Ah, the Pioneer Life! Sort of . . .

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Hi! Kit Morgan here. As I’m the newest filly in this corral of wonderful western authors, I thought I’d let you know a little more about me.

Most folks don’t realize that I grew up in a log cabin in the woods with a lovely creek flowing through the property. Back then the cabin had a fireplace and a wood cook stove, the only sources of heat. It was built as a summer cabin and had no insulation. It was made to stay cool. And it does! I live in said cabin still. My sister and I bought our older siblings out and are in the process of making the cabin better suited to year-round living.

Growing up I remember my mother cooking on wood cook stoves. The picture you see is me, seven years old, standing next to our first little stove. The second was huge, but I couldn’t find pictures of that. The electricity often went out in the winter, so having a wood cook stove meant we didn’t go without a hot meal. We used oil lamps and candles for light and had to haul water up from the creek. Our mother would then boil it so it could be used for drinking, cooking, washing and other necessities.

We had to chop and haul wood, feed the livestock and walk a mile to the school bus stop in all kinds of weather … yes, I can say I did that! We also often ate trout and steelhead fished out of our creek.

When we were older, our dad got my little sister and me horses, and playing cowboys and Indians was our favorite past time. Is it any wonder I write western romance?

Growing up in the woods away from everything gave one an appreciation of the simple things, like the pleasure of writing outdoors. Besides, I get a few visitors while working, and like to stop and watch them.

So, having lived like a pioneer (a little here and a little there) gives added insight into writing historical western romance. Though I wouldn’t want to live like that year round. It was hard enough when the power was out for days at a time. But back then we didn’t know anything else, so it wasn’t a big deal. Now I might be tempted to check into a comfy hotel if the power went out for more than a day or two! Yes, I’ve gone soft in my old age! Besides, you can’t binge watch Downton Abbey when the power’s out …

Until next time, happy reading!  Kit

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USA Today bestselling author Kit Morgan is the author of over 180 books of historical and contemporary western romance! Her stories are fun, sweet stories full of love, laughter, and just a little bit of mayhem! Kit creates her stories in her little log cabin in the woods in the Pacific Northwest. An avid reader and knitter, when not writing, she can be found with either a book or a pair of knitting needles in her hands! Oh, and the occasional smidge of chocolate!

29 thoughts on “Ah, the Pioneer Life! Sort of . . .”

  1. Welcome Kit! Thank you for sharing your very interesting story. You had a life like many people write about. I look forward to more of your stories.

  2. Welcome Kit, I’m excited to see you here with the fillies. Loved your blog. Glad you have your cabin which I know is full of memories and just waiting for you to add more to it. Have a lovely day.

  3. It is so awesome that y’all still have that cabin in the family! It sounds like its in a beautiful place. What state? If you mentioned it, I missed it. So since you ate a lot of fish as a child do you like fish now? You do have a little insight into pioneer life that many authors would not have. Loved you blog!

    • Well, I’m kinda over salmon and steelhead! I do like a good cut of halibut though. Our cabin is in Oregon, Stephanie, in a canyon with a mile long driveway. We get snowed in every year at some point. But don’t mind. I work from home now anyway. And we’ve had this place for over fifty years!

  5. I think we have all grown soft in our old age because I was raised it the country with no running water and we used an outhouse until I was about ten years old and I wouldn’t want to go back to that now.

    • Oh, I hear you! I have a wonderful research book called The Good Old Days – They Were Terrible! It’s about all the icky things folks had to live with back then, including the dangers of the outhouse! Nope, I’m with you! Though I still have to put up with the electricity going out every winter … sigh.

  6. Loved getting to know you through this post, Kit! You have a unique perspective on pioneer living having actually lived in similar conditions yourself. I got mine from watching Little House on the Prairie on TV. Ha! So excited to have you join us at P&P!

    • So wonderful to be here, Karen! We don’t have a wood cook stove anymore, but I’m sure tempted to get one at times. The power still goes out in the winter, sometimes days at a time. We have a wood stove in the kitchen that’s good for keeping a pot of hot water on or heating up a can of soup. Though I did cook a roast on top of it once (dutch oven) just to see if I could. Turned out great!

  7. Welcome Kit! Thanks for the great post. Another type of “pioneer”–my Italian immigrant grandparents. I can remember from even when I was very young that they had a wood burning stove to cook on, and their water had to be hand pumped from an outdoor well. I can remember the excitement of her first modern stove, but remembering my grandma, she probably preferred the wood stove–except for all the wood chopping! And at the same time when I was little we lived in an old farmhouse without heat so our one heater in the living room was it. I remember the big deal when we got a more modern bathroom too. All of those memories make me a real advocate of the tiny house movement for the homeless. Sorry to go on so long….

    • Yes, I remember when we got this huge white electric stove in the early 70’s. My mom was so excited. We kids were happy we didn’t have to chop kindling anymore! (My dad calls chopping wood, wood-aerobics. But wow, a water pump? Didn’t have to deal with that! I have a friend whose great aunt and uncle still have a wood cook stove, outhouse, and a water pump. They’re in their nineties now and live somewhere in Arkansas. Talk about not wanting to modernize!

  8. So happy to have you here, Kit! Welcome to the corral! You and your sister sound close — that’s wonderful! It must be special to be updating the cabin and keeping it in the family with her. So many good memories! We had to let the family farmhouse (my grandparents) go since we’d all moved away and taken city jobs.

    I’m looking forward to getting to know you better here at P&P!

    • Thanks, Kathryn! I’m so looking forward to getting to know everyone here as well! What fun this is going to be! And yes, it’s been fun tearing into the place and fixing it up. Cleaning out the attic was certainly an adventure!

  14. Love the log house and the location. We had a wood stove in our house in Colorado and made sure we had one in our old farm house here in TN. We lost power frequently when we first moved here. Our small stove kept the big house comfortable and I have no problem cooking on it. Oil lamps work just fine, but don’t help for TV and internet.
    I am so glad you and your sister were able to get title to the cabin and are making it a year round home. Not only is a really nice, but the memories mean even more. If you haven’t lived the lifestyle it is hard to imagine it. I am sure it gives your books the ring of authenticity. Good luck with your weatherizing (if that is a word) and making the cabin truly yours and your sister’s. Over time it will take on a new character even as you retain the memories and special qualities it holds.

  15. Thank you so much Kit for some of your childhood I know what is like to have a wood burning cookstove cooking on it and helping get in fire wood for the winter Myself as well as My children helped my husband do this for staying warm and just like you when the electric went out I could still cook for the family Thank you so much for sharing this you are a great Author as well as to me a great friend!

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