Week 3: #52Ancestors - Longevity By Eilene Lyon Part of me is convinced that my DNA is really up-to-snuff, at least as far as longevity is concerned. Cancer is exceedingly rare in all my family lines, for example. Both my parents are still living, now in their 80s. But my brother fell victim at 55... Continue Reading →
19th Century Career Advice
By Eilene Lyon Illustration for “The Author,” one of 88 mid-19th century careers described in the two-volume Popular Technology or Professions and Trades by Edward Hazen, A.M. If you’re looking for a detailed understanding of what it took to a butcher, a baker, or a candle-stick maker, Hazen’s books are just what you need. You... Continue Reading →
My Favorite Museum 2017
By Eilene Lyon I spent a huge chunk of time last year learning about western river steamboats for the first section of my book. In it, a group of Indiana farmers travel by steamboat from Cincinnati to New Orleans on their way to California. So, on my way home to Colorado from Indiana, I made... Continue Reading →
Learning From My Past Self
By Eilene Lyon After reading this recently featured post (from 2015), I was sure that I also need to write a message to my older self. Learning from history is great – especially when it’s our own. Sometimes we need to take stock of what all these years on Planet Earth has really taught us,... Continue Reading →
National Parks 2013 – 2017 – Part 2
By Eilene Lyon These are more of the parks and other public lands I’ve visited over the past five years, minus the political lecture (see Part I). To learn more about issues affecting these places, click on the links. The image above is the White Canyon in Bears Ears National Monument (2017). This 1.3 million... Continue Reading →
No True History
By Eilene Lyon We recently watched The Abolitionists, by American Experience. It is an excellent and high-production-value 3-part series about the role played by the anti-slavery movement in the lead-up to the Civil War. One thing that struck me was the portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in the film. I’ve read books and articles on Lincoln,... Continue Reading →
Finding Family Treasure
Week 2: #52Ancestors - Photo By Eilene Lyon Sterling Price Davis (1867 – 1933) and Clara Ransom Davis (1877 – 1953) – wedding portrait (1905; Collection of the Latah County Historical Society) Historical Societies and Libraries Though I’ve been engaged in the genealogy hobby – okay, obsession – for a couple decades now, it was... Continue Reading →
The Ugly American Syndrome
By Eilene Lyon Ponte Vecchio, Firenze, Italia (2011) The gold rush period in California was probably the greatest mash-up of languages and cultures since Babel. People, literally from around the globe, converged in a small area on the western coast of America, all with the express purpose of getting rich. The southern mines were particularly... Continue Reading →
Remedies
By Eilene Lyon Combing through archives is fun and fascinating – at least until the third day, when exhaustion starts to set in. In November 2017, I put the fabulous librarians at the California State Library in Sacramento through their paces, requesting manuscript boxes, books, periodicals, and more. One of their many treasures is a... Continue Reading →