What is a Chifforobe?

What is a Chifforobe?

As an author of Historical Romance, I should know this word, wouldn’t you think?

Embarrassingly, I didn’t!

To take things a step further, I actually own one!

What?

Let me back up for a minute…a few nights ago, my husband and I were playing cards with his mom, and she wasn’t getting the cards she wanted every time she drew for them. The next time she drew, they were not the cards she wanted and so she said: “Aww, chifforobe!” Of course, me being the jokester that I am, I made a crack about her making up cuss words!

Turned out she wasn’t! She told me what the word meant, and of course, I had to challenge her. After all, I’d never heard of such a word.

Any guesses?

Turns out, it’s a piece of furniture that is like a wardrobe, but contains both drawers and a place to hang clothes! Funniest part is, I own such a piece of furniture and had NO idea what it was called. I was calling it a wardrobe all this time LOL

As you can see from the pic below of my very own chifforobe, I added shelves on the right side of it years ago to hold my quilts, and I’ve hung dipping candles from the rod that would normally hold clothes. At the bottom, you can see the iron runners that the doors (lost in a move) used to slide on.

So, there you have it…a chifforobe! Better be sure to read book 2 in my newest series, My Heart Belongs, to see how I use this word in my story. Now that I have a new word (as authors, we LOVE new words), you better bet that word is going to be in the next book.

My Chofforobe!

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5 Little-known Facts About Suffragettes and the Choice Brides Series

Does the idea of a Suffragette Mail-order bride seem like a misnomer to you? In our day, it would definitely seem that the two would be directly opposed to one another. In today's article we'll talk about this and cover five little-known facts about Suffragettes.

Let's start by talking about why the Choice Brides Suffragette Mail-order Brides series was born. Research doesn't point to mail-order brides who were also suffragettes, yet it made perfect sense in the mind of this author.  : )

The "Choice Brides" series is focused on Suffragette mail-order brides, in part because as a woman, it is a movement that I am grateful for every day, and in complete disclosure—this is where my mind went when I decided to write historical romance novellas in the mail-order bride sub-genre.

I'm fiercely independent, so the thought of having to be a mail-order bride is almost unfathomable to me, yet many women during that time period had no other alternative—because women were not allowed the same rights as men. They were not allowed to own property, own a business, or vote.

So what happens to the women who were suffragettes during that period? Were they left with even fewer alternatives than a traditional woman? That question is exactly what led to the idea that a woman who was a Suffragette, and also of means, could potentially create an alternative for other women who were Suffragettes, yet left with little to no alternatives beyond marriage to a man that they had no interest in, or worse, were repulsed by.

The series was born! It begins with a book called "BEGINNINGS" and it's the story of how and why Elizabeth decided to start a mail-order brides agency called 'Choice Brides'. From there the series continues with ELIZABETH, and further details Elizabeth's story and the journey of creating the agency. From there, suffragettes and friends of Elizabeth have their stories told.

If you've read these books, let me know in the comments below! In 2018 there will be two more books added to this series.

Now let's move on to some little-known facts about the Suffragettes!

1. Suffragettes were accused of being "unnatural, "unladylike" and even "against God's order".
2. Suffragettes were force-fed (those who went on hunger strikes), leading to illness and in some cases, death.
3. British suffragettes were believed to have 'radicalized' American Suffragettes.
4. World War I caused a softening of the suffrage movement, and many curtailed or suspended their activism in the face of a greater threat to their nation.
5. The 1918 vote did not mean women had the same rights to vote as men, but rather women over thirty were given the right to vote only if they met minimum property qualifications, or were married to men who did.

Does that make your blood boil? It does mine!

I hope so, because we all need to keep the sacrifices these women made for all of us at the forefront of our minds, and teach our sons and daughters about the movement. Learning from the past, and keeping those lessons in front of us is what will hopefully keep us from repeating the belief systems that led to inequality and abuse in the first place.

Please comment below, and let us know which of the five little-known facts listed above is the most surprising to you.

If you're grateful for the suffragettes, please share this article with others. May we never forget.

Love,
Kate
KateCambridge.com

Bloomers--Her Contribution to American Fashion

Suffrage and Temperance? No, no, no. Let’s talk Bloomers!

This was supposed to be better than a dress?

In American history, you have women who spied for this country, loaded cannons during heated battles, fought wild Indians, ventured alone to rowdy frontier towns.

And then there is Amelia Bloomer.

A native of New York, Amelia was the first woman to own, edit, and operate a newspaper in the United States. The Lily was started in 1849 for the reading pleasure of the Seneca Falls Ladies Temperance Society. By 1850, the circulation of 4000 had started to decline and Amelia took over the editorial helm. She had found her groove. She loved espousing her views on suffrage, temperance, morality, and fashion.

Married to an attorney who was apparently patient and supportive, Amelia freely championed the cause of suffrage all over the country. She spoke, attended rallies, organized committees, and hung with the likes of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady. If not for her, her newspaper and her enthusiasm, who knows how long it would have been before we women would have attained the right to vote?

But is that why you know the name Bloomer?

Probably not.

In 1851, a few notable women started wearing loose, baggy pants that gathered at the ankles. The style was based on pants women wore in the Middle East. Amelia fell in love with the roomy, flowing pants. She adored that they allowed her to move so freely, climb steps without tripping, and kept her hands free. Never mind that the things are about as attractive as a clown suit.

But Amelia adored the goofy breeches and pushed them every chance she got. They were frequently mentioned in The Lily, to the point the I-Dream-of-Jeannie breeches finally earned the nickname Bloomers.

Ah, the lasting contribution of a Lady in Defiance.

Copyright 2017 Heather Blanton

Follow me on https://www.facebook.com/heatherfreyblanton and check out my own blog at https://ladiesindefiance.com

FORT LUPTON

Post by Angela Raines

Fort Lupton, is the fourth post that was located within fifteen miles of each other east of Longs Peak in the Rocky Mountains in the Platte River Valley.  The other three were Fort Vasquez, Fort Jackson, Fort St. Vrain.

What is interesting about this location, there is actually a town, Fort Lupton, near the site of the original fort. The fort and also the town named after him was founded by Lnacaser P. Lupton. He had been a lieutenant with Col. Henry Dodge when Dodge headed an expedition into the Rocky Mountains. Lupton saw that the fur trade was a going concern in the area. He took a leave of absence from the service and came back to the area around 1836-37 and established a trading post. The original name was Fort Lancaster but was changed to Fort Lupton. The fort itself was abandoned in the early 1840s. The fort building was later used as a stage station on the mail route from Missouri to Colorado, specifically Denver. It was also used as a refuge during the Indian uprisings of 1864. The town of Fort Lupton was incorporated in 1890 and still exists today, although the original fort no longer exists, like Fort Vasquez, a replica has been build.

Dedication of 'New Fort Lupton'

An excerpt from the journey of  E. Williard Smith, who traveled from Missouri in August of 1839, he speaks of meeting Lupton on the journey westward. Here from the 30th of August, "We still travel as usual. We have been expecting to overtake Lupton every day. He is a mountain-trader, on his way to the trading-post, on the river Platte. We overtook him to-day about noon. His party had stopped to eat dinner, and allow their annuals to feed. He had six wagons drawn by oxen. They had started about twelve days before us. He mistook us for Indians as we were approaching and was somewhat alarmed." (Colorado Magazine, July 1950)  What is even more interesting, Smith was in the company of Vasquez and Sublette, from Fort Vazquez, the competition for the fur trade in the area.

As history points out, these post, including Fort Lupton, contracted for trade goods to be brought from the East by wagon or pack-horse trains,for the Indians/ In turn the Indians brought their buffalo robes and pelts to trade for said goods. Fort Lupton became a rendezvous for the independent trappers of the mountain region west of there. They also bartered their furs for equipment and supplies. 

As you can see, during a brief, but intense time, these four forts vied for the trade, both with Indians and Trappers in this small region along the Platte River. Time and space have limited the amount of information shared. Still this brief time is full of so many stories and people. It was a time of expansion for the United States and these adventurous men were in the forefront of that expansion.


Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 

Photo and Poem: Click Here 

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

The Sheriff's Bride

Introducing: 

The Sheriff's Bride

Come on in to Solomon's Valley 

Welcome back to Solomon's Valley in Montana for a story about fathers and sons and mothers and daughters against the backdrop of 1883 Montana.

Sheriff Levi Smith came to Shirleyville but was too late to settle with the past. Then circumstances force him to reveal the reason he'd come to town and risk upsetting the feuding families all over again. Somewhere along the way, he noticed Eve, and she took his attention not to mention his heart.

Eve longed to be loved. Oh, she had a mother all right, but Mabel had given her strict orders to never mention to anyone that she was Eve's mother. Sheriff Levi catches Eve's attention, but Bridgette Howard has her eyes on Levi, too. Desperate, Eve turns to Walters and thinks he might be the answer. He's older but rich. either way, he offers a way out.


Add to the mix Rachel and the judge's children and their shenanigans, the feuding families, and a killing in the town and Levi is busy.

Although The Sheriff's Bride is a stand alone book, you might also want to read The Judge's Bride and Zebulon's Bride.

****And I thought the series was done, but Bridgette informed me there will be another book. Next year the series continues with Bridgette's Man.

~~~~~

Here's a brief sample 
Chapter 1

Sheriff Levi Smith stuffed the worn letter in his pocket while at the same time trying to shove away the regret that haunted him. The letter was the reason he’d come to Shirleyville over a year ago, and even then, he’d been too late. He reminded himself that the past was usually best left behind especially when the reason he’d come was already dead.

Levi stepped out of the jail and wiped sweat from his brow. With a wary eye, he looked up and down the dusty street of the small Montana town to get a feel for what the day would bring. The weather was warm and promising to get hotter.

A look at The Gilded Lady Saloon and seeing the Murphy’s wagon outside signaled trouble was possible. The good news was he didn’t see Bridgette Howard anywhere. He hoped she’d stay in the dress shop and leave him alone. She was the one pushing his past into the future. Sooner or later, he was going to have to tell the judge the real reason for his coming to Shirleyville.

Fending off Bridgette’s advances was taking too much time, but right now, his business of the day was to meet the train that carried Judge Taggart and his wife Rachel. They were returning from their honeymoon in Europe. Levi was glad that they had finally taken the trip as they had postponed it for nearly a year to get the ten children settled in their new home. That Shirleyville now had a train depot made things convenient.

Unfortunately, gold seekers were flooding in and causing more trouble. Men on the raw edge of despair flocked to the area in search of gold while never considering it might take hard work. Some would go to the mines to work for the big companies and eke an existence from the rock. Many gave up looking for gold honestly and took up with the outlaws hiding in the canyons south of town.

Levi pulled out his pocket watch and flipped the lid just as the train blasted a whistle. He ran to the station and hoped Bridgette wouldn’t find him. Now that the feud between the Howards and the Murphys had settled down, Bridgette was the one causing trouble. Levi wasn’t sure who to be sorrier for, the girl or the Murphys. According to her, they treated her like a slave, but when he asked Ben Murphy, he reported that she acted like a queen, and they were the ones waiting on her. Levi figured the truth played out somewhere between the two drastic views.

He turned the corner to the depot and ran up the stairs just as the train pulled into the station and stopped. The train continued to chug spewing smoke and steam as the conductor stepped down and helped the passengers disembark.

A couple of men in business suits left the train. Farther down the tracks, two rough-looking cowboys jumped from a freight car. By the furtive looks they gave him, he’d have to keep an eye on their whereabouts and who, if anyone, they met with.

Since arriving, Levi had worked to make Shirleyville a peaceful town. But there were rumblings of trouble brewing among the store owners. Nothing specific, but enough that Levi kept a sharp eye on newcomers.

Levi stepped aside as a few families disembarked. He tipped his hat and nodded. Their faces shone fresh with the hope for a new life. He hoped it worked out for them. And then he hoped they weren’t those looking to come and pick gold nuggets off the ground. Montana was a good place, but it required hard work to make a living here.

Finally, the distinguished-looking Judge exited, waited, and helped Rachel step down to the platform. She was dressed in a frilly kind of hat, fancy dress, and shoes. She even had a parasol that matched her hat. The trip and being married to the judge had done her good. When Levi had first come to Shirleyville, she’d looked tired and worn. Now, she looked fresh and vibrant.

Levi held out his hand. “Glad to see you, Judge. You two look like you enjoyed the trip.” He hoped they had as he had news to give them that might not make them all too happy to be back.

Shaking his hand, the judge nodded. “Excellent trip. Wouldn’t you say, Rachel?”

She hugged his arm as she looked endearingly up at him. “The trip of a lifetime, dear.” She turned her gaze to Levi. “Everything is all right, isn’t it, Sheriff?”

“I rode out to the ranch this morning to make sure.” He scraped his boots on the wood platform. “There are a few things you need to be aware of.”

Judge Taggart narrowed his eyes. “Oh?”

“Will has been spending time at the Howards. I only know because Matt was complaining to me about it. Seems Will had chores he wasn’t doing. I’m not sure what arrangements you made with him, but you know he can be short-tempered.”

~~~~

Patricia PacJac Carroll~ I am a writer, Christian first, and blessed beyond my imagination. I live in the Dallas-Ft Worth area of Texas with my wonderful treasure of a husband, my spoiled dog, Jacs, and my awesome son, Josh. Did I say I was blessed? The PacJac is from my initials and my husbands. I wouldn't be able to write if it weren't for him. I love adventure and the open road. The stories of the western era have always been a favorite of mine. I enjoy writing, and my goal is to write stories readers will enjoy.


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Psalm 26:7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

CASTLE DOME CITY by Zina Abbott

On my way to Tucson, Arizona to attend the Women Writing the West conference this past month, my husband and I stayed a couple of nights in Yuma. Not everyone gets excited about visiting the old Yuma Territorial Prison, but I made a special point to go. 

We also visited an old silver (and lead) mining town up Highway 95 in the middle of nowhere. My husband and I drove over MILES of gravel road through a military bombing range with multiple signs warning drivers to not leave the road due to unexploded ordinance. Trust me, in spite of large rocks and sections of washboard, we stayed on the road. We were rewarded when finally we reached the site of the restored mining town with its buildings and displays.

As mineral deposits began to be discovered up and down the Colorado River in the early 1860s, numerous mining camps and steamboat ports grew into towns along the river. Heading north from Yuma, prospectors staked gold and silver claims along the river and in the surrounding mountains.

Castle Dome, first known as Pitoti after a weed thought to be found only in that area, was later named Castle Dome after the nearby mountain range with its distinctive dome. A post office was established in that name on December 17, 1875. Less than a year later, however, the post office was discontinued on December 4, 1876.

When the first Americans reached the Castle Dome Mountains in the early 1860s, there were already signs of previous mining activity. It was generally believed that Native tribes had engaged in mining in the Castle Dome Mountains some years before and backpacked the ore 18 miles (29 km) south to a processing site on the banks of the Gila River, where remnants of adobe furnaces were found.
 

Ctsy of AmericanExpeditioner.com

The Castle Dome Mining Company, established in 1863 and owned by Jacob Snively, purchased many of these claims and planned out the site of Castle Dome Landing on the banks of the Colorado River to act as a shipping point for ore on its way to San Francisco, California for smelting. Castle Dome City was created by Jacob Shively who at age 53 came to the Castle Dome region in 1862 because he had heard of the rich silver galena deposits in the area. His first order of business was to establish peace through creating the mining district for the region.

 

Seamstress shop in far back, blacksmith and machine shop

As miners came and filed claims, Castle Dome City was create, more by default than by active city planning. It was a spread out town as the huge silver galena ore vein runs about six miles.
 

Inside of the one of the mercantile stores

The first description of Castle Dome City in 1864 was: a brush house, and adobe under construction, two tents and two fenced in lots. As the years rolled by, Castle Dome boasted of a school, 5 bars within a mile, 2 mercantile stores, a church or 2, sheriff’s office and jail, “doc’s” offices, assay office mining offices, entertainment spots (“showplace” and brothel), blacksmith shop and numerous dwellings for families and miners. Those ranged from houses (some had a fireplace), to piles of rocks stacked up on a rock wall, blasted out caves, and many made home sweet home in a mine. Through the years these structures were recycled, moved, fixed up, burned down, and some were left to just fall apart.

 

Flora Temple mine

Castle Dome and Flora Temple Mines – the old Castle Dome claim with at least 7 shafts was patented in 1876 whereas the Flora Temple mine has the distinction of being the second claim ever patented in Arizona in 1871. The hopper is all that is left.

Though prospecting and planning commenced years earlier, modern mining in the area didn't begin in earnest until 1869 due to hostilities with Native Americans.

Mine windlass painting on display at Castle Dome

Castle Dome’s silver averaged about 45 oz. per ton, which was enough silver to assure the miners of a good profit. Lead is a bi-product and “helped” the profits. However, in the 19^th century, the mines would not have been successful with just lead.

 

Flora Temple Bar ca. 1871 - Note lead-pane glass window trim.

That all changed during WW1 and WW2. The lead was the metal needed for the war effort. There were more people living in Castle Dome City during the years of those two wars than had lived in the area at the time silver mining was big.

 

Hotel & Stagecoach Depot

The Castle Dome District had 300 major mines.

 

Hotel lobby display

From 1864 to 1979 the district’s ore was mined successfully. However, in 1976 the price of silver plummeted it was no longer profitable to mine silver-galena; the process to separate the silver from the lead cost more than the silver was worth. Thus, Castle Dome’s mines closed.  For the most part the town was abandoned. Eventually Fish and Wildlife decided to demolish all that was left (except for Big Eye mine).

Using old photographs from earlier times, Castle Dome City today has been restored to represent what it was like before it was demolished, although many of the buildings are closer together than they were originally.

Sources:

Castle Dome Mining Museum displays

Armstrong, Stephanie, Only the Rugged Need Reply-The History of the Castle Dome Mining District

Wikipedia

I chose to write about Castle Dome because it is a silver mining town, the same as the hypothetical silver mining town, Jubilee Springs, Colorado, the locality of the Sweethearts of Jubilee Springs series. That said, my most recently-published novella in this series, Evasive Eddie Joe, is about a cowboy who works for the Jacobson Ranch in nearby Monarch Bend. Eddie Joe does come to Jubilee Springs the day of the Harvest Dance to meet his bride he sent for, which stirs up a controversy with the miners waiting for brides. 

To read more about or purchase Evasive Eddie Joe please CLICK HERE.

This is my second book in the Harvest Dance cluster. My first is Dead Set Delphinia. To read more about this book, please CLICK HERE.

BONE-SETTERS & A SHORT HISTORY OF CASTS

By Kathryn Albright

   
In books or movies of the Old West, someone with a broken leg or arm will often have their injury splinted with sticks for immobilization. Usually this is “out in the bush,” but for my next book in the Oak Grove Series, The Prairie Doctor’s Bride, this method wouldn’t work.
   
When a cantankerous mule at the livery kicks Wally Brown, Doctor Graham must set the fracture of his lower arm in his home office. Now, Doctor Graham was not a lay doctor or bone-setter (a barber or in a pinch, the blacksmith.) He attended a prestigious school back east in Boston, and then had several years of experience, employed by the Kansas-Pacific Railroad Company to attend the men building the railroad. So, I had to find out a little more about the history of care for fractures.
   

The earliest known care for a broken bone (after resetting) dates back to the early Egyptians of the 5th Dynasty (2400 B.C.) Hippocrates, a physician of the 4th century BC, wrote about immobilizing the bone to let it heal and also having the injured person do specific exercises to prevent atrophy of the muscles. His writings spoke of using cloth soaked in resin and wax. A little later on, starch was added to assist with quicker hardening. Throughout the next 1500 years, different solutions and pastes were used, such as egg whites, clay, and gum mixtures.If a person had a broken bone, they did a LOT of laying around.

Plaster of Paris had been used as a building material for centuries, but in the early 19th century, it became widely used for immobilizing broken bones. The injured limb would be reset and placed inside a wooden box and then the plaster poured over it, encasing the leg or arm in a rigid sleeve. This was heavy and made it impossible for the injured person to move.

Then in the 1830s, Louis Seutin, a doctor in the Belgian army, used strips of linen and carton (or pasteboard) splints that were wet and molded to the limb. The limb was then wrapped in bandages and coated with a starch solution and allowed to dry.

GAUZE COATED WITH PLASTER OF PARIS

Building on Seutin’s work, Antonious Mathijsen, a medical doctor in the Dutch army, found that strips of coarse cotton cloth into which dry plaster of Paris had been rubbed, could be applied and then moistened with a sponge or brush. The cast would harden as it was rubbed and would dry in minutes. Another version of this would be to very carefully dip the dressing or cloth into a bucket of water, so as not to dislodge the plaster of Paris already rubbed into the cloth, and then apply it to the limb. This lighter-weight, smaller cast made it possible for a person to move about while a bone healed.

WALKING CAST

Mathijsent wrote about his method and it was published in 1852 in a medical magazine, Repertorium. This became the standard for setting broken bones until 1950 with only a few minor changes—ie: the use of shellac to make the cast water-resistant. And alterations such as this picture--with a stub to enable walking and yet keeping the cast dry and clean.

So – knowing this – I could finally write the scene where Doc Graham took care of Wally Brown’s arm and actually used a plaster of Paris cast! I hope you find this interesting. I do – but then I have always been fascinated with the history of medicine.

If you are interested in more information, here are a few links to check out:

http://hankeringforhistory.com/history-of-the-cast/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5420179
https://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2010/10/08/setting-a-broken-bone-19th-century-medical-treatment-was-not-for-sissies
   

* * * * * * * *

Coming in December! 

    Nelson Graham has had every advantage in life.
Is it possible for this Boston-trained doctor and a woman who “lives off the land”
to find any common ground?

For more information on this book and others, please visit and follow ~

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