Would You Like to Go to Leavenworth?

 

Leavenworth, Washington, that is. Without the aid of the vibrant photos above and at left, you might have thought of the prison instead. Incidentally, these two areas are named for members of the same lineage. In the case of Leavenworth above, the moniker is connected to Captain Charles Leavenworth. While he served in the Union Army during the Civil War, he earned the captain title during his reign over the shipping business. Before shipping, he was president of the Okanogan Investment Company in Washington and involved in the creation of this town. Why would a company invest in this town? I am glad you asked.

To answer this question, I am drawing on information provided by Coco, our capable and kind tour guide from Bavarian Walking Tours, as well as bits and pieces from the Leavenworth Museum. We perused the heart of this quaint location, often referred to as "A Hallmark Christmas town" and learned of its history. Our knowledgeable host made this trip fantastic in more ways than one. In this post, I hope to give you a glimpse of Leavenworth yet leave much for you to discover on a tour of your own.

First, this area was tribal land of šnp̓əšqʷáw̓šəxʷ ~ Wenatchi. There is an exhibit in the Leavenworth
Museum that shares some of their history. You can also read more about the "The Twelve Bands compose the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation" to garner an appreciation of who lived there long before this became the attraction it is today. It is my hope that I provided accurate information here to honor the people.

Next, Leavenworth became a town in the time the Great Northern Railway was nearly completed. Captain Leavenworth saw an opportunity as the nearby town of Icicle was nearly bursting at its seams. His investment company bought a 40-acre parcel of land from the US Government just a mile from Icicle. His vision was to build a new town right near the tracks. From 1893 to 1927, this was a brilliant and fruitful plan. Leavenworth was reliant on the railroad to support its timber industry – cedar, pine, and Douglas fir, as well as apples orchards from the surrounding areas. The sawmill flourished. The railroad moved the shipments providing income streams. It was a thriving area until the lumber prices dropped, the forests became depleted, the sawmill closed, and one fateful day.

An avalanche occurred resulting in the deadliest train accident in the country. Ninety-five people perished. After this horrible event, the railroad moved to Wenatchee. Without this transportation, the area lost its main source of revenue and all that went along with it. They could not sell apples or wood. Without jobs, residents migrated to other areas of the state. This town was floundering. What could they do? How would they survive?

Around 1950, a group of women decided to gather and brainstorm possibilities to save this doomed point on the map. Eventually they hired a consultant. He was a professor from the University of Washington in Seattle. This academician asked them the question, “What does your town have to offer?” After little debate, the women presented the idea for tourism. As this section of the United States resembled (and still does) European topography, that would be their niche. The mountains with opportunities for hiking, skiing, and snowboarding offered additional possibilities. So began Project LIFE (Leavenworth Improvement for Everyone).

Ted Price and Bob Rogers entered the scene. Years before, these two gentlemen had purchased a restaurant and inn located halfway between Stevens Pass and Leavenworth. Bob fashioned The Squirrel Tree Inn with Bavarian influence due to inspiration of the Alpine villages of Bavaria where he lived (and served) after WWII. They became interested in the struggles of nearby Leavenworth. Joining forces with Project LIFE, Ted and Bob were instrumental in reshaping downtown. 

They sold the Squirrel Tree Inn and purchased property in Leavenworth. They worked with Project LIFE to transform buildings by enhancing facades of existing structures. They replaced flat roof designs with pitched. They covered brick (one remaining brick building with flat roof featured in photo above), some to resemble half-timber and others with plaster. Artists painted Luftels (murals) on the buildings. Carpenters added balconies, plant boxes, and other features. These architectural enhancements combined with the nearby mountains to create a feel of being in Bavaria and even other European cities. On our visit, I felt like I was back in Norway. Uncanny resemblance.


      

                      

Today, approximately two million visitors flock to this picturesque village. Some for recreation. Others for nostalgia. Whatever your interest, I highly recommend the trip. A few of our favorites in case you do make the trek: Bavarian Walking Tours to gain an appreciation of the area. Icicle Village Resort, to stay in walking distance of all the hotspots. Nice accommodations and restaurant. Even if you are not planning a visit soon, click the link and watch the video. You will get a stunning bird's eye view of Leavenworth, the mountains, and the resort. Argonaut - Coffee and Biscuits, for the best coffee in the area. Leavenworth Museum for the full scoop, past and present. You can find additional information and even watch live camera footage on their homepage.

What do you think? Is it time to book a flight or pack the car?

As a child, Rebecca loved to write. She nurtured this skill as an educator and later as an editor for an online magazine. Rebecca then joined the Cru Ministry - NBS2GO/Neighbor Bible Studies 2GO, at its inception. She serves as the YouVersion Content Creator, with over 110 Plans on the Bible.com app.

Rebecca lives near the mountains with her husband and a rescued dog named Ranger. If it were up to her, she would be traveling - right now. As a member of ACFW and FHLCW, Rebecca learns the craft of fiction while networking with a host of generous writers. She is working on her first fiction novel. This story unfolds from the 1830s in Northern Georgia. 

Rebecca shot the photos included with exception of the header. Thank you, Justin, for sharing your memories. Connect with Rebecca: Facebook Goodreads Instagram Pinterest Twitter

The History of Gift Wrapping Paper

Photo by cottonbro studio

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas, Everyone! I'm so excited that the season is finally here. I've got a toddler and another one on the way, so the holiday season is so much fun, and I feel like a kid myself waiting for Christmas to arrive. We go ALL OUT for Christmas. I wish I could show you my house. But this being only the second of December, not all of my decorations are up yet. It's a process.

One of the things I take very seriously during the holidays is gift wrapping. I personally feel that a gift is more highly valued and appreciated when it is wrapped like intended for the king of England. Every year I pick a theme and wrap all my gifts alike so that everyone can tell which ones are from me. This obsession with gift wrapping led me to today's history tidbit: the history of wrapping paper.

Gift giving is an important element of society for many reasons. We give gifts to show love and favor, to apologize, to show appreciation, as part of business and political affairs, and to congratulate someone for an important milestone in their lives. It didn't take long for people to decide that the surprise element of the gift made it even better, thus the tradition of gift wrapping began.

It's hard for us to imagine Christmas presents without their elaborate paper veil, but at first, gifts would have been wrapped in cloth, leather, or some other material. But the invention of paper made an easier and less expensive way to conceal our gifts. The first documented use of paper as wrapping material was in China around 100 B.C. when the government would wrap monetary gifts in paper (making a sort of envelope) to distribute to government officials as gifts.

It was during the Victorian Era that gift giving became a true tradition of the holiday season. Originally, gifts were given at New Years rather than Christmas, but that changed as Christmas became more popular and accepted in the United States and Europe.

Victorian Christmas showing packages
wrapped in thick white paper

Photo source unknown

In the early 1800's, wealthy people would use thick paper to wrap their gifts. Then, in the later 1800's, tissue paper was introduced, and it became all the rage to wrap gifts in green, red or white tissue paper decorated with bows and ribbon.

The start of what we know today as wrapping paper happened by accident. It was 1917 in Kansas City, and a shop ran out of tissue paper. Instead, they happened upon some decorated paper from France that was meant for lining the inside of envelopes and decided to take a risk and offer that to customers instead. It quickly sold out. The owners of the shop, Rollie and J.C. Hall, jumped at the opportunity to promote this popular item and started featuring more designs. In 1930's they added ribbon to the already pretty packages. This company became Hallmark, and the modern wrapping paper industry was born.

Photo by cottonbro studio

The size of the wrapping paper industry today is immense. Annual sales are reported to be up to $9.36 billion dollars, with 4 million tons of the paper being thrown away during the holiday season in the United States alone. To put that into perspective, that would be about the weight of four Empire State Buildings. And we're talking about thin, light-weight paper here, folks. Astounding, isn't it? 

Unfortunately, most of the wrapping paper isn't even able to be recycled, due to the mix of foil and paper to make the pretty designs, and the light and inkiness of the paper. This has caused some to advocate for a change from traditional wrapping paper back to materials like newspaper and other more easily recyclable materials. Some wrapping paper companies have started using recycled materials to make the product in the first place. I'm looking forward to the progressions in this area.



What are your holiday gift wrapping traditions? I'd love to hear all about them!

*****

Two-time winner of the Christian Indie Award for historical fiction, Amber Lemus inspires hearts through enthralling tales She has a passion for travel, history, books and her Savior. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest".

She lives near the Ozarks in her "casita" with her prince charming. Between enjoying life as a boy mom, and spinning stories out of soap bubbles, Amber loves to connect with readers and hang out on Goodreads with other bookish peoples.

Amber is a proud member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association. Visit her online at http://www.amberlemus.com/ and download a FREE story by subscribing to her Newsletter!

Hallmark: More Than Cards by Martha Rogers

 Hallmark has always been a favorite of mine. I love their cards and I have no trouble finding just what I need to fit any and every occasion. Most of us have watched their Christmas movies and other seasonal movies as well. A few of our authors have had their novels transcribed into screenplays that have appeared on the channel. Their Gold Crown logo is well known and know it means a quality product.

When I decided to look into their history, I found some very interesting facts. One of them being how two brothers started out with a few cards and built an empire that spans generations of card buyers and movie viewers.

It all began in 1910 with eighteen-year-old J.C. Hall when he stepped off a train in Kansas City, Missouri. He held his only possession, two shoeboxes filled with
picture postcards, under his arm. With very little money, not even enough for a ride to the YMCA, he had an entrepreneurial spirit and determination of a pioneer.

 

After a year of selling on his own, J.C.'s older brother Rollie Hall joined in the business and named it Hall Brothers. They had success selling to stores around Kansas City, and even expanded to included other towns served by the railroad.

Then tragedy struck on January 11, 1915. A fire destroyed their office and all of their inventory. The only thing saved was the safe filled with invoices. With that, and a $17,000 debt, they set up shop again and pressed onward.

Post card sales had declined before the fire, and J.C. recognized the need for more personal and private means of communication. This resulted in high-quality Christmas cards and Valentine cards mailed in envelopes. The fire served as a catalyst to take a risk and buy a printing press. This venture transformed Hall Brothers from a dealer to a manufacturer. 

Example of an early Christmas Card

This led to a need for writers and illustrators for the cards. Since neither of the Hall brothers considered them writers or artists, they turned to their employees. J.C. quickly developed a good eye for quality and an ear for saleable verse and prose. There were very few full-time artists, and no staff writers, in those early

days, so J.C. was open to all sources and if an employee showed a fair for composing sentiment they were encouraged to contribute, no matter their position. Those employees are hard at work in the picture above.

Their first foray into other product lines came in 1917 when they “invented” modern gift wrap. During the peak Christmas season, their retail store, eventually known as Halls, on the fashionable Petticoat Lane ran out of solid-colored gift dressing, and, with no time to reorder, Rollie improvised by selling decorative French envelope liners. The elaborate designs – featuring bright florals, geometric shapes, and Christmas motifs - sold out so quickly that the brothers decided to begin printing their own gift wrap. Consumers could now purchase coordinating greeting cards, gift wrap, and trim. This would lead to even more products in the years ahead.

J.C.'s creativity and imagination led to several new products as well as innovations in marketing and connecting with consumers. Some of those included cellophane wrapped cards for servicemen in 1917, friendship cards in 1919, flat, laminated cards and framed mottos in 1924, and sound cards or "Greetaphones", in 1924. Even when some of the innovations were flops, J.C. continued to encourage employees to come up with new ideas. He then concentrated on new ways to market the company and its products.

J.C. believed their name, Hall Brothers, sounded old fashioned. One name had been on his mind since the early 1920's. The word "hallmark" intrigued him as it was used by goldsmiths as a mark of quality. He liked it because it incorporated the family name and said quality in an authoritative way. In 1928 the company began marking its brand in earnest and used the Hallmark name on the back of every card. They also began to advertise nationally, and they were the first company of its kind to have an ad in a magazine, Ladies Home Journal. Then he turned to radio sponsorship.

Ed Goodman - who was head of adverting and sales and worked on the revolutionary Eye-Vision fixture - began brainstorming and tinkering with past slogans on the 3 x 5 cards that were so ubiquitous at Hallmark. After seeing Ed idly play with the cards, J.C. picked them up and one line jumped out – “you cared enough to send the very best.” The company began using the slogan immediately, and sponsored radio programs included it within their Hallmark ads in 1944. 

Merchandising had become a problem because most stores had no organized way to display and sell greeting cards. Cards in most stores were displayed wherever space allowed or were simply kept out of consumers’ sight and reach in cardboard shipping boxes and in drawers behind the cash register. J.C.’s solution was to develop a fixture specifically for displaying greeting cards at eye level. The design, known as the Eye-Vision, was patented in 1935 and transformed the consumer’s card-purchasing experience.

Just a few years later, in 1951, J.C. saw what he thought was a rare opportunity. He learned from his advertising partner, Fairfax Cone, that NBC was looking for a sponsor for an original opera written for television. Although the planned Christmas Eve airdate of Amahl and the Night Visitors would be too late to help as a holiday promotion, J.C. decided to sponsor it to thank all the people who bought Hallmark cards. It was Hallmark’s first sponsored television special and the first of hundreds of movies that would be presented under the name Hallmark Hall of Fame (It also helped pave the way for original programming on Hallmark’s television channels).

Today, millions watch movies on Hallmark's television channels. They sponsor clean. wholesome romance, dramas, and mysteries. Their Christmas ornaments become wonderful family keepsakes, and my grandchildren have been recipients of many of those ornaments. Individual Hallmark stores sell the greeting cards along with gifts, wrapping papers, ornaments, and other items for the home. 

Below is a picture of their corporate headquarters. 

With only a box full of post-cards, J.C. and Rollie built their company into one that is respected and known by millions. When one sees the Crown Logo on the back of a card, they know  "You Cared Enough to Send the Very Best."

All information:  Courtesy of the Hallmark Archives,  Hallmark Cards, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri, USA and used with permission.

 

Fifteen years ago, Elena Boucher, known as Vonda Mason, dropped out of the spotlight of show business after a car accident killed her husband and left her critically wounded. Now, with a teenage daughter, she joins a trip with her daughter and other youth from her church on a mission trip to Nashville. There she discovers the pastor of the host church is Jonathan Wilbanks, an old classmate from high school. Seeing him and being in the city that brought her fame and fortune brings back memories and secrets she buried the day she left town and disappeared. Now, all of that is being threatened as she is recognized and hounded for information about her disappearance. As friends rally around her, Elena learns that trusting in the Lord can overcome everything threatening her present and give her future she had never dreamed possible. 

Martha Rogers is a free-lance writer and multi-published best-selling author from Realms Fiction of Charisma Media and Winged Publications. She was named Writer of the Year at the Texas Christian Writers Conference in 2009. She is a member of ACFW and writes the weekly Verse of the Week for the ACFW Loop. ACFW awarded her the Volunteer of the Year in 2014. Her first electronic series from Winged Publications, Love in the Bayou City of Texas, debuted in the spring of 2015.  Martha is a frequent speaker for writing workshops and the Texas Christian Writers Conference of which she is a director. She is a retired teacher and lives in Houston with her husband, Rex. Their favorite pastime is spending time with their twelve grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.