When I was in Chicago last June, we stopped in at Tribune Tower. My hub and I both graduated from journalism school at Northern Illinois University, and Tribune Tower is a bit of a shrine to us. My feelings were mixed. Always proud of my journalism background, I am so thankful for the tools it has given me, and the liberties it afforded me, but also, deeply saddened by the current struggles of newspapers and…
In the early stages of writing a biography, ideas sometimes percolate on the back burner and germinate slowly through the seasons. Ideas grow as the creative cells divide. Sometimes I find myself in a locale that calls to me while I decide my next move. Usually, the place I seek is a cemetery. When I see the final destination of a person’s journey, I can visualize and speculate about the life which brought them there.…
This week, Women Writing the West announced winners and finalists of the 2012 WILLA Literary awards. Lo and behold, Baby Doe Tabor: Matchless Silver Queen is a finalist in the Scholarly Nonfiction category, its second award this year after winning Best Biography from CIPA. What an honor! WILLA awards will be presented October 19-21 in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the Annual WWW Conference. Baby Doe, who loved jewels, now has gold and silver emblems for…
When we left Pikes Peak behind for opportunities in Denver in 1992, a piece of my heart stayed behind. Fortunately, I have been able to maintain many strong connections with Colorado Springs, and have enjoyed new associations through my work as a writer and historian, in my role as a biographer, and in preserving stories of the west. My work has allowed me to enjoy Colorado Springs on many new levels. This week, I returned…
Two other members of Women Writing the West from Filter Press recently shared honors with me at the Colorado Independent Publishers’ Association EVVY Awards Banquet in Lonetree, Colorado. Nancy Oswald took top award for her book, Rescue In Poverty Gulch, as did my book, Baby Doe Tabor: Matchless Silver Queen, which won the EVVY for Best Biography. None of this celebration would have been possible without the TLC administered by Doris Baker of Filter Press…
One of the most remarkable facts about Molly Brown is that her name was not Molly Brown. How did it come about that such an iconic western heroine became known by a name that was not her own? On July 16, 1867, Margaret Tobin was born into a large Irish immigrant family in Hannibal, Missouri, near the banks of the Mississippi River. The 1870 U.S. Census lists her as Maggy Tobin, age 3, with her…
As the one hundredth anniversary approaches of the Titanic steamship’s tragic encounter with an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean during its maiden voyage, I will provide some details about our heroine, Margaret Brown, who consequently became known to us as the Unsinkable Molly Brown. After all, she is the inspiration for this Unsinkable blog, which celebrates her story and Western history. If you believe in fate, you will appreciate the circumstances that placed Mrs. J.J.…
January has always been a time for me to clean out my desk and my brain as I turn the calendar and make plans for a new year. How timely that the Denver Woman’s Press Club invited Cynthia Morris to coach a group of us through the process of focusing on plans and writing notes to hold ourselves accountable for ideas which will make 2012 Our Best Writing Year Ever. The regrouping, re-evaluating, and re-purposing…
As the holidays dwindle down to a few days until Christmas, in the midst of a beautiful Colorado snowstorm, I am enjoying the many ways in which the season surprises and gladdens me. This photo of a Christmas cactus is a perfect example. It is not just any Christmas cactus. It belonged to my mother, and was adopted by a caring friend, who gave it a good home. It is obviously growing and prospering in…
From time to time, I like to share new ways to enjoy the history and culture of the American West. Can you identify the figure in the image above? I spotted this one while driving through Gallup, New Mexico last year on old Route 66. If you are a Southwesterner, you probably recognize it as a loose rendition of a roadrunner, and this sign is on display to lure weary travelers into a motel along…