I did get some writing done yesterday after the yard work, hauling chairs from church, grocery shopping, and preparing and serving refreshments at the piano recital my wife held in our home for her piano students.
Mary and Ann Gibson made soap for the holidays using star, tree, and bell molds that their husband George made for them.
George also made a mold for round bars of soap by cutting a 2 foot length of cottonwood tree in half and hollowing it out. Bind the halves together, stand the mold up, pour in the hot soap, cool, open, and cut. George made a "branding iron"....GG...stands for Gibson Girls. They sold their soap blends all over Dixie and beyond.
Mary made butter, and poured off George's beloved buttermilk....no one had better drink any of HIS buttermilk.
George built a milk room on the side of the barn.
George built an ice house.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
2009 Utah Trip
The 2009 tax deductable drive to Utah and back is complete. The last two weeks in September were spent taking lots of pictures, visiting historical sights, museums, graveyards, and ghost towns. Followed the Oregon Trail through Idaho and entered Utah by way of Bear Lake, south through Logan, Salt Lake City, I-15 through to St. George, and east to Zion National Park (Grafton).
Characters in my novel have roots starting at Bear Lake and touching every 1863 pioneeer foothold all the way to Nevada and Arizona. The focal point of the journey was the 2009 Grafton Pioneer Ancestors Reunion, held the last Saturday of September, in Grafton, for the past 50 years. There were a few ancestors there that have attended all 50 reunions (1959-2009).
There are 72 or so people buried in Grafton Cemetery and I have ties to 45 or so of them. Settlers there had a long journey ahead of them to find members of the opposite sex, so many of my ancestors just married other people in town. In some cases, one wasn't enough. James Andrus had two wives. Both of them, Laura and Manomas, were Sisters from my Gibson line. One of the Gibson men marred to sisters as well.
I met so many relatives there I never knew I had before. And, of course, they were all great people. Some things just get passed on. It was wonderful to listen to songs and poetry, anecdotes, and scandalous pioneer histories. I was able to spend time with a newly discovered cousin searching for and finally locating where the Gibson and Andrus homes were located at one time.
The entire trip allowed me to gain perspective as to where things were, and how things looked in the mid to late 19th century in Utah. In many instances things that I had learned before had to be trashed and the truth put in its place. Many new ideas came flooding into my writer's brain, and new stories are begging to be inserted into the manuscript.
'Twas a fantastic trip for the novel, and the personal parts of the trip were just as amazing. Can't wait for next year.
Characters in my novel have roots starting at Bear Lake and touching every 1863 pioneeer foothold all the way to Nevada and Arizona. The focal point of the journey was the 2009 Grafton Pioneer Ancestors Reunion, held the last Saturday of September, in Grafton, for the past 50 years. There were a few ancestors there that have attended all 50 reunions (1959-2009).
There are 72 or so people buried in Grafton Cemetery and I have ties to 45 or so of them. Settlers there had a long journey ahead of them to find members of the opposite sex, so many of my ancestors just married other people in town. In some cases, one wasn't enough. James Andrus had two wives. Both of them, Laura and Manomas, were Sisters from my Gibson line. One of the Gibson men marred to sisters as well.
I met so many relatives there I never knew I had before. And, of course, they were all great people. Some things just get passed on. It was wonderful to listen to songs and poetry, anecdotes, and scandalous pioneer histories. I was able to spend time with a newly discovered cousin searching for and finally locating where the Gibson and Andrus homes were located at one time.
The entire trip allowed me to gain perspective as to where things were, and how things looked in the mid to late 19th century in Utah. In many instances things that I had learned before had to be trashed and the truth put in its place. Many new ideas came flooding into my writer's brain, and new stories are begging to be inserted into the manuscript.
'Twas a fantastic trip for the novel, and the personal parts of the trip were just as amazing. Can't wait for next year.
Agent?
I suppose it is time to look for an agent. At least, that's what people on the Internet are saying in their writing tips. Even after reading the info on their web pages, I still don't understand the "how" to finding the best agent. They tell me I need one....they have me convinced. But how?
Has it Been That Long?
Last posting in May??? Wow...no, I haven't been neglecting my novel, just my blog. Finished chapter 1, "Cows Float"....at least until someone else reads it, I suppose. Most of chapter 2, "The Call", and continuing to fill in the spaces with bits and pieces for chapter 3, "Exodus", and chapter 4, "New Grafton".
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