Tag: 19th century
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A Civil War Envelope
First time I wore a corset I became a woman. Before that I was a person not at home for trying to be too many different things to too many people. I had felt responsible for the world’s destruction since I was five and put before the TV to watch crying Indians and baby seals […]
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Stop Crying
Do you cry too much? My father used to reward me for staying in and being safe. As a police officer he coolly handled blood, insanity and anger, but he could not handle threats to his children. He could not handle the idea of them making mistakes or being shamed. His heart was in the […]
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Restoration of a Monument
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” George Orwell In town squares dotted all over Upstate New York stand monuments to the sacrifices made by young men who fought and died in the Civil War — to end slavery. Yes, there. I said it. […]
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Adoption Story (Pt. 10)
I’m passionate about American history — its flaws, its nobility. In a recent conversation online I asked to what extent my ancestors should be accountable for the fates of the tribal peoples of the continent. Here’s my unpopular take: ” … to be fair we would also have to look at what would now be […]
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Quilting a Life: A Conversation About the Value of Making Art
“Everything you can imagine is real.” Pablo Picasso My daughter-in-law and I chatted all weekend about the creative life, raising children and genealogy as somehow connected to our life’s purpose the last time she was up for a visit with my son and grandson. On this visit Sam brought along a current project she is […]
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Book Review: The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
My father lived in a cursed house as a child. Every night an old hag with a red kerchief wrapped around her head climbed the shingles of the house up to his window and knocked with her boney fingers until he woke with a start. My uncle was hit by a truck in that house. […]
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Book Review: Giants in the Earth by O. E. Rolvaag
Are you looking for a light and cheerful winter read? Well, this isn’t the one! It’s brilliant — like snow-blind brilliant. It’s human, but in the most tragic sense. It’s spellbinding like a breathtaking winter sunset when it’s far below freezing. Most Americans are familiar with THE LONG WINTER by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Pa’s optimism […]
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Why Did Native Americans Turn Scout?
Apache Scouts “For tribes subject to Sioux pressure for decades, the combination of revenge and self-defense would constitute a powerful motivation, even without the other possible motives of individual warriors. The suggestion that they were betraying ‘the Indians’ would have been meaningless to them. They knew too well who their enemy was.” (Dunlay) And here […]
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Fiction: Seeing With New Eyes
“This is my home. I’m happy here,” William said, but he needed a drink to wash down his words. He tried to glare at Buck, but felt unsteady and it hurt his head. William spotted his drawings in Buck’s hand. “I-I’m gonna send some drawings east when they’re finished—start working harder at that—so me and […]
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Fiction: Hooked Up
Buck followed, having nowhere else to go. He glanced around at the filth and total confusion of the tiny place divided by a soiled and torn old quilt. The walls moved with bugs in the flickering candlelight. Fred grabbed at Ginny, who wore a threadbare wrapper. She had a wonderfully white and soft-looking body, Buck […]
Author Adrienne Morris 