Croatia: Dubrovnik

By Eilene Lyon Our introduction to Croatia was the Dubrovnik airport, where we flew in from Vienna at the end of our Austrian bike trip (future post). The popularity of this southern Dalmatian city is clear from the continual parade of planes, contrasting with the sleepy airport at Split. We quickly found the shuttle and... Continue Reading →

December 5, 2019 19

Trip Around The World – Part 2

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 →

December 3, 2019 39

Trip Around The World – Part 1

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 →

November 30, 2019 27

The Slide Years: Thanksgiving

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 →

November 28, 2019 42

Minnesota Pills

Week 47: #52 Ancestors – Soldier By Eilene Lyon When I recently watched portions of the film “They Shall Not Grow Old,” I was struck by how the young men (many just boys of 15 and 16), were eager to volunteer to serve in World War I. Even after all the horrors they experienced, the... Continue Reading →

November 23, 2019 16

Good Intentions

Week 46: #52 Ancestors – Poor Man By Eilene Lyon He had to be desperate – it was such an insane thing to do at his age. Traveling to California and mining gold was for the young and strong, not for 49-year-old family men. But Henry Zane Jenkins made that difficult choice: to leave his... Continue Reading →

November 16, 2019 9

The Slide Years: Resort

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. When we were living in Guatemala in the 1970s, we would sometimes head to the coast for a vacation. The... Continue Reading →

November 14, 2019 38

Speed Pioneer

By Eilene Lyon -- November 12, 2019 On this date 55 years ago, drag racer Paula Murphy broke her own land speed record at Bonneville Salt Flats, with a two-run average speed of 227.36 miles per hour, to become “the fastest woman on wheels.” The previous year, 1963, she hit over 160 mph in a... Continue Reading →

November 12, 2019 29

Lone Star

Week 45: #52 Ancestors – Rich Man By Eilene Lyon This really isn’t about a rich man, or even a poor one, or actually, even about a man, though it starts out with one. Robert J. Halse was born in Highland Township, Winneshiek County, Iowa, in 1860.1 Along with most of his family, he relocated... Continue Reading →

November 9, 2019 20

Myricopia