Pam Crooks

Pam has written 30 romances, most of them historical westerns, but she's proud of her contemporary sweet romances featuring the Blackstone Ranch series published by Tule Publishing, too! Stay up on the latest at www.pamcrooks.com

Teach the Children

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Does anyone feel like the true meaning of Christmas is a little bit lost?

Okay.  Alot lost?

Christmas has become more of a retailer’s phenomenon than a religious holiday destined to remind us of why we’re here on this earth.  While we make ourselves crazy shopping, we forget why Jesus was born, what He would grow up to do.  We don’t think of salvation, compassion, or good will toward men.

If we’re not careful, the true meaning will be forever lost in the commercialism.  That’s why we have to start with the youngest of our humanity.  The future generations. 

Our children.

Years ago, my sister-in-law gave each of us a red bag filled with trinkets.   They came with a story, too, which never fails to choke me up.

I’d like to share that story with you today. 

 

Just a week before Christmas, I had a visitor. This is how it happened. I had just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door of the front room, and to my surprise, Santa Claus himself stepped out from behind the Christmas tree. He placed his fingers over his mouth so I would not cry out.

“What are you doing?” I started to ask, but the words lodged in my throat as I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone…gone was the eager, boisterous soul we all know.

He then answered with a simple statement of “teach the children”. I was puzzled. What did he mean? He anticipated my question and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree. As I stood there bewildered, Santa said again, “Teach the children. Teach them the meaning of Christmas…the meanings that Christmas nowadays has forgotten.”

I started to say, “How can I…” when Santa reached into the toy bag and pulled out a shining star.

“Teach the children the star was the heavenly sign of promise long ages ago. God promised a Savior for the world and the star was a sign of the fulfillment of that promise. The countless shining stars at night, one for each man, now show the burning hope of all mankind.” Santa gently laid the star upon the fireplace mantle and drew forth from the bag a red Christmas tree ornament.

“Teach the children red is the first color of Christmas. It was first used by the faithful people to remind them of the blood which was shed for all the people by the Savior. Christ gave His life and shed His blood that every man might have God’s gift of Eternal Life. Red is deep, intense, vivid…it is the greatest color of all. It is the symbol of the gift of God.”

“Teach the children,” he said as he dislodged a small Christmas tree from the depths of the toy bag. He placed it before the mantle and gently hung the red ornament on it. The deep green of the fir tree was a perfect background for the ornament. Here was the second color of Christmas.

“The pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round,” he said. “This depicts the everlasting hope of mankind. Green is the youthful, hopeful, abundant color of nature. All needles point Heavenward, symbols of man’s returning thoughts toward Heaven. The great green tree has been man’s best friend. It has sheltered him, warmed him, made beauty for him.”

Suddenly I heard a soft tinkling sound.

“Teach the children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell, it should ring for a man to return to the fold. It means guidance and return. It further signifies that all are precious in the eyes of the Lord.” As the soft sound of the bell faded into the night, Santa drew forth a candle. He placed it on the mantle and the soft glow from its tiny flame cast a glow about the darkened room. Odd shapes in shadows slowly danced and weaved upon the walls.

“Teach the children,” whispered Santa, “that the candle shows man’s thanks for the star of long ago. Its small light is the mirror of starlight. At first candles were placed on the trees. They were like many glowing stars shining against the dark green. The colored lights now take over in remembrance.”

Santa turned the small Christmas tree lights on and picked up a gift from underneath the tree. He pointed to the large bow and said, “A bow is placed on a present to remind us of the brotherhood of man. We should remember that the bow is tied as men should be tied, all of us together, with the bonds of goodwill toward each other. Goodwill forever is the message of the bow.”

Santa slung his bag over his shoulder and began to reach for the candy cane placed high upon the tree. He unfastened it and reached out toward me with it.

“Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherd’s crook. The crook on the staff helps bring back the strayed sheep to the flock. The candy cane represents the helping hand we should show at Christmas time. The candy candy cane is the symbol that we are our brothers’ keepers.

As Santa looked about the room, a feeling of satisfaction shone in his face. He read wonderment in my eyes, and I am sure he sensed my admiration on this night.

He reached into his bag and brought forth a holly wreath. He placed it on the door and said, “Please teach the children the wreath symbolizes the eternal nature of love; it never ceases, stops, or ends. It is one continuous round of affection. The wreath does double duty. It is made of many things and in many colors. It should remind us of all the things of Christmas.

Please teach the children.”

 

Do you try to keep the true meaning of Christmas alive at your house?  How?  What customs do you do–or used to do–that would help you and your children remember what the Season is truly about?

By the way–Santa’s story and his red bag of trinkets makes a wonderful treasured family heirloom.  Feel free to make this story your gift to someone you love!

The Fillies will be taking a well-deserved break for a couple of weeks.  I’ll be back the first Wednesday in January.  Until then . . .

May you have the most joyful of Christmases filled with the light from God’s love!

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My Glam Gloves Winner!

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Tanya Hanson–Yee-Haw!

Tanya, these are perfect for a bridal shower gift for your daughter, and I’m as happy as a goat in a briar patch to be able to send them to you!

Email me at pacrooks@radiks.net and we’ll hash out the details.

Thank you, everyone, for stopping by Wildflower Junction today!  I hope this little idea helped make some of your shopping easier!

Need a Gift Idea? Go for the Glam!

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Okay. It happens to all of us one Christmas or another. We have to buy something for someone who has everything. You know, for the woman who constantly splurges on herself. She doesn’t need a thing. Or worse, she has all the latest trends, and you don’t have a clue what the latest trend is. Or you have to buy for a woman who has a gazillion times more money than you’ll ever have, and what could you possibly buy her that would be worthy?

Maybe I can help.

Several years ago, while watching the Today Show, I became quite enamored with a pair of cleaning gloves that were being shown in conjunction with a segment on housecleaning tips. Now these weren’t your ordinary, run-of-the-mill yellow Playtex gloves that you find for a couple of bucks at your local grocery store.

These were decorated, outrageously glamorous, FUN cleaning gloves. I became so enamored I just had to have a pair. And I never wear cleaning gloves. At least, back then I didn’t.

It took some sleuthing, let me tell you. I scoured (pardon the pun) the entire city of Omaha looking for them. I wanted pink. And I wanted fun. I couldn’t find anything that was remotely similar, but I wasn’t going to settle. I eventually found a pair that were so expensive I didn’t dare dip them in water, let alone into a dirty toilet.

So I decided to make my own for a fraction of the cost. In the time since, I’ve made dozens of these hand gloves. I’ve given them as gifts, and I’ve sold them, and I swear, every woman who has ever laid eyes on these paired darlings has laughed, rolled her eyes and fallen in love with them, one way or the other.

Here’s how to make the glamorous cuff:

Cut 2 pieces of fabric, 8 1/2 by 13 inches. But make sure these measurements fit your gloves. You may have to adjust slightly. ( In this version, I used pink and black leopard print pile. If you use a thinner fabric, you may need to use interfacing.) Fold the fabric in half, right sides together. Sew the side opposite the fold with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Turn and fold in half. Zig-zag rough edges together.

Tuck the cuff inside the glove. Note: the cuff’s seam should be opposite the glove’s thumb. The zig-zagged edge should line up with the outside edge of the glove. Sew with a narrow seam.

Turn. Attach narrow boa with hot glue gun near top edge of glove.

And that’s it!

I’ve added big rhinestones to the ring finger for fun, too. I’ve varied the cuff, the fabrics, added buttons, bows, whatever look that happens to grab me. All told, the leopard print has been a big favorite, but here’s a couple more I’ve done.

A glamorous gift for the woman who has everything–or one who just wants to protect her manicure.  🙂

I’ll give away a pair of my glam gloves to a commenter who tells me why she’d like a pair, or tells me why they’d be the perfect gift for that hard-to-buy someone.  Or, if you want the gloves for yourself, tell me that–and why–too!

Ho-ho-ho!

One Man's Junk, Another Man's Treasure–True Stories from the Field!

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Here in Omaha, we’re winding down with Garage Sale season. After all, it’s mid-November, and Nebraska can be downright cold and snowy this time of year. But the weather lately has been mild, and we managed to squeak in a garage sale just a couple of weeks ago.

Now, the women in my family have this garage sale thing down to a science. We know what we have to do, and we all take turns doing it. We almost always have our sales in spring, before school gets out. And our secret weapon is my sister’s house. And I mean secret with a capital ‘S’.

She lives on a corner on a busy through-street, across from a school, and catty-wampus from a church and pre-school. This corner gets TRAFFIC. All we have to do is put up a few signs and balloons and folks come calling. Even better, we’ve developed a reputation over the years that this multi-family of mine has good STUFF to sell. And we sell it cheap.

Now note that I am so not a garage saler. I love having them (most of the time), but I never, ever go to them. It’s just not my thing. But folks love them, and they come to ours in all ages and nationalities.

Every garage sale has it’s own personality, and we’ve been at this so long, we’ve accumulated quite a few stories to tuck under our belts. Here’s a few:

**Like the time when a twenty-something young man bought my daughter’s coat. This was when girls liked the baggy, masculine look, and her coat was a good fit for him. He bought it for a few bucks and left. Well, you can imagine my surprise when he came back a little while later with a big grin on his face. He proceeded to tell me he’d found two $20 bills in the pocket. And he wasn’t there to give them back, either.

I gasped in shock. “Shame on you. My daughter worked HARD for that money!”

He only smirked. “Finders-keepers.”

And he walked off. I just wanted to smack that arrogant smirk right off him. The mother in me really thought he should’ve returned the money.

*I* would have. I think. Would you?

**Another of my sisters sold her husband’s snow blower. It was a big one, and a city employee had bought it. But he couldn’t lift it, nor could he fit it into his vehicle, so a short time later, he returned with an official City of Omaha bobcat, lowered the bucket and scooped that snowblower right in. It was funny seeing the bobcat lumber off with the snowblower.

**One year, we had so much traffic, cars were parked on both sides of the street and other cars couldn’t get through. A cop happened by, pulled over and got the street cleared again. Then he figured as long as he was there, he’d have himself a look around. He drove off with my dad’s sawhorses in the trunk.

**At this last sale, a female bus driver pulled up and opened the bus’ door.

“Is that a dog bed you got there?” she called.

My sister walked toward her. “Yes.”

“I can’t get off the bus, and no one can get on. Hold it up so I can see it.”

Barb did–and held up a cat’s bed, too.

“I’ll take them.”

Sold! And the buyer never left her steering wheel.

**Likewise, a young woman of color and her friend stopped at the end of the driveway. The friend got out and moseyed through our treasures, but she didn’t get far before the young woman called from the open car window.

“What’s in the bag?”

Now this was a very non-descript vinyl bag. I have no idea why she even noticed the thing, let alone wanted to know what was inside it.

We were in the garage, but we yelled back and told her it was a queen-size air mattress. She asked how to blow it up. We yelled you had to pump the pedal.

“I’ll take it.”

Her friend paid the $2 for her. She never got out of the car, never looked the mattress over, never even touched it–or asked any more questions.

If she had, we would’ve told her the mattress had a teensy little leak that was just about impossible to find. Oh, well. I guess whomever slept on it would know all about that leak when they woke up in the morning.

**Another secret weapon is my 75-year-old mother. She takes our garage sales seriously, and she considers every person who steps foot in the driveway as a potential sale. She’s quick to ask what they’re looking for, and if they’re only browsing, she’ll suggest any number of our treasures for them to buy. She’s our best salesman, even if she’s a bit pushy.

The last few hours before our garage sales end, we sell everything half-price. It’s funny watching my mother sell our stuff to unsuspecting Hispanics, and if they don’t speak English, well, it’s beyond hilarious.

“HALF-PRICE,” she yells, waving her arms up and down, trying to make them understand. “EVERYTHING HALF-PRICE. CAPISCE?“

She’s so intent on trying to communicate, she doesn’t realize she’s speaking one of the few Italian words she knows, and if the good-hearted Mexicans noticed, or understood her mistake, or took offense from her posturing, they never let-on. And yes, Hispanics are some of our best customers.

**Then there are those warm fuzzy moments when our cast-offs truly are someone’s treasure. This year’s sale happened to fall on Halloween, and a young couple came to a screeching halt in front of the driveway.

“Are those Power Rangers costumes hanging over there?” the woman shouted.

“Yes.”

She squealed and jumped out of the car, her male companion right on her heels. She took one look at the two costumes, still with their tags on, and whipped out a couple of $5 bills.

“We’ve been looking everywhere for these, and costumes are sooo expensive. Oh, thank you!”

We had no idea if the sizes happened to be what she was looking for. We suspect she was just so glad to have them for her little boys, she’d MAKE them fit. Yeah, we basked in the warm glow of that sale.

So how about you? Are you an ardent bargain finder? Love having garage sales? Love going to them? Have a story to tell? Please share!

Only a few more weeks for our Holiday Hoedown Contest, too! Just click on the link on the sidebar!

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When Housewives Volunteer

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Last week, I got a title on the book I wrote this past summer.  THE CATTLEMAN’S UNSUITABLE WIFE will be released in May, 2009, and will be the featured western in Harlequin Historical’s 60th Anniversary line-up.   Yee-haw!

You might recall I wrote a blog about researching for this book.  Despite what the title implies, it’s about sheep.  The heroine’s family are Basque sheepherders, and her brother is the bastard son of a cattleman.  Sheepherders and cattlemen clashed and made for some mighty strong feuds back in the Old West days, and it was fun to write Trey and Zurina’s story.  Now that the book is finished and winging its way into the edits stage, it’s time for me to think about my next project.

This one will be a Christmas anthology that I’ll be sharing with our own Elizabeth Lane and Carol Finch.  Our theme is “Coming Home for Christmas”, and it’ll be released in October, 2009.  Since that will be only 4 months after THE CATTLEMAN’S UNSUITABLE WIFE, I wanted to give Zurina’s brother his own story while he’s fresh in readers’ minds.  I’ve paired him up with another character in THE CATTLEMAN’S UNSUITABLE WIFE, the lovely and slightly inebriated Allethaire.  

Which of course, threw me into another bout of researching.  With Allethaire being wealthy and having no need to work to support herself, I had to give her something to do.  That something was community service.

Men got all the glory when it came to settling the frontier, but it was the women who worked behind the scenes to give their towns personality and life.  They volunteered countless hours shaping their communities into a place where their children would be educated and their families would prosper.  As one Utah pioneer claimed, the men “built the bridges and killed the bears,” but “women worked just as hard in their way.”  A Colorado woman in the 1800’s wrote how “women were the backbone of the church, the backbone of the family, they were the backbone of social life–everything.”

Whether they lived on the range or were comfortably settled in town, housewives banded together to raise funds to create and maintain institutions that would fill educational, religious, medical and social needs.  They formed women’s groups (or clubs, if you will) that accomplished amazing things–and empowered them all along the way.  Here’s a few of the women’s clubs I found:

The State Housekeepers Society of Bozeman, Montana.   With a motto of “Our Kingdom is Our Home,” these ladies preserved history and organized endeavors to improve lighting on city streets and in parks.

The Helena Improvement Society kept sidewalks clean, tended trees and trails and formed a city park system.

The Deep Creek Ladies Aid of South Dakota worked hard to collect money to build a Norwegian Lutheran Church.   They furnished and maintained the pews, the pulpit, the altar ring, and baptismal font, then went on to support the parochial school teachers, bought books, then zealously and without fail attended every service.

The Montana Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs improved playgrounds and housing for blacks, and eased racial tensions when needed.  Most notably in the Northwest, their gatherings enriched the black woman’s life through church groups, literary, art and musical groups.  Also, self-improvement societies, auxiliaries, sororities and reform associations. 

The Morman Female Relief Society formed on behalf of Brigham Young’s desire to keep his followers self-sustaining.  These women organized silkworm associations which taught how to raise the worms, then weave the silk into fabric for their own dresses, handkerchiefs, stockings, thread and lace.

Of course, I can’t not include the women’s temperance groups like The Women’s Temperance Prayer League in Portland and the infamous Women’s Christian Temperance Union who fought and risked their lives to eradicate alcohol and saloons.  Likewise, groups similar to Seattle’s Female Suffrage Society who became politically involved to give themselves and their sisters the right to vote.

Ladies clubs continue to thrive and are as diverse as the women themselves.  Ranging from junior leagues to sports associations, women’s groups have made America the fine country it is today!

So how about you?  Are you currently in some kind of a woman’s club?  What has been your favorite?  Your most meaningful?  Most fun?

For me, the first one to come to mind is La Leche League.  Back when I was having my babies, I was a die-hard nursing mom.  Those years were happy ones, when I was surrounded by other moms just like me with the same ideals for raising and caring for our babies.   🙂

A Cowboy for President!

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Our presidential election is coming up in a few weeks, and it’s interesting to note just how much influence the West has had on this nation’s leaders.  Of course, in George Washington’s time, there wasn’t much of a West to note, but as the nineteenth century rolled into the twentieth, several presidents indulged in the fantasy . . . of being a cowboy. 

For example, Calvin Coolidge possessed an electrically-operated horse.  He also invited Tom Mix, a cowboy movie star at the time, to dinner at the White House.  And while visiting the Black Hills in 1929, he decked himself out in a tall Hoot Gibson-style hat, neckerchief, shirt, and batwing chaps strapped on over his dark, very president-like suit pants, then had his picture taken to show it all off.

Lyndon Johnson wore a Stetson and has often been photographed astride a horse in a suit and tie.  He ran a few cattle on his acreage, but was definitely more politician than rancher.

We all remember Ronald Reagan.  As a handsome actor with a disarming smile, he appeared on the big screen and television, landing notable western roles in Santa Fe Trail , Death Valley Days and Zane Gray Theater.    He owned a 688-acre ranch in California.

Yet of all of them, it was a born-and-bred New Yorker, a magna cum laude Harvard graduate and a Nobel Prize laureate that can truly and proudly claim he was more cowboy than any president before him–or after.

Can you guess who it is?

Theodore Roosevelt headed west for the first time in 1880 to partake in a hunting trip with his brother.  So enraptured with the bountiful game and the beauty of the wide-open lands, he returned several years later to hunt buffalo in Dakota Territory.  He got off the train wearing a Derby hat, a Brooks Brothers suit and thick eyeglasses.  His reputation for disdaining hard liquor, tobacco, and all but the mildest of cursing inspired much eye-rolling from the locals, but he soon endeared himself to them with his love for the open range.  He invested his fortune in cattle and in purchasing two ranches.

After a childhood fraught with sickness, he’d found an idyllic and robust life in the West and a rising political career in the East.  In 1884, while working in his Albany, NY, office, he received word his beloved wife had given birth to their daughter.  Shortly thereafter, however, he received another message–this one frantically urging him to return home.  His mother lay in the grips of typhoid fever and his wife’s kidneys had begun to fail.  Within hours of his return, both were dead.   

He struggled through his sorrow by journeying West to work his ranch, rope steers, and hunt.  He served a term as deputy sheriff in Billings County, Montana, and rode with a posse to hunt down criminals.  He earned his dream of military glory by pulling together a group of roughened riders from the West.  And as they say, the rest is history.

I could go on and on about this man.  How he created national parks and forests, wildlife refuges, bird sanctuaries and bison preserves.  How he was a prolific author (35 books).  How he was a big-game hunter and explorer.  How he’s credited with building the Panama Canal.

But in addition to all that, he had a pretty impressive lists of presidential firsts, too:

To ride in an airplane

To delve underwater in a submarine

To have a telephone in his home

To own a car

To invite an African-American to the White House (Booker T Washington)

To be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize

Yep.  He was one heck of a cowboy.  One heck of a president, too.  Ironically, he’d be 150 years old this month.

There was one more pretty darn famous thing about Teddy Roosevelt that I didn’t mention.   Can you guess what it is?

Who was your favorite president and why?

Don’t forget to enter our brand new contest–THE HOLIDAY HOEDOWN!  Just click on the Contest link on the sidebar!

Appaloosa–The Making of a Western

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As lovers of the Old West, we are truly fortunate to have another Western film release so close on the heels of “Broken Trail” and “3:10 to Yuma”.  Yay!  I’d only recently heard of the movie–right here on P & P as a matter of fact!–so you can imagine my curiosity to learn more about it.  The film is just now being shown in theaters, and I found it interesting how “Appaloosa” came about.

If you thought the story is about a horse–nope!  You’re wrong.  Appaloosa is a tiny town needing protection and justice against a local rancher who’s been roughing up the place.  The community decides to hire a couple of gunmen who are best friends to help them out by stepping in as the law.

The movie is based on the novel of the same name, written by Robert Parker.  Actor-director Ed Harris read the book while in Ireland back in 2005.  By the time he’d read 35 pages, he was so taken with the story, he had a fervent desire to both direct and act in it.  He immediately called his agent to acquire film rights, then later met with Robert Parker to discuss the project.  Not surprisingly, Parker was honored and impressed that a man of Ed Harris’ caliber wanted to adapt his book for the screen.

Every writer’s dream, eh?

From the get-go, Harris insisted on staying as close to Parker’s story line as possible, and the screenplay was written as such.  The two main characters, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, gave the story its depth and meaning.  If you’re looking for a movie busting with special effects and non-stop action, you won’t find it in Appaloosa.  Harris falls back on the westerns we remember by using a less hurried pace and more focus on the characters.

Ed Harris admits the screenplay was a tough sell since few westerns are made these days and don’t fare as well overseas.  Today’s actors, in their 20s and 30s, never cut their eye teeth on westerns, either, as the previous generation had.  These factors, along with a mega-budget of $20 million, had production companies dragging their feet.

Eventually, however, Ed Harris wrestled financing and film distribution into place and turned his attentions to casting.  With Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch the crucial thrust of the story, Harris knew he needed a strong presence to work beside him.  He’d taken on the role of Cole–the first person he thought of for Hitch?  His ol’ buddy, Viggo Mortensen.  Viggo agreed to do the project, but his tight schedule pushed Harris’ project back until Viggo could squeeze some time in to start shooting.

Next, Harris set out to woo Renee Zellweger to play the part of Allie, a woman of questionable character and indiscretions who feels she must align herself with the most powerful man to survive.  Renee fell in love with the part and signed on.

Intense research into the period of the 1880s compelled Ed Harris to choose a villain who was less a thug but more like the thousands of immigrants pouring into this country at the time.  Jeremy Irons, a British actor, fit the image Harris created, and with that, his cast was complete.

Last October, near Austin, Texas, filming began, eventually moving to Ford Ranch outside of Santa Fe.  I found it interesting that the same set was used for Russell Crowe’s “3:10 to Yuma”, completely transformed, of course, into the town of Appaloosa.

A well-regarded cinematographer highlighted the landscape and its expansive beauty, key in giving the film a strong Western look and feel.  Both Viggo Mortensen and Renee Zellweger praise Ed Harris for keeping the film slower, simpler, to really ‘see’ the characters, the landscape, and of course, Appaloosa itself.

“I just tried to cut to the chase and articulate the characters and their relationships and keep the action moving,” Harris says.  “Hopefully, it’s an entertaining adventure.”

Indeed!  I can hardly wait to see another Western on the full screen! 

How about you?  Have you seen Appaloosa yet?  Will you be going?

What kind of non-western movies do you prefer?   Do you like the high-tech special effects?  Lots of action and violence?  Or are you more into tear-jerking chick-flicks? 

I’ll add that Titanic is probably my favorite movie of all I’ve seen, but I’ve seen Wizard of Oz the most times in my life.  The biggest tear-jerker had to be Love Story with Ryan O’Neal.

What’s your favorite movie ever?

 

Why We Love Being a Filly!

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Wow. It’s been one year since the Fillies settled in at Wildflower Junction and opened our doors to all of you out there. We’ve been looking forward to celebrating our milestone birthday for weeks now, so it’s only natural that a bit of deep-from-the-heart ruminating goes right along with it.

Mainly, why we love being a Filly.

Petticoats and Pistols has truly been a part of me from its inception almost a year and a half ago. It’s a constant commitment, but only from hard work can anyone expect any rewards. Sure, our hits are climbing, our books are selling, we’ve done a good job spreading the word about western romances–not just our own, but scores of other authors, too–and we’ve made so many wonderful friends with you, our dear readers. Yet the Fillies are the biggest reward for me. We’ve become a family. We laugh together, stress together, work together–and Petticoats & Pistols wouldn’t be the success it is today without each and every one of them. The Fillies are the best! Yee-haw!

—-Pam

This is the greatest, most supportive group of women I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. Not only are the Fillies great to work with, but I enjoy their marvelous, informative and fun blogs each and every day too. I love seeing new faces on the blog and enjoy our regular, die-hard fans who come back every day to add their comments at Wildflower Junction. I think we’ve created a special bond with all of you! Heartfelt thanks goes to Pam Crooks for all she does, along with so many of the hard-working, talented authors I get to be associated with on a daily basis!

Now, if I only knew what my next blog would be about … 🙂

—-Charlene Sands

The more I learn about Western Romance, the more I love it. And the more of these blog posts I read, the more I know about all the details that make a good western romance great.
I consider my year on Petticoats & Pistols to be an education, a social life and a delight.
These Fillies know so many things that have made my writing better. And writing these blog posts has been pure fun for me. Except I do tend to go on rants in my posts. Can’t seem to control that. 🙂

—-Mary

To me, Petticoats and Pistols is like a “Sisterhood of the Traveling Blogs.” I love being a Filly and it’s helped build name recognition. With it being quite a while since my last single title was out, blogging here keeps my name fresh and in the minds of readers. And I don’t think I’ve ever met a more caring warm group of ladies to be associated with.

—-Linda

Through my participation at Petticoats and Pistols over the past year, I have met and worked with some incredible people. The Fillies are extraordinary ladies who have contributed much time, effort and heart to make this site work. We have evolved since our beginning. Looking back to our months with Lorraine Heath and Geralyn Dawson, I want to say what an honor it was to have them with us for our launch.

Then there are the wonderful readers who are the reason we are here and who inspire us to keep things fresh and exciting. Not only am I able to interact with the readers and writers who so faithfully blog with us, but I have also been privileged to work with our guest authors in setting up their weekend appearances. Our guests are the most special people one could hope to meet. Some I’d never met before, others were long-time friends, but I remember each of them as adding something unique to our community.

When thinking about what being a Filly has meant to me, I’m thankful for the opportunity to interact with exceptional people. I’m looking forward to the next year!

—-Cheryl

Being a Filly is just plain fun.   I love being a part of something that is so upbeat.  It has a lot to do with the charm and personalities of the other authors, which shines through in their blogs.  Behind the scenes, the women are just as funny and supportive.  So are the readers!  We couldn’t do any of this without you–people who take a break in their daily schedule to come and read what’s new, share a laugh, and learn something about the Wild West and our own family histories.  When the business side of publishing intrudes, Petticoats and Pistols is a place where we can concentrate on the joy of writing.

—-Kate

The call of Western Romance is deep in my blood. Not only do I love the genre, I have always loved the authors who write about it. When approached to be a part of this blog, it was like a dream come true. Not only did I get to blog with women whom I deeply respect, but I was presented with an opportunity to get to know each of these wonderful writers even better.

Yes, I’m an author, but I’m also a reader and a fan and so this has been like a little bit of heaven for me. Because I write Native American Historical Romance, my heroes are Indians and very rarely cowboys. But to me, the cowboy represents what the Native American became as the incoming civilization took root around him. To this day, Native America is steeply rooted in the cowboy legend, kept alive with pow-wows and rodeos and ranching.

I love being a part of this. My deepest thanks and respect goes out to each and every Filly.

—-Karen

My favorite thing about being a Filly is the connection with nine wonderful authors who are always teaching me new things, making me smile and occasionally bringing a tear or two.  What strong, amazing women!  And I love connecting with readers as well.  My favorite moments come when I bring up something so obscure that I think no one will remember it, let alone relate to it.  Then I get these responses from people who’ve been touched by the same thing.  That’s a real connection. 

Thanks, everyone, for making this past year one of my best ever!

—-Elizabeth

I am truly honored to be a part of Petticoats & Pistols. When Pam first mentioned her idea to create a group blog of western authors my heart leapt with excitement at the mere thought of an all western blog forum. As a long-time reader and lover of western romances, this was something I had longed to see–a cyber home for those who LOVE WESTERNS. Being a starry-eyed new author, to be included with such an amazing group of authors whose work I admire has been a huge thrill — as well as completely terrifying *g*. The culmination of all that fear and excitement has become a true joy in my life.

P&P is entwined with the start of my author journey and my fellow fillies have been an inspiring source of support and friendship. What I love most about being a filly ~ the wonderful interaction and energy our readers bring to the blog and the sharing of historical information that never fails to amaze me. I love having a place to go that’s fun, positive, informative and (of course) full of hunky cowboy inspiration.

Thanks to all for an incredible year, and wishing us many, many more 🙂

—-Stacey

I’ve loved being a part of the Fillies this past year. The excitement, enthusiasm, knowledge and support of my fellow Fillies and our community of writers and readers have been a joy. I’ve learned so much and have so enjoyed sharing my interest and love of the West.

Wishing all of you a second great year!

—-Patricia

There you have it, dear friends!  Our heartfelt feelings not only about each other, but also about YOU!

Now, let us know–have you enjoyed our first year as much as we have? 

Can we make our second year even better? 

What would you like to see on Petticoats & Pistols?  Anything different?

Back to School–1800’s Style!

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By now, schools across the country are back in session. A year ago this time, I lamented here on Petticoats & Pistols how my last little chicky had entered college, and that Doug and I were empty-nesters after 31 years. Now that Amy is in her sophomore year, I’ve adjusted well to a quiet house (and yeah, I like it, as many of you said I would. In fact, I like it alot. LOL).

Still, it’s strange not to watch the weekly ads for specials on spiral notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers and backbacks. I miss that anticipation of school starting up again, visiting the uniform store (my daughters went to parochial schools and thus wore unforms), and stocking up on new underwear, socks and sturdy tennis shoes.

Historical writer that I am, and being the mother of two schoolteachers, and of a daughter employed at Creighton University, I’ve been thinking of what going back to school was like for nineteenth century students and their teachers in the West.

Up until the Civil War, teachers were usually male, but the country’s economy forced many of the men to leave teaching for higher paying jobs. Women well knew the importance of education for their children and refused to let them grow up uneducated on the expanding frontier.

Girls barely older than fifteen years gathered up their courage and answered the cry for schoolma’ams. If they didn’t already live in the region, they headed west and filled those desperate slots in schoolrooms often crude, cold or hot, and always small.

She had to convince her County Superintendent she was of good moral character, and that she would teach school in ‘a faithful and efficient manner.’ She had to be single–and if anyone knows why she couldn’t be married, I’d love to know. Fillies?? To earn a coveted teaching certificate, the women had to attain at least a 70% (considered lenient by today’s standards) on their exams in the following courses:

Mental Arithmetic
Written Arithmetic
Bookkeeping
Civil Government
Drawing Blackboard
English Composition
English Grammar
Geography
History, US
Penmanship
Physiology
Reading
Theory and Art of Teaching
Orthography

Anyone know what Orthography is? Physiology?

Passing these subjects would have earned them a ‘Teacher’s Second Grade Certificate.’ The certificate had nothing to do with teaching second grade. It merely meant she could teach primary grades. The certificate was good for six months.

If she earned a ‘Teacher’s First Grade Certicate’, she would have passed more difficult courses like Algebra, Geometry, Botany and Natural Philosophy. She would be teaching older children, and her certificate would be valid for one year.

A Third Grade Certificate was the lowest ranked and was good for only 3 months, about one school term. There was even a probational certificate for those teachers who came within 10% of passing her third grade certificate requirements. However, to renew it, she had to score higher or not be allowed to teach. That said, these requirements were left up to the county superintendent to enforce as he saw fit.

Teachers sometimes made as little as $4 to $11 per month, but others in Kansas and Nebraska earned as much as $25 month. Since school was only in session 3 – 4 months out of the year (children were needed to help with fall harvesting and spring chores like calving and planting) she was forced to either find another job during the off-months, or find a way to live a year on 4 months salary.

All that said, in the late 1800’s, the Midwest, namely Kansas and Nebraska, claimed some of the best literacy rates in the country.

Here’s an 1895 final exam, taken by eighth graders in Salina, Kansas, from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

Note that this test was five hours long. Yikes!

Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.
2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.
4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of do, lie, lay and run.
5. Define Case. Illustrate each Case.
6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.
7-10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that
you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs. What is it worth at 50 cts. per bu, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?
4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. of coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $.20 per inch?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln,Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, and 1865?

Orthography (Time, one hour)

1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic orthography,etymology, syllabication?
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, sub vocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?
4. Give four substitutes for caret ‘u’.
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final ‘e’. Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: Bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, super.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: Card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences, Cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)

1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of N.A.
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fermandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give inclination of the earth.

Were you as amazed as I was? It was very common to read of our ancestors having only an eighth grade education, but hot-diggity, with smarts like this, they probably didn’t need to go onto secondary education. At least, not like we do today.

So, do tell. Can you answer these questions? With news reports lamenting the lower than expected reading scores in some of today’s schools, do you think we should go back to nineteenth century standards of learning?

What was the hardest class you took in school? What were you a whiz at? What classes did you have back then that you wished the schools had now? Share your school experiences with us!

And don’t forget Monday, September 15th, is the last day to enter our Sizzling Summer Contest!

Petticoats & Pistols