Ho-Ho-Heist

 by Tom Goodman

On December 23, 1927, a brazen heist shook Texas. Marshall Ratliff — an ex-convict bent on easy money— enlisted three men to help him rob his hometown bank in Cisco--a town in Eastland County between Abilene and Fort Worth.  

To hide his identity from neighbors who would have recognized him, he pulled on a Santa Claus suit. Thus the Associated Press dubbed it “The Santa Claus Bank Robbery.” 

Ratliff had his men drop him several blocks from the bank. They parked the getaway car in the alley while their disguised leader strolled toward the bank, trailed by children begging for candy and last-minute wishes. He shooed them off and stepped inside. Moments later, his gang followed.

Once inside, the guns came out. Pistols raised, the men ordered the teller to fill a sack with cash and bonds. Customers and employees became hostages—including two fourth-grade girls.

The plan collapsed fast. Armed townspeople surrounded the building, and gunfire cut through the winter air. Using the hostages as shields, the gang fought its way through the alley, bundled the two girls into the car, and roared off. Cisco’s police chief and a deputy lay mortally wounded behind them.

The escape unraveled. Their car was damaged, the tank was nearly dry, and they tried to carjack another vehicle. In the scramble, they unintentionally left the loot behind — $12,400 in cash and $150,000 in securities. Once outside town, the gang ditched their car, leaving the girls unharmed, and fled into the countryside. A week-long manhunt — the largest in Texas history at the time — brought the fugitives in.

Ratliff landed on death row but found ways to keep stalling his execution, even feigning insanity to angle for a transfer to a state asylum. Before that hearing could take place, he tried to break out of the Eastland County Jail and killed a beloved deputy in the process. 

The citizens of Eastland County finally had enough of their ne’er-do-well neighbor. The next night — November 19, 1929 — a mob forced its way into the jail, dragged him out, and hanged him from a telephone pole guywire. 

For years, Eastland, Texas, carried the grim nickname “The Town that Hung Santa Claus.”

What became of the Santa Claus bandit's accomplices? Louis Davis was mortally wounded in the bank shootout and died of his wounds on Christmas Day 1927. Henry Helms went to the electric chair two months before Ratliff was lynched. Robert “Bobby” Hill, the youngest, received a life sentence and spent years attempting escapes from prison work farms.

Then something unexpected happened: Bobby Hill had a Christian conversion. 

His life change was noticeable. The governor granted him a conditional pardon in 1945, and Hill built a quiet, steady life. When Hill died in 1996 in his nineties, he had been a married, churchgoing model citizen for half a century.

In a tale packed with disguises, gunfire, and vigilante vengeance, Hill’s redemption remains the best plot twist of all!

(Thanks to Lightner Creative for the graphic that accompanies this post. It appeared in "From Christmas Robbery to Redemption," an article in the Southern Baptist Texan about my award-winning book based on the true crime.)

Winter Travel by Caboose

Heated caboose on sleigh runners labelled "Saskatoon Beer", 1900-1909. Source:

Western Development Museum Curatorial Centre, Saskatoon, SK

Did the above image grab your attention? It sure caught mine. I was researching images of winter transportation, such as school bus sleighs in heavy snow zones, when I happened upon what I first thought was an early party bus. Considering it is heated by a stove and shows two women and a man in well-dressed clothing, it seemed to be the right setting. However, further research seems to indicate that the heated caboose in this 1900-1909 photograph was actually used to transport beer from Saskatoon Brewing Company to Saskatchewan's thirsty bars, and not the people who would drink it.


The word caboose intrigued me as I'd only heard it referred to as the back end of a train, but when I searched for winter caboose I found an exhibit for 100 Years of Transportation in Lanigan and District at virtualmuseum.ca. Thanks to the Lanigan & District Heritage Centre for granting permission to show them here. 

Home-made Winter Caboose, ca 1940. Courtesy of the Lanigan & District Heritage Centre, Lanigan, SK

The common denominator of a caboose is the presence of a small stove. In the accompanying text, Marion Barclay writes, "...They were quite comfortable and warm. You plodded along and you never got there very fast. It was a little better than walking."

I discovered that a caboose was often invented and built by a farmer for any winter travel whether it was for school use, church, shopping, or visiting.

Closed-In Rig, circa. 1930. Courtesy of the Lanigan & District Heritage Centre, Lanigan, SK

One prairie province over to the left, Alberta was using the same type of caboose for winter travel. Sometimes they would take an old car or buggy topper and put it on a wooden sleigh bottom - anything to stop the wind and keep the heat inside.

Go-devil sleigh, Dorothy area, Alberta, ca. 1930s. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives, Calgary, AB

Heading back into Saskatchewan, we see how a Catholic priest completed his parish circuit during the prairie winter. 

Father Thomas J. Ash near Meacham, Saskatchewan, n.d. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives, Calgary, AB

You can see the smoke stack in some of the photographs, such as this one from the Sask History Online site with the Western Development Museum (WDM) which shows two women waving from the inside. A note written across the top says, "One like this tipped over with mom inside." 

"One like this tipped over with mom inside", 1930-1939. Courtesy of the Western Development Museum Curatorial Centre, Saskatoon, SK

Also with the WDM we have this image of a caboose showing a man and children with lunch pails. It doesn't say if they were going to school, work, or whatever, but it looks like they would be gone for the day.

The rig we used for winter travel ‘47. Courtesy of the Western Development Museum Curatorial Centre, Saskatoon, SK

Travelling east to the prairie province of Manitoba we find what they called an "Early Bombadier [sic] type bus" used to ferry miners to the Flin Flon mines. I'm fairly sure they meant a Bombardier, although as an anglophone, I remember calling it a "bombadeer" in my younger days as well.

Early bombadier type bus, Manitoba. Ca. 1930s. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives, Calgary, AB

In the 1950s, the Lanigan School Unit purchased a Bombardier for getting students to and from school, and by that time the winter caboose had started to look like the modern version we know today.

Lanigan School Unit No. 40, 1950-1960. Courtesy of the Lanigan & District Heritage Centre, Lanigan, SK

As you've noticed, all of the above images are from the Canadian prairies, but not for want of looking. When I crossed the Manitoba border into Minnesota, however, I found this one in the fonds of the Beltrami Island reforestation project...

This cabin was mounted on sleigh last winter to transport four children to and from school. July 1936. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The writeup for the Beltrami Island one says, "This cabin was mounted on sleigh last winter to transport four children to and from school. A stove was kept inside to protect them from the severe cold. The children only missed one day of school the entire winter. Used to leave the house at 6:30 a.m. so as to get to school by 8:30 a.m."

There should be more of these types of images in photo albums and museums all across the snow belt of America and I'd love to show them here as well. If you know of any pre 1950 images like the ones above please let me know, either here in the comments or through the Contact page of my website.

Do you have a preference for winter travel when all of the above images are taken into consideration?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anita Mae Draper's historical romances are written under the western skies of the Saskatchewan prairie where her love of research and genealogy yield fascinating truths that layer her stories with rich historical details.  Anita's short story, Here We Come A-Wassailing, was a finalist for the Word Guild's 2015 Word Awards. Her novellas are included in Austen in Austin Volume 1, The American Heiress Brides Collection, and The Secret Admirer Romance Collection. Readers can check out Anita's Pinterest boards for a visual idea of her stories to enrich their reading experience.  Discover more at:

Website - www.anitamaedraper.com

Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/anitamaedraper/

Pharmacists in Early 20th Century in America and a Giveaway!

Walking through the Detroit Historical Museum many years ago with my kids I loved the underground timeline of a main street through history, including shop fronts. When you get to the brick-paved area it includes a drug store with two old-fashioned show globes hanging in the window and historical products displayed. Something about it intrigued me. 

When I heard the story about my father-in-law sitting on a pair of scissors and having the corner pharmacist stitch up his wound, I found that interesting as well. Even my visit to Colonial Williamsburg gave fodder to my imagination with its charming apothecary shop. Dried herbs hung around the store and glass jars were filled with ingredients. With those thoughts filed away in my mind and reading other things about the history of apothecary I decided to make my hero in my latest release a turn-of-the century pharmacist. 

Apparently there is a disagreement as to whether the first drug store in America was in New Orleans, because of having the first registered pharmacist running it, or one in Fredericksburg, Virginia purported to be the one where Martha Washington once shopped. 

Around the time of the Civil War, scientific methods started being considered more important in the pharmaceutical arts. Several years before that, the first textbook of pharmacy of American origin, Practical Pharmacy by Mohr, Redwood, and Procter, was written. Throughout the century schools of pharmacy popped up around the country, such as the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1823 and the New York School of Pharmacy in 1829. This brought about a more consistent study of pharmacy than apprenticeship alone though druggists still weren’t required to be licensed.

If you thought enteric-coated tablets or gelatin capsules were a more recent development of the 20th century, Parke, Davis, and Company of Detroit began mass producing them around 1875!

The drugstore soda fountain first appeared in the 1880s. They might have served up a refreshing cherry Coke, or perhaps a root beer. I have to wonder if they served the original Coke with its energizing but addictive ingredient of cocaine. The drug store soda fountain became an important Main Street destination in many a small town in America. 

{PD} The Old Design Shop

One of the first things a turn-of-the-century customer might notice in the front window of a local drugstore was a large jar or glass container hanging by a chain or sitting in a stand and filled with colored liquid. This colorful attention getter is called a show globe. Despite the legends of different colors signaling epidemics in the town, this is highly unlikely. Show globes originated back in the time of the alchemist. Like the alchemist, the pharmacist would show off his prowess in mixing chemicals by coming up with different colors. If mixtures of different densities were layered, they could even produce a striped effect!

Inside the drugstore the prospective customer might find any number of tooth powders, cosmetics, and patent medicines on the shelf. They could peruse corked bottles, tins, and jars, to see what was available. Lining the walls were apothecary cabinets. Behind the clear glass doors lurked tinctures and tonics while the herbs they were extracted from were stored in the drawers below. Perhaps you would see a mortar and pestle which the pharmacist would use to ground the dried herbs. 

{PD} 1881

You could ask the pharmacist for help with finding a suitable medicine for your teething baby. He might recommend the patent medicine, Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup, which with its opiate content would most likely put your baby to sleep in a jiffy, while also addicting her and endangering her life. And if you had “female complaints” you might be introduced to Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound. This remedy contained several herbs thought to help women, including black cohosh, but the original also contained a fair amount of drinking alcohol to calm the nerves. Today there is still a version of her remedy on the market called Lydia Pinkham’s Herbal Compound.

You might be given cough medicine which contained horehound, a strong licorice-like flavored herb. Several expectorants were used. Only guaifenesin is still used in drugstore cough medicines today for that purpose. 

Poisonous plants, such as foxglove and deadly nightshade, were discovered to have healing power in small doses. The local pharmacist could use foxglove to create the heart medicine, digitalis, and nightshade could be used to produce the sedative, belladonna. Today you would find belladonna as an ingredient in any number of prescription drugs such as Donnatol. Valerian root with its sedative properties could be used to help gain a good night’s rest. It’s still taken for those properties today. 

And let’s not forget the soda fountain. A pharmacist of the late 1800s and early 1900s would use flavored syrups or find carbonation helpful to drown out the bitter taste of their preparations. This made it logical for the corner drugstore to open a soda fountain. Through the years these became not only a place to meet for a soft drink, but also have ice cream or eat at the lunch counter.  

The role of the pharmacist has changed somewhat. As larger companies have taken over the market, promising savings, the family-owned drugstore is becoming a thing of the past. Gone are the beautifully polished marble counters where customers could hop on a stool and order a treat. The pharmacist works in an enclosed area, dispensing already prepared medications (unless they work in a compounding pharmacy). While drugstore chains have brought savings, they have also taken away the charm of the historic corner drugstore. 

Kathleen Rouser is the award-winning author of Rumors and Promises, her first novel about the people of fictional Stone Creek, Michigan. She is a longtime member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Kathleen longs to create characters who resonate with readers and realize the need for a transforming Savior in their everyday lives. She lives in Michigan with her hero and husband, and the sassy tail-less cat who found a home in their empty nest. Connect with Kathleen on her website at kathleenrouser.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kathleenerouser/, and on Twitter @KathleenRouser

I'm giving away the copy of my newest release, Secrets and Wishes. Please leave a comment to enter the drawing for one randomly chosen commenter to receive a copy of Secrets and Wishes. Ending date is Oct. 21.

Can unexpected love flourish amid the ashes of grief? 

Stone Creek, Michigan - April, 1901: Maggie Galloway and Thomas Harper clash after their sons collide in a fistfight. Both widowed, they're each doing their best as a parent to their children. Outgoing Maggie has dreams for a home of her own and a business to provide for her son as she searches for God's path for her life as a widow. Reserved Thomas struggles to establish his new pharmacy and take care of his four rambunctious children, while wondering how a loving God could take his beloved wife.

When Thomas becomes deathly ill, Maggie is recruited to nurse him back to health. Taking the children in hand, as well, is more than she bargained for, but she is drawn to help the grieving family. Both nurse and patient find themselves drawn to each other but promptly deny their feelings.

A baking contest sponsored by the Silver Leaf Flour Company brings former beau, Giles Prescott, back into Maggie's life. When Giles offers Maggie a position at their test kitchen in Chicago, he hints that, along with assuring her a good job, it will allow them to possibly rekindle their relationship.

But then a charlatan comes to town, and tragedy soon follows. Maggie and Thomas discover the miracle potions he hawks aren't so harmless when an epidemic hits Stone Creek. Thomas and Maggie realize they must work together to save lives.

Maggie finds herself caught up in battles within and without the battle to help the townsfolk in the midst of illness and chicanery, and the battle to know which man Thomas or Giles deserves to win her heart.

Wooden Playground Swings

Playground swings are found in a variety of materials and styles which I suppose are based on what's available and what the community believes it needs at the time. While some playground equipment has been deemed unsafe, swings are still around despite the danger because they can't be outlawed. The public won't stand for it and although I am not a protester by nature, I will be one of the first in line to protest the removal of the simple swing.

My grandfather built my grandmother a swing when they immigrated from Finland in 1930 and I remember summer visits watching her swing. Mamma was the only adult I ever saw who enjoyed such a pleasure and the sight of her smile as she swung taught me the lesson of finding joy in the little things of life.

As you can see from the above photo, Mamma's swing was BIG and it lasted for years. Not only did I enjoy it while growing up, but I used it whenever I visited with my own growing family. I never asked my husband for a swing, yet one day after we'd been married a dozen or so years he built one using the same principle of Mamma's and that is attaching it to the clothesline pole. As you can see from this next photo taken in the mid-80's, my husband and daughter had as much fun swinging as I did. It was the perfect way to relax after spending hours working in our garden.

We moved a few years later and I had to do my swinging with the kids in playgrounds after that. But you see in the photo how my husband is standing up? That's a lot easier to do on the wooden plank swings than on the newer plastic ones, or even those rubber ones that turn your clothes black. 

My research into old style swings dug up some amusing photos of mothers and their kids, including this one taken in 1910 with, "Mrs. Turner, holding daughter, who is standing in a swing, while looking down at her son holding a kitten." The image is from A Study of Mrs. Turner and her Children, Waban, Mass. and seems to show the mother teaching her daughter how to swing while standing. 

The swing, a study of Mrs. Turner and her children. Made at Waban, Mass., 1910. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

I found a similar photo in Virginia showing the Art Brown Family at the swings. This one clearly shows that this mother didn't see the danger of her son falling on his head, or if she did, didn't think it was serious enough to stop him from doing it. 

For younger children I found this undated glass negative of children in chair-like wooden swings taken at Hamilton Fish Park, New York. Does anyone want to take a guess at the year?

Children in swings, Hamilton Fish Park, New York, undated. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

Going back to 1910 is another glass negative showing wooden children's swings in an open-walled shelter from a N.Y. playground.

N.Y. Playground, between ca. 1910 and ca. 1915. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

But the joy of swinging isn't always a solitary pastime as the above image shows. If the saying, the more the merrier is any indication, then the wooden circular swing in the next image from San Augustine, Texas, should be loads of fun.

Schoolchildren on circular swing, San Augustine, Texas, Aug 1939. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, DC

Or would it? Does a circular swing have the same back-and-forth motion like a regular pendulum-type swing? Surely you can't pump your legs for more motion--or can you? Does it turn in a circle as it swings? Has anyone memories of a circular swing that they'd like to share?

When was the last time you had a good swing? Care to share your thoughts and memories of swinging? 

For the record, my next posts (on the fifth day of each month) will be on tire-type and character swings, lawn swings, porch swings, etc, in no particular order. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anita Mae Draper's historical romances are written under the western skies of the Saskatchewan prairie where her love of research and genealogy yield fascinating truths that layer her stories with rich historical details. Anita's short story, Here We Come A-Wassailing, was a finalist for the Word Guild's 2015 Word Awards. Her novellas are included in Austen in Austin Volume 1, The American Heiress Brides Collection, and The Secret Admirer Romance Collection. Readers can check out Anita's Pinterest boards for a visual idea of her stories to enrich their reading experience. Discover more at: 

Website - www.anitamaedraper.com
Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/anitamaedraper/

Pewabic Pottery--and a Giveaway!

Influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, Mary Chase Perry experimented with glazes, using her neighbor, Horace Caulkins' basement kiln. She developed beautiful new finishes for her ceramic art work. Caulkins’ Revelation kiln, first used for dental ceramics, and then with Mary’s ceramics, formed the basis of the partnership which became Pewabic Pottery.

Copyrighted, Fair Use, Author unknown

Perry had been born in Hancock, Michigan in the upper peninsula, where copper had been mined. “Pewabic,” the name of a copper mine, coming from a Chippewa word which had to do with metal, became synonymous with the beautiful iridescent glazes she used on her pottery.

Pewabic Pottery building in Detroit, by Andrew Jameson
(Creative Commons) 

The business partnership began in 1903. In 1908, Perry and Caulkins commissioned an important Detroit architectural firm, Stratton and Baldwin to build a new studio on East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit to house Pewabic Pottery and is still in existence to this day. In 1907, they moved into the Tudor structure. While the building had changed hands for a time and was used as an educational facility by Michigan State University, it has since become a National Historic Landmark and is now occupied by the non-profit, Pewabic Society, Inc. 

1930s glazed earthenware, Public Domain

William Stratton, who was interested in supporting the arts, took a personal interest in Mary Chase Perry and eleven years later they married. Mary Chase Perry Stratton continued her work at Pewabic Pottery until her death at 94 in 1961.

Vessels and tiles, adorned with the lustrous colors and iridescent glazes of Pewabic Pottery became a well-known representative of the Arts and Crafts movement. The studio’s work adorns buildings across the country, such as the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. It’s part of the collection at the Detroit Institute of Art as well.

From old water fountain at the Detroit Institute of Arts,
by Maia C., some rights reserved. 

Many vintage homes in the Detroit area boast Pewabic Pottery tiles from across the many years in colorful and muted hues and patterns surrounding fireplaces. Pewabic tiles are still considered desirable. 

Mary Chase Perry Stratton’s legacy continues today through the Pewabic Society and even the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit who's roots came from the school of art and design which she once helped establish.  

About Kathleen: Kathleen Rouser has loved making up stories since she was a little girl and wanted to be a writer before she could even read. She desires to create characters who resonate with readers and realize the need for a transforming Savior in their everyday lives. She is a long time member in good standing of ACFW and a former board member of its Great Lakes Chapter. Kathleen has been published in anthologies, including the Amazon bestseller, Christmas Treasures, as well as in both print and online magazines. Her debut full-length novel, Rumors and Promises, was recently published by Heritage Beacon Fiction in April, 2016.

A Surprise for you! Leave a comment today or tomorrow for chance to win a paperback or Kindle copy of Rumors and Promises, winner's choice. 

About Rumors and Promises:

Sophie Biddle, an heiress on the run with a child in tow, considers herself abandoned by her family and God. Wary, self-reliant Sophie is caught off guard when meeting a kind, but meddling and handsome minister at the local mercantile.

In 1900, Reverend Ian McCormick is determined to start anew in Stone Creek, Michigan, believing he has failed God and his former flock. He works harder than ever to forget his mistake, hoping to prove himself a most pleasing servant to his new congregation and once again to God.

While Sophie seeks acceptance for the child and a measure of respect for herself, the rumors swirl about her sordid past. Should Ian show concern for Sophie plight, he could risk everything - including his position as pastor of Stone Creek.

Now the pair must choose to trust God and forgive those who slander and gossip, or run. Will the scandals of their pasts bind them together forever, or drive both deeper into despair?

Derby Race Carousel-Type Rides

As I promised in my last post, Hang on for Steeplechase Rides, this month I'm going to show you carousel rides that feature a derby race as part of the rotation. 

As a refresher, on the right is a 1926 image taken at Calgary, Alberta and shows a young girl on an ordinary carousel. While the deer itself is different, the animals have the usual pole fixed to the top supports, as well as to the carousel floor. Any movement will only be up and down, in time with the music. 

As most people know, however, horses don't move up and down in real life...they run forward.

I was curious to see if I could find an old video of horse racing and was surprised when I found, Race Horse First Film Ever 1878 Eadweard Muybridge. (Edward Maybridge)  Mr. Muybridge's motion photography was one of the earliest forms of videography and showed the action of a horse in motion proving that all four hooves do indeed leave the ground at one time.

I also found footage of 1897 Horse Racing at Sheepshead Bay, and although the quality isn't the best and there's no sound, it was filmed by the Thomas Edison Company with the copyright of Thomas A Edison, July 31, 1897 ...

Unlike steeplechase rides, derby races ran on rotating platforms with operating chains that moved the horses moved forward and back as well as up and down to simulate the movement of real horses in a derby. 

If you look at this 1910 image, the pole of each horse goes down into a long slot on the floor. During the course of the race, each horse moves forward and back in random order, and whoever is farthest ahead at the end of the race is the winner. 

People Riding on a Carousel, about 1910. Courtesy of
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

According to the Carousel History website, Derbies were used to teach riding skills to untrained World War I soldiers. The next two photos show a publicity photo shot at the Great American Racing Derby at Ocean Park.

World War I Soldiers mount up for photo shot at Ocean Park Great American Racing Derby. Courtesy of carouselhistory.com

If you read the original caption on the above photo, it mentions the Looff carousel in the center of the derby. Apparently, the idea was for the children to ride the 4-row Looff carousel, while their parents rode the faster, and more thrilling, derby. Apparently, the Derby rides rotated three times faster than the speed of a carousel.

World War I Soldiers publicity photo taken at Ocean Park Derby. Courtesy of carouselhistory.com

To get a sense of what it's like to ride in a derby, check out this video, which was filmed using a Go-Pro at CedarPoint in Sandusky, OH.

If the horses look familiar, it's probably because it's the same derby used in the publicity shot above when it was called The Great American Racing Derby. In 1969, it was sold to Cedar Point and now races under the name of Cedar Downs.

If you look closely at images of carousels today, you'll see that some of them started out as derby races, but the racing mechanism has been disengaged and the slot boarded up so that only one hole for the pole remains as in this photo: 

The Prior & Church Racing Derby at Playland, Rye, NY, c2014. Courtesy of carouselhistory.com 

The Carousel History website is the best place for information on this subject. Included on the page for Derby Racers is a first hand account about riding Playland's Derby, including this statement, "...Most riders do want to sit on the outside…the best thrill. You cannot be weak, you have to hold on. My arms were tired after the ride.”

The chains that operate the racing mechanism on the derby rides are still in operation at only one amusement park - Cedar Downs, Cedar Point, Ohio. To get a sense of a derby ride without the chains in operation, here's a Derby Racer video uploaded in 2011 from Blackpool, Pleasure Beach, UK. Note that the poles are not lined up side-by-side so it looks like they are racing, but they no longer move. 

I have never had the opportunity to ride in a Derby Racer. Have you?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anita Mae Draper's historical romances are woven under the western skies of the Saskatchewan prairie where her love of research and genealogy yields fascinating truths that layer her stories with rich historical details.  Anita's short story, Here We Come A-Wassailing, was a finalist for the Word Guild's 2015 Word Awards. Her novellas are included in Austen in Austin Volume 1, and The American Heiress Brides Collection. Readers can check out Anita's Pinterest boards for a visual idea of her stories to enrich their reading experience.  Discover more at:

Website - www.anitamaedraper.com

Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/anitamaedraper/