MINING

Mining for gold started in California (not yet a territory) in 1863. When gold was discovered, people traveled from back East via ship or overland to find their fortunes. Placer mining commonly known as panning for gold was the beginning. It took hard work and...

ENCOURAGEMENT

How many times have you felt down in the dumps over…well, anything? It could be that you have been sick too long, your last job interview didn’t go well, or you’ve had writer’s block. The last one occurred to me recently. I prayed about being stuck, but apparently, I...

TEACHING & ONE-ROOM SCHOOLHOUSES

Teaching out West was important to settlements with five or more children. Despite some of our images of the Wild West, education was important to help the future generations expand the western United States. Children would receive a free education (first-eighth...

REJECTION

Years ago, my draft manuscript was rejected by a publisher who insisted I find an agent. When I couldn’t find one (it wasn’t easy), they assigned one to me, and I didn’t particularly care for him. After much criticism and nonacceptance, I shared with others that I had...

WORDS

I’ve been reading a romance book with Old English wording. Many words are no longer used in daily communication, but I thought they’d be fun to share with you. You might even know their meanings.   Arras –  Agog – Countenance – Ebon –...