Exploring the Past to Improve the Future
By Eilene Lyon A popular form of entertainment in the California gold rush was the bear and bull fight. We’ve come a long way from wanting to watch such carnage for sport – or have we? As recently as 2013, a bill was introduced in Congress to punish people for attending animal fights. In this... Continue Reading →
As genealogists generally do, I have put together a family tree detailing my ancestors. As a historian, though, I am diligently looking for descendants, hoping they may have pieces of a puzzle: a story, a photograph, an artifact. Perhaps YOU are one of the people I am looking for. If your ancestors lived in east-central... Continue Reading →
Week 4: #52Ancestors - Invitation to Dinner By Eilene Lyon “Which of your ancestors would you like to invite to dinner?” asked Amy Johnson Crow. I’d like to turn that around and be the one invited to dinner by my ancestors. Specifically, the Springers in Heidelsheim, Germany, in 1853. That would be the year before... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon Ridiculously expensive loans are certainly not a modern phenomenon. They probably began with the invention of the monetary concept. I’ll give you two clams today; you’ll give me three clams tomorrow. Farmers in the early- to mid-19th century were loath to borrow money, especially from banks. They’d been burned by the federal... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon When you think "oasis," perhaps it conjures an image that starts out as a rippling, liquid mirage on the horizon surrounded by dunes of hot, red sand. As you get closer, it resolves itself into a cluster of palm trees surrounding a cool, blue pool of crystalline water. You dismount from your... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
Human Created Content - Creative Writing - Australia
Life is a series of transitions, and so is the retirement journey.
Creative, non-monetary forms of payment
Random musings on style and substance
Where the locals go, because the locals know!
Internet home for Marie Zhuikov: Blogger, Author, Poet, Photographer
Reflections of an inquiring retiree ...
The opinions expressed are those of the author. You go get your own opinions.
I write about genealogy on this site. Come see what's going on!
Fun With Genealogy
Discover and re-discover Mexico’s cuisine, culture and history through the recipes, backyard stories and other interesting findings of an expatriate in Canada
Navigating the second half of my life
The people, places, and things that make the Willamette Valley shine
Journeys Through the Second Half of Life
Doing the best I can to keep it on the bright side
My 'Well of Lost and Found Thoughts'
Author, Speaker, Family Historian
thoughts about life from below the surface
... stories of significant others in the Allery, Cutting, McCulloch and Robertson tribes ...
Celtic, Mythical and More ...
