Month: November 2025

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Saddle Up!

ellenparkerwrites

Start your day with exercise. Actually, for pairs — each rider and their horse will get lungs full of fresh air and a morning work-out.

Until about a century ago, a horse and rider would have been a familiar sight in most of the United States. However, in recent decades you no longer find them mixed in with motorized traffic. Instead you will find them on designated trails in parks and on private ranches and estates.

Need a little help with your balance? Take riding lessons. Have fear of large animals? Visit a stable and meet some gentle giants.

This pair of saddles are displayed at property once owned by a horseman of note: U. S. Grant. Can you imagine him riding the perimeter of a camp — wearing a slouch hat and smoking a cigar?

Fictional Elm Ridge, Illinois is located a bit south of actual Galena, Illinois — a town where Grant lived immediately prior to the Civil War.

Open the pages of the clean & wholesome romance, STITCHING A DREAM, and step into 1851. Dirt streets, wooden sidewalks, and tension between native-born and immigrant. When does a person become American? Follow the link for book details. https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh

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Up, Up, and Around

ellenparkerwrites

Not many staircases in public buildings have been in daily use for 170 years.

An exception would be the one in the east wing of St. Louis’ Old Courthouse. Installed when the 1828 courthouse building was replaced, it is believed to have been installed in 1854. The staircase is iron, ascends 32 feet from the first to third floors, and is entirely supported by embedding into the wall.

Look Ma! No posts!

More than once I’ve climbed these steps in one of my favorite downtown buildings. Twice, I’ve gathered the courage to climb a different set of iron stairs to take in a closer view of the rotunda decorations. (I’m timid with heights — it’s a l-ooo-ong way down.)

The sweet romance, New Dreams, takes place in 1851 – the year St. Louis got serious about replacing the 1828 section of the courthouse. The city was busy — steamboats bringing arrivals from Europe and many of the Eastern states. Join two of these European newcomers as they collect first impressions of America. Click on the link for the complete blurb and purchase information. https://amzn.to/3vWydWE

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An Act of Hospitality

ellenparkerwrites

Welcome to our community. Join us for a meal. Let’s get acquainted over hearty fare.

Invitations like the above have been issued in America for generations and centuries. Towns, cities, and communities grew with new arrivals — often single men or families. Established residents often invited the newcomer to join them. News was exchanged. Employment opportunities were discussed. Food was eaten and drinks were served. Lives were enriched for both the host and guest.

The set table pictured gives a peek into 1830’s hospitality. Butter knives were not meant to cut meat. Sharp-tined forks encouraged caution. This table features a sugar cone — use your knife to remove a small portion for your hot tea.

In the sweet romance, Stitching a Dream, an established carpenter invites the new shoemaker, Kurt, to Sunday dinner. Imagine stepping into the house to the delightful aroma of simmered meat after a church service. A bachelor, must speak carefully around the family’s young adult daughters. Click on the link for more information and read the book to learn who captures Kurt’s heart. https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh

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The Name means “Peace”

ellenparkerwrites

Immediately north of Shiloh Church, a name which means “peace”, one of the early, large, bloody battles of the American Civil War took place. It was a two day conflict across April 6-7, 1862.

The Union Army was moving south. The Confederates needed to protect the rail connection at Corinth, MS. The Confederates attacked raw, Union troops near the Tennessee River landing of Pittsburgh. It was tough. It was bloody. Men died. Men were wounded or captured.

A small sample of the cannon involved in the battle. The Confederates’ line of sixty-two (62). The Union countered with fifty-three (53). By the afternoon of the second day, the Confederates withdrew and the Union troops were slow to pursue.

Many of the men involved in this battle, the entire war, were schoolboys in the year 1851. They matured quick or suffered consequences in the army.

Fictional Elm Ridge, Illinois, in the year 1851, is the setting for the sweet romance, New Dreams. New to America, Deutsch settlers are thinking of opportunity in peaceful professions — such as baking or honest labor. Click on the link provided to find out more about this tale of young people in a young land. https://amzn.to/3vWydWE

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American Explorer

ellenparkerwrites

The name of this son of an English immigrant blacksmith is familiar to millions of Americans. It is necessary to separate fact and fiction when hearing or reading of several of his exploits — for the record is murky.

Born in Pennsylvania, he moved with his parents to North Carolina during his teens. An excellent hunter, he served in the militia and traveled on several expeditions. His survival skills would be tested on several occasions. One of his most notable achievements was finding and using what became known as the Wilderness Trail through the Cumberland Gap.

An assortment of firearms from Daniel Boone’s era. The explorer lived in what became Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Missouri during his long life, ending in 1820. From the accounts I’ve read, he was a fine hunter and likely decent to draw a map. But he made bad land deals and lost in the courts. He ended his days at his son, Nathan’s home in Missouri.

Adventure of a different type faces new arrivals in the fictional town of Elm Ridge, Illinois in the spring of 1851. Will Louisa find a job and be able to use her baking skills? Will Hans remain an honest man — with an honest job? Readers will find the answers in the sweet romance, New Dreams. Follow the link for the complete blurb. https://amzn.to/3vWydWE

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Eleven, Eleven, Eleven

ellenparkerwrites

Remember that number today. If possible, observe a moment of silence at eleven this morning.

Why? The Great War, later known as World War I, was ended by armistice at that time, on this date, in 1918. For many years, including decades after the end of the next war, the holiday was known as Armistice Day.

This display, at the WWI museum in Kansas City, illustrates one of the many ways in which horses and mules worked beside the men.

Anti-German sentiment ran high in the United States during this conflict. However, many children or grandchildren of German immigrants served the nation — sometimes against relatives who had chosen not to immigrate.

Sixty-seven years before the armistice, immigrants arrived in the fictional town of Elm Ridge, Illinois. Seeking opportunity in a new land, they had many adventures. Check out the romance, New Dreams, for the account of one young couple. Click on the link for book’s complete blurb. https://amzn.to/3vWydWE

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A Generous Window

ellenparkerwrites

“Two windows, facing the street, make them generous.”

I can imagine an 18th century artisan giving directions to the carpenter. Depending upon the type of business in the new shop and location in relation to other buildings, additional windows may have been requested.

Were these to display goods? Yes, but not exactly like the elaborate displays two centuries later. Were they to provide ventilation? Yes, but that was not the primary purpose. The windows were very practical. They provided light for the craftsmen to work.

Compared to sunlight — candles were weak (and expensive.) Metalsmith, leather worker, seamstress each would position their workbench and stool to take the best advantage of natural light.

Milliner at work

On a rainy spring day, these re-enactors continue to stitch a fine seam near the many-paned window. They sewed fine dresses for girls and women — plain or fancy.

A century later, in the mid-19th century, only a few things have changed. In the sweet romance, stitching a Dream, Polly the seamstress likes to keep the workroom window clean to give better light. Join her as she welcomes a new neighbor. Link to book details is here: https://bit.ly/4ec8PRB

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Settlement at a Glance

ellenparkerwrites

When you visit a museum or historic site, do you appreciate an overview?

I find them useful and fascinating. This outdoor model is made to withstand cold and rain and wind.

You will find this diorama at Jamestown Settlement in Virginia. Look at it. Study it for several minutes. This is the configuration of the village as revealed by the remaining foundations, records, and artifacts. Defense, housing, and church were among the first structures. Yes, a well and workshops were included. Gardens were believed to be outside the fence.

Do you think you could have lived here? What do you think you would have missed most from your former life in 1610?

Historical fiction, including romance, takes the reader on a journey to another time and place. Well-written fiction will teach you something along the way. Perhaps a little thing.

Follow the link below to check out New Dreams, a sweet romance featuring immigrants to Illinois in 1851. Will Louisa become independent? Will Hans remain an honest man? Open the book and step into your wooden clogs to meet them. Link: https://amzn.to/3vWydWE