Exploring the Past to Improve the Future
Week 52: #52 Ancestors – You By Eilene Lyon I am my ancestors’ future. Their legacies to me were their hopes, aspirations, and privileges…as well as their fears, anger, and disappointments. These things, passed down to me, shape who I am today. From my father, I learned the work ethic that came through generations of... Continue Reading →
Week 51: #52 Ancestors – Future By Eilene Lyon “The future” is a seemingly contrary topic for a historian. But the tagline for my blog includes the word “future,” because I believe history can teach us so many useful things. Preserving knowledge for coming generations is important in my view of the world. So what... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon A couple weeks ago I confessed to being an unreliable caretaker of family heirlooms. Fortunately, not everyone in the family is so irresponsible. In fact, it has recently come to light that a couple of my second cousins have some remarkable items. One of these cousins, Karen, brought a whole trove to... Continue Reading →
Week 50: #52 Ancestors – Tradition By Eilene Lyon I can’t think of too many traditions that have survived down to my generation, but one of them is age-old and nearly universal: marriage. When I look back through my ancestry, I find a surprising number of winter weddings. I think people were always looking for... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon The Slide Years is a series in which I select an image my dad took from 1957-1982 with Kodachrome slide film, then I write a stream-of-consciousness essay – a sort of mini-memoir. The year is 1967 and we’re celebrating Christmas at my Smith grandparents’ home in Little Rock, Arkansas, the city I’d... Continue Reading →
Week 49: #52 Ancestors – Craft By Eilene Lyon My maternal grandfather, Laurence M. Smith, was a crafty man in more than one way. He loved to play practical jokes. He used his wit in a cunning, sneaky way. But he also like to make things, especially in his retirement years. It isn’t surprising that... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon Part 1 A Mysterious Disappearance Emily and Harvey Ransom expected W. C. to return home no later than Thursday, July 19. When he didn’t appear, Harvey and a friend headed to Chicago and began making inquiries. They retrieved the doctor’s bag and mail from the Sherman House. Thinking the correspondence might contain... Continue Reading →
Week 48: #52 Ancestors – Thief By Eilene Lyon Note: The Historical Society of Michigan published a version of this story originally in Michigan History Magazine May/June 2018. Due to length, I will present it in two parts. South Haven, Michigan, 1894 The schooner George L. Wrenn rested lightly in the South Haven harbor. Her... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon The Slide Years is a series in which I select an image my dad took from 1957-1982 with Kodachrome slide film, then I write a stream-of-consciousness essay – a sort of mini-memoir. Sadly this slide somehow got covered in little black spots, and the color is quite poor. One thing I like... Continue Reading →
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Historical Non-Fiction in Northern Ontario
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discovering the story it tells
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The less traveled paths
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