, twenty-four manufacturers jumped on the opportunity. By 1877, when the original patent expired, only two of the companies remained.

Isaac Singer, the name synonymous with sewing machines, thrived in this environment. This bully, cheat, and womanizer (who fathered at least 24 children) knew how to market the machines. He had tinkered in mechanics and failed as an actor, but he teamed up with men who could improve the product and create unique markets.

Singer’s company was purchased by his partner, Edward Clark, in the 1860s. It developed machines for home use and marketed directly to women. Installment plans made them affordable. As part of this effort, they created beautiful cabinets that women would want in their homes. The company also used mass production and interchangeable parts, lowering costs. By 1900, the Singer Company boasted 80% of all sales.

So, how many patents does it take to sew a dress? In 1856, it took nine. 

Not only did the Sewing Machine Trust change how clothes were made, but it also transformed how businesses managed patents for complex machines, ushering in the technological age.

*** 

Love In Bloom 4-in-one collection

“A Song for Rose” by Suzanne Norquist

Can a disillusioned tenor convince an aspiring soprano that there is more to music than fame?

“Holly & Ivy” by Mary Davis

At Christmastime, a young woman accompanies her impetuous younger sister on her trip across the country to be a mail-order bride and loses her heart to a gallant stranger.

“Periwinkle in the Park” by Kathleen E. Kovach

A female hiking guide, who is helping to commission a national park, runs into conflict with a mountain man determined to keep the government off his land.

“A Beauty in a Tansy”

Two adjacent store owners are drawn to each other, but their older relatives provide obstacles to their ever becoming close.

Republished from Bouquet of Brides

Buy links: https://books2read.com/u/bOOx8K

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Bloom-Mary-Davis/dp/B0FPLFYCXR/

Suzanne Norquist is the author of two novellas. Everything fascinates her. She has worked as a chemist, professor, financial analyst, and even earned a doctorate in economics. Research feeds her curiosity, and she shares the adventure with her readers. She lives in New Mexico with her mining engineer husband and has two grown children. When not writing, she explores the mountains, hikes, and attends kickboxing class.

Storm Warnings and Sailor Signs: Maritime Superstitions of the Eastern Shore

      _By Tiffany Amber Stockton

Before the Coast Guard, and before life insurance, there was the Church.

Folklore and Belief Mixed Together

If you grow up around open water, you learn early that it has a personality. It doesn’t answer to schedules, and it certainly doesn’t care about your plans. Long before weather radar and storm tracking maps, the watermen who worked around Chincoteague Island and the broader Eastern Shore of Virginia relied on something far less scientific. They lived their lives by observation, experience, and a collection of sailor signs passed down through generations.

Some of those signs were practical. Others bordered on superstition. Most were a little of both.

One of the most repeated bits of coastal wisdom is an old rhyme. You've probably heard it. “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor take warning.” That wasn’t folklore pulled from thin air. It reflected real weather patterns moving west to east. But to watermen heading out before sunrise, it was enough of a warning for them to decide whether to stay tied to the dock or head out to sea.

Superstitions and Stories

Then there were the taboos.

• Whistling on a boat was said to “whistle up the wind.”
• Renaming a vessel without ceremony invited disaster.
• Women on a boat brought bad luck.
• Bananas aboard ship were considered bad luck (they got them at the docks).
• Certain days were thought unlucky for setting out.

And these beliefs didn't just exist on tall ships or in far-off oceans. They lived right along the Virginia coast. The waters off Assateague and Chincoteague were notorious for shoals and sudden storms. Before the Coast Guard established modern rescue systems, a mistake or misreading of the sky could mean a wreck.

There are dozens upon dozens of documented shipwrecks dotting the history of this region. Newspaper reports from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries frequently described vessels "driven aground during nor’easters," their crews rescued by local surfmen or sometimes lost entirely. The U.S. Life-Saving Service, which later became part of the Coast Guard, maintained stations along Assateague precisely because the waters were so treacherous.

When people aren't certain about survival, they look for patterns. For some semblance of control.

The Source of Their Strength

At the same time, Eastern Shore communities were deeply rooted in church life. Psalm 107 is a powerful song of thanksgiving celebrating God’s enduring mercy and deliverance. Verses 23-30 address "those who go down to the sea in ships…” This passage was often read in maritime congregations. Bells tolled after wrecks. Prayer meetings gathered when storms threatened. Faith and folklore existed side by side as equal attempts to make sense of the unknown.

I remember childhood visits to the island and the stories spun in Pop-Pop’s barbershop. He had a way of blending fact and imagination so seamlessly that my brother and I never questioned which was which. In those tales, storms always rolled in dramatically. There was definitely a fanciful aspect to his storytelling. The sea always tested us. And somehow, through grit and cleverness, the hero (almost always Pop-Pop himself) brought us home.

But despite hearing stories, I could tell there was an element of truth underneath all the embellishment. Coastal life has always required respect for the forces bigger than life itself. Whether a man crossed himself before casting off lines or quietly studied the sky for signs of change, he understood that once the dock disappeared behind him, certainty did too.

Generational Traditions

Superstitions may sound quaint when you hear them now. They might even seem humorous. But in them, you learn something important about the people who held them. They were observant. Cautious. Aware that they couldn't afford to make mistakes, that their lives depended on them being alert at all times.

Today, modern forecasts tell us what satellites see hundreds of miles away. Boats are equipped with GPS and radios that early watermen couldn’t have even imagined. And yet, if you spend enough time around working docks, you’re bound to still hear some of those old sayings repeated.

Tradition carries weight. The sea hasn’t changed its temperament. It still demands humility. Maybe that’s why those sailor signs endure. They're reminders passed from one generation to the next to pay attention, respect the water, and never assume you’re in charge.

Alvin York: The Man Behind the Movie

 by Martha Hutchens

image by @everett225, deposit photos

One of my favorite movies is Sergeant York. I always knew it was based on a true story. What I didn’t realize was that even Hollywood had a hard time making Alvin York’s story more remarkable than it was in real life.

Alvin C. York was born on December 13, 1887. He was the third of eleven children, born into poverty in the backwoods hills of Tennessee. He grew up working alongside his father in the fields and in the family’s blacksmith shop. When his father died in 1911, Alvin was just twenty-three years old and suddenly shouldered much of the responsibility for helping support the family.

He did not handle that loss well. For a time, he turned his back on the values he had been raised with. Drinking, gambling, and fighting became part of his life, just as the movie portrays.

But on January 1, 1915, he experienced a genuine conversion to Christianity.

image by @ VadimVasenin, deposit photos

Here the movie simplifies the story. It dramatizes his conversion with a lightning strike. In reality, the change was quieter but no less dramatic. York later described the experience this way:

“I was fighting the thing inside of me, and it was the worstest fight I ever had.”

That is saying quite a lot considering he wrote those words after fighting in World War I.

If you’ve watched the movie, you know Alvin fell in love with his neighbor, Gracie Williams. Gracie’s father was not convinced Alvin’s conversion would last and initially refused to give his blessing. In his memoir, York wrote of Gracie:

“And I seed her eyes was blue … and though I never thought of it before, I jes’ knowed blue was my favorite color.”

In June of 1917, Alvin received notice that he would be drafted. He submitted a request for exemption due to religious convictions. As he understood it, “Thou shalt not kill” seemed pretty clear.

His request was denied, and he reported to Camp Gordon. He continued to wrestle with his desire to be a conscientious objector, all the while impressing his superiors with his remarkable shooting ability.

image by @ Oleg.0, deposit photos

York had grown up in the mountains of Tennessee, where shooting meant food on the table. There were also frequent shooting matches that could bring in a bit of cash. Even among men for whom shooting was a necessity, York was considered a crack shot. The Army quickly recognized his skill and assigned him to train other recruits.

One of the most compelling parts of the film turns out to be true.

York went to his company commander to explain his confusion over being denied conscientious objector status. His commander took him to the battalion commander, Major G. Edward Buxton, who was a man who also knew his Bible.

Just as in the movie, they “battled scriptures.”

York later wrote, “I was kinder surprised at his knowledge of the Bible.” Major Buxton eventually granted him a ten-day leave to return home and think things through in the hills he knew so well.

York came back to Camp Gordon convinced that a man of God could fight in a just war.

He arrived in France in May of 1918 as a corporal.

On October 8, 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, York and his battalion were tasked with taking Hill 223. The Germans had held the position for months and were well dug in, with multiple machine-gun nests covering the valley below.

When York and his unit attempted to advance, machine-gun fire stopped them cold.

image by @ everett225, deposit photos

York later wrote:

“We knowed them there machine guns would have to be put out of action before the advance could go on. We also knowed that there was so many of them … that a whole battalion couldn’t put them out of action nohow by a frontal attack.”

A patrol of seventeen men moved to circle behind the German position. They successfully captured a group of German soldiers, but were then met with intense machine-gun fire.

Six Americans were killed. Three were wounded.

That left eight men still able to fight.

York took command. Drawing on the steady marksmanship he had learned in the Tennessee hills, he began firing deliberately at the German machine-gun crews while calling for their surrender.

Eventually, the Germans did surrender — 132 of them.

When York later reported to his brigade commander, the officer reportedly said, “Well, York, I hear you captured the whole German army.”

With characteristic modesty, York replied, “No, sir. I got only 132.”

York was awarded the Medal of Honor.

At the end of the war, he returned to Tennessee and married Gracie. One of my favorite lines from the movie is when Gracie grows frustrated with York’s uncertainty and says, “I done kissed you, ain’t I? I don’t go around kissing men I ain’t aiming to marry.” Supposedly, that line was the only thing in the film the Yorks disliked — because in real life, they had their first kiss on their wedding day.

York turned down numerous opportunities to profit from his fame. Instead, he sought ways to use it to benefit the people of his beloved mountains.

Even that did not go smoothly.

If you’d like to learn more about York’s life after the war — including the school he founded and the challenges he later faced — I’ve written another post on that topic. You can find it here.

Best-selling author Martha Hutchens is a history nerd who loves nothing more than finding a new place and time to explore. She won the 2019 Golden Heart for Romance with Religious and Spiritual Elements. A former analytical chemist and retired homeschool mom, Martha occasionally finds time for knitting when writing projects allow.

Martha’ debut novel, A Steadfast Heart, is now available. You can learn more about her books and historical research at Martha Hutchens.com.

When his family legacy is on the line, rancher Drew McGraw becomes desperate for someone to tame and tutor his three children. Desperate enough to seek a mail-order bride. But when the wrong woman arrives on his doorstep, Drew balks.

Heiress Kaitlyn Montgomery runs straight from the scandal chasing her toward a fresh start on a secluded ranch. She strikes a bargain with Drew—a marriage convenient for both of them.

But the more Kaitlyn adapts to ranch life and forms a bond with Drew’s children and their enigmatic father, she realizes that this ranch is where she is meant to be. And then her past catches up with her…

Women Homesteaders: Dr. Bessie

Bessie Lee Efner Fell Rehwinkle (1873-1962) was a remarkable woman. Not only was she a homesteader, she was a physician when women doctors were rare. 

 Bessie was born to a long line of doctors. Her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, along with a brother and uncle were all physicians. As a young girl, Bessie assisted her father in his medical practice. From her earliest recollections she wished to follow in her father’s footsteps. In her late teens Bessie contemplated marriage to the son of the town banker. While she was flattered by the worthy man’s offer her mind was otherwise engaged. An old friend of the family encouraged her to follow her dreams of becoming a doctor, referencing examples of other women who had become doctors back east.  

Encouraged, Bessie approached her father. A discussion ensued. 

 Dr. Efner was surprised, he'd thought Bessie was destined for the altar. He wanted to be sure Bessie understood the ramifications of her choice. She would likely lose her boyfriend, who was unlikely to wait the eight years college and medical school would take. She may wind up unmarried and alone. And finally, after all her study, due to the general resistance to woman doctors, she may never have a profitable practice even after she graduated medical school. 

 Bessie assured him that she had considered all the possible outcomes and was determined. Her father replied “Very well, you’re old enough to know what you want to do. I’m really proud of your ambition and happy to think that you want to follow in the professional footsteps of your father and grandfather. I shall do all I can to help you carry out your plans.” 

 

And he did.

Bessie left her banker’s son and went off to college. After completing four years at Morningside in Sioux City, Iowa she went on to Sioux City School of Medicine. After eight years of schooling she hung out her shingle in Hinton. She struggled at first to establish herself professionally, but perseverance paid off and by the end of the first year she'd made good headway. Then tragedy hit her hard. 

 Her sister-in-law died shortly after giving birth to her fifth child. Bessie's brother, father of the five, died a few months later leaving the children orphaned. The baby and the other boy child were eventually adopted. Bessie provided financially for the youngest girl while the two older ones went to an orhpan's home until other arrangements could be made. On top of all that, her husband of just over eight months died. In the wake of all this tragedy, her father came on a visit and suggested Bessie move to take advantage of a medical opportunity in a town that had just lost its doctor. 

 Bessie moved to Moville. Her practice thrived in the little town and for the first time she had a home of her own. She wasted no time bringing her brother’s little girls to live with her. Then the financial panic of 1907 hit. She lost everything but her clothes and medical office furniture. It was during this time that Bessie turned her mind to another of her childhood dreams. Homesteading.

Dr. Bessie gave three reasons to homestead: 

  “The first and most immediate, of course, was the financial losses which I had suffered in the current panic. 

 The second was a personal one. I had always had a desire to go out ‘where the West begins.’ The adventurous lure of the West had intrigued me since my childhood days. My father had been a pioneer in the early days in western Iowa and later in South Dakota. In fact, my Grandfather and great-grandfather had been pioneers, beginning in the State of New York and finally landing in Iowa, when that territory was opened for settlement. My brother, also a doctor had gone west to a new community in the state of Washington, and this same restless pioneer blood was also coursing through my veins. 

 In the third place, it just so happened that a special opportunity was beckoning me to go west at this very time. The Federal Government had opened large areas of Government grazing lands in the Western states for homesteading, and this included land in Laramie County, of southeastern Wyoming…The sale of these lands was handled by land companies…These companies were anxious to provide or cause others to provide the essential social services, such as schools, churches, medical care, and the like. And so it happened that I was approached and urged to go out west and locate in one of the new communities. As a special inducement I was promised that a homestead adjoining the town site of Carpenter would be reserved for me. All this seemed very promising.” 

On 6 July 1907 Bessie filed on a homestead and arranged to have her house built and a well drilled. Then she went back home to Moville to wait. She and her three nieces arrived at their new home on 18 December 1907. Their house was “a modest one-and-a-half story dwelling, consisting of three rooms downstairs and one large unfinished room upstairs.” 

 Dr. Bessie thrived in Carpenter, Wyoming. She was their first post mistress as well as the only doctor for a fifty mile radius. While there, she met a young missionary and, after her girls were settled, she married again.

Dr. Bessie proved up on her land in 1912. She had this to say about her experience: 

  “In the end my ‘foolhardy’ decision and ‘poor judgment’ proved to be the wisest thing I ever did, because as a result of this decision I was eventually led to my greatest happiness, which could never have come to me had I remained in Moville.” 

Dr. Bessie’s situation is my template for Dr. Alice Russel in my book Heart of Liberty.  

Heart of Liberty is a Small Town, Grumpy/Sunshine, Christian Romance set amidst Homesteaders on the High Prairie of Wyoming Territory 

 Clayton Woodbridge has a secret that drove him to the wilderness years ago. Dark images of the past plague his waking hours. Clay knows the Lord has forgiven his past, but that doesn’t mean that the past is forgotten or even healed. 

 Ousted by her landlords who wanted their building for their recently graduated son, Alice Russel, MD moved home with her parents. Filled with the optimism of a long line of pioneers, Alice couldn’t resist the opportunity when the growing town of Liberty was looking to exchange a homestead for her medical services. After accepting the job, Alice packs up the twins she inherited at her brother’s death and moves to Wyoming Territory. 

 Clay cannot believe that such kindness and generosity of heart could exist in one person. His father and his best friend both believe that God has sent him a blessing in the friendship of such a woman. Clay knows he isn’t worthy of such a gift. 

 Alice doesn’t know what to make of the surly man who comes to her aide time and time again. 

 Can Clay and Alice form a bond strong enough to hold when secrets come out of the dark? 

 Izzy James lives in the traces of history in coastal Virginia with her fabulous husband in a house brimming with books. Born with a traveling bone and an itch to knit; Izzy travels to every location where her books take place, from Williamsburg to Wyoming, popping in yarn stores along the way.  

Connect with Izzy through her website at izzyjamesauthor.com and sign up for her monthly newsletter.  

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 References: Dr. Bessie: The life story and romance of a pioneer lady doctor on our Western and Canadian frontier as told by herself and here presented in a running narrative by her husband. Alfred M. Rehwinkel, Concordia Publishing House, St Louis, 1963  

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9953607/bessie_lee-rehwinkel

Women of Espionage: Libertas Schultze-Boysen

 

“In the face of authoritarian rule, what is a citizen to do? Some will join the oppressors, while others, such as the diarist of the Nazi era Victor Klemperer, will keep their heads down, hoping the horrors will pass (they usually do not). Some, generally a tiny minority, choose the path of civil courage and resistance, of activity that aims to sabotage the regime. Such acts may take many forms, one being to work secretly from within the new establishment of which you are a part.” (1)

Libertas Schultze-Boysen was one of the latter. Born into a German aristocratic family on November 20, 1913, she was raised on her grandfather’s estate outside of Berlin. Her parents were bi-lingual, so she also learned English and French. At some point after her high school graduation, she moved to England, but by 1933, she was back in Berlin working as a press officer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio.

According to several sources, she met her future husband Harro while sailing on the Wannsee during the summer of 1934. By then, Harro had already been subjected to Nazi atrocities when the Gestapo closed down the “left-leaning” publication he was producing, Der Gegner (The Opponent) and beat him badly enough he lost most of one ear and suffered damage to his kidneys. He was released because of his mother’s influence.

The couple married in 1936 with Herman Göring walking Libertas down the aisle. Over the next

several years, they used their positions (her with MGM and him in the Ministry of Aviation) to gather information about Nazi violence and crimes in Germany as well as their involvement in the Spanish Civil War. Additionally, Libertas and Harro held informal meetings with like-minded, anti-Nazi friends. In 1939, they met Mildred and Arvid Harnack with whom they would initiate a collection of resistance cells called the Red Orchestra at the end of the following year.

A great risk to herself, Libertas continued to collect photographs, help persecuted people escape and wrote and distributed Nazi leaflets and pamphlets “that contained dissident content.” She and other members of Red Orchestra also wrote letters to prominent individuals.

In July 1942, illegal radio transmissions by a Soviet agent were tracked down by the Gestapo, and the man, Johann Wenzel, was arrested. He was unable to withstand the torture and cooperated by releasing the radio codes which enabled the Germans to decipher the messages. One transmittal included the location of Libertas’s apartment.

Libertas was arrested in September 1942 eight days after Harro while on a train headed to see friends. Taken to Reich Security Main Headquarters in Berlin, the building that formerly housed the arts and crafts school where her father was rector. In December, she and Harro were “brought before the “Reich Court Martial” where they were tried for “preparation to commit high treason, helping the enemy, and espionage.” Found guilty, the couple was sentenced to death and were executed three days later on December 22, 1942.

Honored for her work, the chapel at Liebenberg Castle was named for her, and there are two “stumbling stones” at the front steps to the Castle for the couple. A memorial plaque hangs at Haus Altenburger Allee 19.

___________________

Linda Shenton Matchett writes happily-ever-after historical Christian fiction about second chances and

women who overcome life’s challenges to be better versions of themselves. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame) and has lived in historical places all her life. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII. She now lives in central New Hampshire where she explores the history of this great state, immerses herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors, and drinks copious amounts of tea.

Shetland Sunset

Bonded by a cause but an ocean apart, will their love survive a world war?

After months in Norway helping his cousins with their fishing business, American Askel Westgard seems trapped when the Germans invade until he has a chance to get back at the Occupiers as part of the Shetlandsgjengen, or Shetland gang, a group of fisherman who transport weapons and equipment from Shetland to Norway under cover of darkness. Unfortunately, the beautiful Norwegian woman he’s just met refuses to join him in safety. Will he ever see her again?

Distraught when the Germans overrun her beloved Norway, Tonje Bondevik refuses to take the occupation sitting down. She joins the fledgling resistance movement, deriving great satisfaction distributing the underground newspaper and performing acts of sabotage…until the day the Nazis come looking for her, and she must flee for her life. Perhaps she should have listened to the handsome Norwegian-American when he offered to take her to Shetland.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/u/4AWqJk

1 “The Heroic Couple Who Defied Hitler,” Phillipe Sands, The Spectator, August 6, 2020.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertas_Schulze-Boysen
https://lastwordonnothing.com/2013/02/18/the-sad-fate-of-libertas-schultze-boysen/
https://www.gdw-berlin.de/en/recess/biographies/complete-index/biographie-detail/view-bio/libertas-schulze-boysen https://tinyurl.com/38wsreh4
https://spectator.com/article/the-heroic-couple-who-defied-hitler/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/9355/Memorial-Libertas-and-Harro-Schulze-Boysen.htm
https://www.gdw-berlin.de/en/recess/topics/14-the-red-orchestra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Orchestra_(espionage)

Photo Credits:
Libertas: By Unknown author - https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/menschen/libertas-schulze-boysen-ein-weihnachtsengel-vor-der-hinrichtung-12000641/ich-bleibe-jung-in-eurem-12000645.html, Public Domain.
Libertas and Harro Schultze-Boysen: The German Resistance Memorial Center, Berlin
Memorial: Courtesy Traces of War