GOING COMMANDO

                    GOING COMMANDO

What is worn under those Scottish kilts?

Anne Greene here. Last month I wrote a bit of history pertaining to the World War II era. This month I’m writing about another passion, 18^th Century Scotland.

The age-old question of what is worn under a Scotsman’s kilt has a simple answer...usually nothing!

Historically Scottish Highlanders wore a tunic under their kilts, and nothing else. Considering the rugged nature of their existence, underwear was not a necessary part of their attire.  

Scottish regiments traditionally went without under-garments. This is likely origin of the phrase going commando!

To the proud and patriotic Highlanders, the kilt was much more than a versatile piece of clothing, it was a cherished symbol of their heritage. In 1746, after the Scots lost the Battle of Culloden – which is the exact time setting of my Scottish Historical Series, Masquerade Marriage, Marriage by Arrangement, and the yet to be released Marriage To A Rogue, begins, King George II outlawed the kilt.

King George passed this law in a British government attempt to subdue the independent Scottish Highlanders. Along with the kilt, the wide leather belt, the fur or leather sporran, the kilt knife, the kilt pin, the knee hose and the Ghillie shoes were all prohibited. Ironically this law forged the Kilt into a symbol of Scottish culture and national pride, rather than just the traditional Scottish clothing worn by Highland clans.

The Jacobite defeat at Culloden was the last battle on British soil, the exhiled Prince Charles fled the country he had hoped to rule. His supporters, the Highlanders, suffered terribly from ‘Butcher Cumberland’ who ordered death to all Highland participants. To further punish Scotland, Parliament issued Acts to destroy their clans, their identities and their economic structures.

New laws abolished heritable jurisdictions, claimed estates for the crown, banned the playing of bagpipes, the wearing of tartans and Highland dress for all except government troops, and restricted the possession of weapons. Read of these momentous events in my Scottish Historical series. 

            How many of you have traced your heritage back to Scotland or to another place of origin?

            Leave a comment. This month Anne is offering her commenters a chance to win her choice of any one of Anne's three published books. Leave a comment about your own heritage below for a chance to win and to speak with Anne. 

ANNE GREENE delights in writing about wounded heroes and gutsy heroines. Her second novel, a Scottish historical, Masquerade Marriage, won numerous writing awards. The sequel Marriage By Arrangement releases in April.  A Texas Christmas Mystery also won awards. In 2014, her World War II novel, Angel With Steel Wings, about WASPs, women test pilots will release. She makes her home in McKinney, Texas. 

Visit with Anne and view her other books, her blog, travel pictures, and art work at http://www.AnneGreeneAuthor.com. Anne’s never too busy to talk with her fans.

Her highest hope is that her stories transport the reader to an awesome new world and touch hearts to seek a deeper spiritual relationship with the Lord Jesus. Buy Anne’s books at http://www.Amazon.com.

Visit with Anne every 14^th day of each month here at Christian Fiction Historical Society. Join her in May for SINGING IN THE RAIN, plus another great giveway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRAVEL IN THE LATE 1800S - Lena Nelson Dooley

Last month I shared a lot of information with you about Oregon City and Portland, and when I did, I shared about the horse- and mule-drawn trolleys that connected the two cities before the electric trolleys did. As I researched for my three book series, I did research about various kinds of transportation to use in my books.

Since the heroines were born on one of the last wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, I did quite a bit of research about wagon trains. My wagon train was in 1867, near the last of the wagon trains across that trail. Since many trains had passed over the trail, experienced wagon masters knew they had options. Often the man might plan on going one way, but because of circumstances, he took his train on one of the other ways to get to the destination--Oregon Territory or State, according to the date.

The main route used by those on the Oregon Trail went by way of the Dalles. Fur trappers first used this term, which means gutter, for floating down the Columbia River on rafts. This part of the trip was treacherous because of the rocks and rapids they encountered. Later the Barlow Cutoff was a toll road that took the wagon around Mount Hood. Although it was much safer, it also took quite a bit longer.

In my McKenna's Daughters books, I had the wagon train use the Barlow Cutoff, because Lenora McKenna was bedridden in their wagon because of her pregnancy, and the wagon master didn't want to endanger her life more than it already was.

Most wagon trains on the Oregon Trail arrived in Ft. Vancouver, Oregon. However, those using the Barlow Cutoff arrived in Oregon City.

For book one of my series, I had to do a lot of research about railroads. My hero, heroine, and her aunt traveled from Seattle, Washington Territory, to Little Rock, Arkansas. They had to travel south to far northern California, then take another train east. That train took them through several states, over the Continental Divide with a stop in Denver, then on to St. Louis, Missouri. From St. Louis, they took another train southwest to arrive in Little Rock. Researching every stop along the way was interesting as was the way railroads were during that time. I used many tidbits I found to make the trip more interesting.

With book three of the series, the heroine's father owns a steamship line. Of course on land, they mostly traveled by train, but the trip back from Seattle to San Francisco was by steamship, and this trip was pivotal to the story. You can find out a lot about the steamships of the time in this book.

I was thrilled when my publisher's graphic department tied the covers together with pictures of modes of transportation: a train on Maggie's Journey









a trolley on Mary's Blessing,

and a steamship on Catherine's Pursuit.










What is your favorite form of long-distance transportation?

ANNE GREENE'S - WHERE DID ALL THE MEN GO?

                            WHERE DID ALL THE MEN GO?

Anne Greene here.

Where is everybody? The street, usually so busy, is almost empty. Only one other woman and a small boy and girl walk on the opposite sidewalk. The street, usually so jammed with cars, has almost no traffic. Of course part of the lack of vehicles is due to our 1941 gas rationing. Now we walk.

          Most houses on my side of the street have either flags with a blue or a gold star in the downstairs’ windows. Each blue star represents one of the sixteen million men who serve overseas or train to deploy overseas soon. Each gold star represents a man who died serving his country. One more man who will never return.

          No wonder there are no young men walking the streets of my city…as well as most cities and towns in the United States.

          Closer to downtown, women stride along. The sidewalks are no longer so full a person must weave in and out to get to work. There’s a feeling of loneliness and yet purposefulness cloaking the women and the one or two old men I pass. As I speak, an old man with fuzzy white hair, hobbling on a cane enters the door to the Farmers Café through the colored entrance.

Some of the women, like me, wear blue trousers and blue shirts. It’s our new uniform. We work in the factories. Rosie The Riveter, Norman Rockwell paints us.

          The government keeps calling more and more women into the workforce. We are needed in all kinds of jobs, munitions plants, military factories, and other vital war jobs. Magazines advertise, “The More Women at Work the Sooner We Win.”

Personally, I love leaving housework to the kids, and joining my women friends at the factory. We’re doing a bang-up job taking over men’s jobs that none of us thought we could do. Right now, I’m thinking of moving from Rosie the Riveter to Wendy the Wielder, since using the acetylene torch requires more skill and pays better.

          But I’m the first to admit, I miss the men.

          Tomorrow is Saturday, and I have no date. There are no young men left in our town. I haven’t had a date in months. I do write to several young men, just to keep their spirits up. But a gold star hangs in the window of my boyfriend’s mother’s home. Last year I received back all the v-mail I sent to him. The letters were wrinkled and stained as if Tom had read and reread them many times. The Army Air Force wrote that the blood-stained one was found in the pocket of his flight suit. 

The streets are empty of men, but almost every day hearses and long lines of cars head to the cemetery. Each time they do, my tears fall again. I am not alone. In less than four years the US Army Air Force will lose 14,903 pilots, aircrew and other personnel. Imagine how many women grieve. Then imagine how many of those men were so young they had not married or fathered children. So many parents will never become grandparents.  So many girls may never find husbands. Then there are those missing men who did father children. Those children will grow up not knowing the love of their fathers. We gals understand that an average of 6,600 servicemen die each month. That is about 220 of our men who die each day. Will any of them return home? Will this World War II ever end.

          But we keep our chins up. We keep a stiff upper lip. We soldier on, doing our duty. Our fight takes place at the home front. And we are essential to the war effort. We take pride in assuming the man-sized jobs that keep our country rolling along. I work in an aircraft plant. By the end of the war, our head man says we will produce over 276,000 new airplanes. The enemy will discover that even without our prime-of-life men at home, American has know-how and can-do. We will not be defeated.

Approximately 400,000 women serve with the armed forces. To date, more than 460 have lost their lives. I am particularly proud of our service women, but being an only daughter and with three brothers serving overseas, the government says I must stay home.

So we home front gals plant our victory gardens, work in our ammunition factories, make-do without frills and some necessities, and miss our men. We car-pool with six other ladies to drive to the factory. We come home and cook dinner, mend our children’s clothes, let out hems, glue on shoe soles, darn socks, and knit sweaters for our missing men. We hand-make Christmas gifts, we can vegetables, we stoke furnaces, and we shovel snow. When there is a job to be done, large or small, we don’t look around for help, we do the job.

So when Carole Lombard died in a plane crash returning from a War Bond tour, we all miss her. We miss her faster-than-thought comic delivery, her platinum blonde hair and her delicate features. We miss her making us laugh, when there is so little to laugh about.

But we continue to straighten our shoulders and pick up the slack. We spend a lot of time in prayer for our brothers, boy-friends, husbands and fathers. We take pride in our work. We grow and stretch and accomplish what we thought impossible. We tune in the radio each night at six o’clock to hear Edward R. Murrow and the war news. We pick up the newspaper just after it is thrown, and turn first to the casualty section and heave a sigh of relief when we don’t recognize any of the names on the unending list. We sing our patriotic songs. When formations of planes thunder above us in the sky, we feel protected. Thank God an ocean separates us from our enemies. We smile a little, and pray a lot for the brave men serving in the military that God will bring them safe home again.

We’ve formed women’s professional baseball teams and dance bands. We've become chefs and town planners. We fill every job a man filed before he left for the duation. We serve at home while they serve abroad.

We women have grown strong and independent. We’ve discovered we can do man-sized jobs. With all of American pulling together we will win this war.

Yet we miss our men.

Look for Anne Greene's book about women test pilots and target towers called ANGEL WITH STEEL WINGS releasing in September 2014, published by B & H Publishing.

Anne's wants to know how you would have liked to serve on the home front or with the women in military service. Leave a comment and win the first award-winning book in her exciting Scottish Marriage Trilogy - Masquerade Marriage. Would you have worked in the defense factories, in the WASPs, WAFS, or WAVES, become a nurse, or what would you have done for your country? 

Leave a comment and one of you will win Masquerade Marriage. If you already have a copy of Masquerade Marriage, you will win your choice of either Marriage By Arrangment or A Texas Christmas Mystery.AnneGreeneAuthor.com     

April 14th, look for GOING COMMANDO

Portland and Oregon City in 1885 - Lena Nelson Dooley - Book Giveaway

I love research. I know, that makes me weird or something. But really finding out about what things were like in a different time period is exciting to me.

That's one reason I write historical novels. Another reason is because not every historical novelist is careful to make sure their books depict the time period accurately. When I'm reading a book like that it drives me crazy. 

I want my readers to know that they can trust my books to be authentic. When I write a novel, only my specific characters and their story are fiction. Everything else is as correct as I can possibly get it.

Here are some interesting things I found in Oregon City. It developed on both sides of the Willamette River, and many of the companies that were built on the banks of the river depended on the river for many things.

High Street was at the top of the highest bluff on one side of the river. In Mary's Blessing, the Winthrops lived there, the doctor had his house--complete with an office there, and Daniel bought a house on High Street.

Wooden steps descended from Seventh, Fifth, and Fourth streets up on the bluff down to Third street, which was close to the riverbank.

In this time period, one of the banks in Oregon City installed a vault that was a giant black iron ball. It was supposed to be harder to rob. They even had a celebration with it in the street before it was installed. I didn't find any information about whether it was ever broken into.

In 1885 Shively Opera House opened at 7^th and Madison. It became a major entertainment venue. But Oregon City also had other activities, including the Clackamas Base Ball Club.

The Chautauqua grounds in North Oregon City eventually turned into a festival in this time period with picnics, camping, and games. This type of entertainment spread across the country in the early 20th century.

Just 21 years after Portland is officially founded, the city's growth prompts the need for a public transportation system. Portland's first trolleys, brought by steamer from San Francisco by Ben Holladay, were horse and mule drawn prior to 1890 when the electric trolleys were started. It ran between Portland and Oregon City from the 1870s through the 1890s.

Here is an actual photo of the horse and mule drawn trolleys.

Portland had its own brand of entertainment as well.

In the picture to the right, you can see how the designers for Mary's Blessing used this mode of transportation on the cover.

New Market Theatre on First street had shops on bottom floor, entertainment above. Theatrical troupe in mock holdup of a carriage on Main Street. And it wasn't unusual to see long-haired goats in harnesses, training for the gold fields in Alaska on Morrison Street. I didn't find anywhere whether the goats were successful in pulling the dogsleds in Alaska.

Steel Bridge across the river had a lower level for trains and an upper level for pedestrians. I'm sure it would feel funny if you were walking on the bridge when a train pulled by a steam locomotive crossed under you.

Meier and Frank department store on Taylor between First and Second Streets had their first Friday Surprise Sale on April 29, 1885. That was a fun place for my hero to take the heroine.

I hope you love a peek into yesteryear the way I do.

Please check out my McKenna's Daughters series--Maggie's Journey, Mary's Blessing, Catherine's Pursuit.

The stories are about identical triplets born on one of the last wagon trains on the Oregon Trail. Their mother dies giving birth, and they are separated. They don't find out they have sisters until near their 18th birthday.

Can you share an interesting tidbit of history from where you live?

I will choose a winner of Maggie's Journey from those who leave comments including a historical tidbit from where you live.  winner will be announced in the comments on this post tomorrow.

And our big giveaway is coming the end of the month!

Grand Prize- Kindle 

2nd Place Prize- $25 Amazon gift card 

For each day you comment on CFHS you receive one entry in the kindle and $25 Amazon gift card giveaway. Comment on every post in the month of March and earn 31 entries! 

Meet Crit Partners and Best Friends Kathleen L. Maher and Debbie Lynne Costello

Colliding with Destiny by Kathleen L. Maher

Sometimes people find their calling, and sometimes their calling finds them. I think I am among the latter category. 

My husband and me dancing at our son's wedding Aug 18, 2012

I grew up in a little town called Elmira, NY, a stone's throw from Corning where they make the cook wear with the little blue flowers and the gorilla glass. Elmira has a few distinctions of its own. It is the county seat for rural Chemung County. It is where Mark Twain wrote much of Huck Finn, and it simmers with Civil- and Revolutionary War history. So in my hometown, history and writing collide, and so did I--with my destiny.

As a teen, I fell in love with the local fabric and legends. It intrigued me that so many of the soldiers who fought and died in both wars were my age then. I realized that like me, they probably didn't even know what they wanted to be when they grew up. Maybe they dreamed of working a farmstead, having a family, experiencing the love of a soul mate. Their stories came alive in my head and heart. I had to tell them.

I became a lifelong student of history and of the writing craft. It has been a very long journey. I've written and dreamed through many seasons of life--high school, college, rebellion, single motherhood, redemption, even marriage to a kind, nurturing soul mate. A sense of destiny and faith has carried me through it all--an unyielding hope that I will one day share my stories with people who need an encouraging word, a sense of commiseration, a good laugh or a good cry. To share the love of a gracious Heavenly Father with a broken, fatherless world. 

And so now, all these years later, my lifelong dream stands at the threshold of realization. I have just signed with a wonderful agent--Terry Burns of Hartline Literary Agency. And maybe, just maybe, there is a publishing house who shares my passion and who will help me fulfill my destiny to share the stories I have written as well as those that I have yet to write. Stories of the brave men and women from history who sacrificed, bled, loved, and lived inspiring lives. I may not be Elmira's next Mark Twain, but I would sure love to leave a mark on the city's history in my own unique way. 

I would be honored if you would take this journey to publication with me, and maybe even cheer and pray for me along the way. I am surrounded my a company of greatness here on this blog, and it is my earnest hope that they rub off on me and we all compel one another to good works. All I can say is it is an honor to be part of this group. And I look forward to interacting with all of you who visit.

My question for you: What do you feel is your God-given destiny? Have you found it yet or are you still searching?

To thank you for your time and connection, I am offering a gift to one lucky commenter (selected by random.org.) Please leave your email address below with your answer to my question, and I will send one of you this lovely print of an old farmstead as a token of my appreciation. I can't be sure where it was painted, but it looks very much like my region of upstate NY, sans the pretty dusting of snow we currently have.

 

Making God Chuckle by Debbie Lynne Costello

Sheriff at Virginia City, Nevada

“You have a twisted mind.” My husband’s famous words. A person can hear something only so much before they begin to believe it. He claimed only twisted minds could know the ending of a story. He did find it extremely annoying that half way through every movie we watched I ruined the end for him. Of course after the movie was over I always had to make suggestions on how it could have been better.  

I guess I’ve always loved writing and making up stories so naturally I had to give my input whether asked for or not. Life takes so many turns you never know where you will end up. And writing was one of those plans I had made. Which makes me think of a joke I just heard. 'If you want to make God laugh, tell Him you've made plans.' So where was I? Oh, yes, always liked making up stories of course my parents called them lies. LOL. Just kidding folks. But my mom surprised me with a packet full of stories I wrote from the age of seven and up. And I took every creative writing class I could in High School and then went on to journalism in college. But life has a way of taking sharp turns. I married my childhood sweetheart, had children and my writing ended…temporarily.

Best Friends

But let me just say that I was always looking for some hair brain idea to make money from home. With four kids it had to be something I could work in between school, meals, practices, sewing, and my duties at church. Funny thing is I think most  of my ideas cost us money, but my hubby was forever supportive.

Charleston, SC

The years went on and I started homeschooling I found adult companionship in books. Between ruining movies for hubby and all the reading I was doing when the boys were working and didn’t need my help (any homeschool mom knows you can’t leave your kids alone for five minutes if you want them to keep working so I read) Joe looked at me one day and said why don’t you write a book.  Four months later I had finished an 110,000 word manuscript.

My Arabian

Today I have five manuscripts finished.  Four of which are 19^th century stories set in the beautiful Charleston, SC area. I am represented by a wonderful agent, Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. 

I love horses, antiques, Shetland sheepdogs, my cowboy boots, collecting antique bibles, starting new things (ask my crit partner, Kathleen Maher about that), my country, and a book I can’t guess the ending to. 
 
  

I hope that in a small way you are blessed by this new blog and that you find new friends here that make you feel at home. Thanks to all of my co-authors of this blog and to you for stopping by.

Hangs over the door of my son's ship, the USS Bataan

 March is our giveaway month to thank you for coming by. On the 7th day of March I am offering a hand made bracelet from antique silver spoons with a dangle that can be added to the bracelet to one winner and I'm also giving awat a bath gift basket to another lucky winner.

Introducing Lena Nelson Dooley

I'm thrilled to be included on this blog with all these other authors. I have written both contemporary novels and historical, but the last four novels I've sold have been historical.

Living in North Central Texas, my husband and I have been married for over 48 years. We have two daughters, two sons-in-law, two grandsons, two granddaughters, one grandson-in-law, and a great grandson. They all live close to us, except our Army grandson, who is overseas right now.

We are a close family that has a lot of fun together. Our holidays are always fairly loud and boisterous, in a good way. We love good food, playing games, watching sports events, and attending church events.

I have a book releasing today. Catherine's Pursuit, book three in my McKenna's Daughters series. To celebrate the release of this book, my publisher is offering free downloads of the first book, Maggie's Journey, in ebook editions for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Sony ereaders. You can order the Free book from your favorite book site.

Christianbooks.com
http://www.christianbook.com/maggies-journey-ebook-lena-dooley/9781616385804/pd/21533EB?product_redirect=1&Ntt=21533EB&item_code=&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCP 

Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/Maggies-Journey-McKennas-Daughters-ebook/dp/B005OBNRYQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1360019183&sr=1-1&keywords=Maggie%27s+Journey

Nook
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/maggies-journey-lena-nelson-dooley/1104804076?ean=9781616385804

Maggie's Journey will be free from February 5-12. So tell all your friends.

Also, if you want a chance to win a free copy of Catherine's Pursuit, my publisher is hosting a giveaway on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/43552-catherine-s-pursuit

I really look forward to continuing to connect with you readers on this blog.

And in March, my book, Catherine's Pursuit will be part of the giveaway for our grand opening of this blog.