Category Archives: The Writing Life

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Adventures in the Attic

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How a vintage suitcase, overflowing with 1920s-1930s jungle honeymoon adventures, birthed a book.

This photo includes invitations from the Maharaja of Jaipur and The Governor & Viscountess Goschen; a love letter from Ken; and letters home to Walla Walla from Gladys in Port Blair, Andaman Islands.

UPDATE! This blog post led to a Mid Day News story on May 31, 2020, by Prutha Bhosle: American Author Traces Her Ancestors Love Story Through Letters ~ A North Carolina-based author relies on a trunk full of letters from 1920s India and Google Earth to reconstruct a love story of her ancestors for an upcoming book~ Mid Day is called “India’s most engaging newspaper” with a reported 25 million page views per month. How exciting is that?!

A Discovery of near-100-year-old Letters

My eyes adjusted to the dim walk-up attic, sun spilling through cracks between beams. I was surrounded by yet more to purge or make agonizing decisions about. But this time I was on a hunt for one battered, square, beige suitcase — about 1930s vintage. I spied it and dragged it into better light. Heavy.

I smiled at the name Winslow, scrawled in fancy letters in black marker. I’d written that myself, back when as a teen in the 70’s I thought that old suitcase “cool”. I’d claimed it to store my stuff, including an old peace-sign necklace and a mood ring. It had since been emptied, then refilled, several times. 

A stuck-on yellow note had Pearce Papers scribbled on it. I knew the suitcase was stuffed to the gills with musty documents given to Mom when her parents (Gladys Gose Pearce and J. Kenneth Pearce) passed away. However, I’d never looked at the papers closely.

A belt was wrapped tightly around the suitcase, which was fit to burst with a weak old lock. Sure enough, when I pulled hard to uncinch the belt, the lid popped open.

Poof. Dust flew out; I sneezed. My curiosity would have to duke it out with my allergies.

I pulled out handfuls of sepia-toned photos, faded newspaper articles, and certificates. I sneezed again.

Then I found a bundle of letters, tied with a string. The top one was postmarked 1926, from India. My heart beat a little faster.

It was addressed to Thomas and Mrs. Gose, Walla Walla, Wash, USA.  It struck me that that letter had traveled across the world to a small town where everyone seemed to know Thomas – no street address was needed, and no zip code.

It’s a little miraculous that the letters are in my attic. They had been moved from at least five different homes in three states before finally landing in my house, nearly a hundred years later. It’s a testament to the Pearce hoarding instincts, often criticized but in this moment appreciated.

I gently untied the string and pulled out that first letter. “Dear Mother and Father….”  And after reading a few paragraphs, I shouted, “There you are!”

By “you” I meant Gladys — her zip, her personality, her wit and humor.  Although she had graduated from high school way back in 1915, then college in 1919, I was instantly whisked back in time as I read her words.

I could now see her, hear her, as a young woman.

Jungle Honeymoon

Prior to finding the letters, I’d wrestled with something our family called ‘the book’: typed pages bound together with a black cover, which Gladys had titled Jungle Honeymoon. Gladys, an aspiring writer, had written it in midlife in the 1960s among other stories and poems. (In the 1990s she’d asked me to help her get published and be her co-author, but at that time I was still a budding writer myself.)

The settings in Jungle Honeymoon were fascinating. Gladys described the aristocracy of the British Raj era in the 1920s and 1930s, elephant-powered logging camps, and the convict colony in the Andaman Islands.  

And oh, the stories! One described how local villagers begged Grandpa Ken to shoot a tiger that had eaten their family members. I also read about that and other exciting tales in newspaper articles about the couple after they returned to America. (There are also archived documents at the University of Washington about Grandpa’s work in India.)

While growing up, I recall Grandma Gladys telling me stories over English Breakfast tea, poured from a flowered turquoise Chinese tea set, served British-style with sugar and cream. She and the teenage me wore silk Japanese kimonos she’d bought during her steamship travels. I remember trying to avoid dipping the giant square sleeves in my tea.

Later in life, armed with an enormous VHS camera, I videotaped Grandpa Ken describing how that tiger could have done him in: he’d only had one shot in his rifle. I’m glad he won — not the tiger, or I wouldn’t be here, nor my kids nor grand-babies.

Missing Pieces

One problem I found with Jungle Honeymoon is that the funny Gladys I knew was missing. In her attempt to write as she thought an author should, her words hadn’t revealed her personality adequately. Or perhaps her words were a bit stiff because too much time had passed since her immersion in her experiences. (She came home from India in 1933 and worked on Jungle Honeymoon in the 1960s.) Since her essays needed heavy editing, I considered turning them into a work of fiction based on real life, to get more personal voice back into the stories.

Hence, my discovery of her letters was monumental. There she was: real, raw, right in the midst of those experiences! Conversational, using contractions the way people actually talk. And not wasting an ounce of precious paper space on letters that would take weeks by steamship to get home to Mother. And I found more than just letters: wedding invitations from royalty and photos that now make the words in Gladys’ letters truly come alive. 

The Birth of a New Book

At long last, I found a way for Gladys and me to coauthor a book about her her experiences. In our final book (to be published soon) you will travel vicariously along with us, alternating between her perspective in the 1920s and ’30s and my own in 2020. Now nearly a century has passed since Gladys was a young woman in India, and in the meantime new technology allows us to dig deep and richly see what she experienced in a far more advanced way than we could have, had she and I partnered in this in the 1990s.

For example, with tools like Google Earth and YouTube, together we can all pretend we are in 1920s India. Research is literally at my fingertips. While reading about a royal wedding Gladys and Ken attended, within seconds I pulled up photos from that wedding via Google. I could visualize my grandparents there, in that very room in the photos. On YouTube I can listen to music they listened to, or watch a silent film seconds after reading a 1930s letter about a “new film” Gladys recommended her mother see.

To read more fun stories, click HERE or the Jungle Diaries tab!

To not miss future stories from Gladys’s century-old diaries, Subscribe to this blog via email or Follow via WordPress Reader (if you’re logged into WordPress).

ALSO, feel free to comment with any questions or thoughts these posts provoke, and I’ll try to respond. I’d love to hear your thoughts! Let me know what country you are from, and if you also have a blog.

I hope you’ll enjoy on this blog my excerpts from some of the 100+ funny, poignant and adventurous stories from the new book by me and Gladys. You can begin with reading One Less Crocodile, 1923: Ken in the Raj, A Naughty Baby Elephant, and 1929: New Motherhood in Ooty.

Laurie

P.S. I hope you’ll join me at my Facebook Page, Laurie Winslow Sargent, Author for Readers, Writers, and the Eternally Curious to share your own thoughts about stories in vintage family memorabilia.

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Dilemma of the Multi-Genre Author

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It’s great fun for a writer to wear many different hats: to write effectively on a variety of fun topics. It keeps life interesting. But how does the multi-genre author effectively manage their brand, website, and social media pages?

That’s a trick I confess I’ve yet to manage properly. I’d love reader feedback on this dilemma!

When I began writing, it wasn’t quite so tricky. My first website I managed myself was in the 90s, on Tripod (no longer in existence, but oldies may remember it) under my author name.

Next came WordPress blogging. For parents, I had (have) my Parenting by Faith blog. For writers, it was (is) my Sell Your Nonfiction blog, on how to sell magazine articles. My articles on parenting and writing are still there; most on perennial topics, thankfully.

Well eventually my old WordPress themes became unsupported: the graphics went wacky. The switch from free WordPress.com to fee supported WordPress.org made sense, for more personal control over my material. The creation of CrossConnect Media to merge (ideally) all the weird parts of my brain on one site seemed possible. I chose the Get Noticed Theme, which had/has quite a learning curve. (It is no longer supported by the designer, but still seems to work … for now).

NOW here I go, turning into a history nut! At least a nut revolving around 95-year-old letters found in my own attic, written from an American mom in the Indian jungle, a remote island convict colony with an elephant logging camp in the 1920s. How could that NOT be irresistible to a writer?

So here I am. As if my sites are not complicated enough. It may not be as much a disconnect as it seems: a good portion of the historical biography I’m writing has to do with motherhood. And writing, of course. But if I’m not careful, this website could turn into a very strange medusa.

For now, I just keep running my old blogs and hope my social media pages add clarity to what I do, in addition to my Bio. History buffs may enjoy my Facebook page, Laurie Winslow Sargent: for Parents, Writers and the Eternally Curious with links to my Twitter page. There I’m posting some fun historical tidbits related to my research of the 1920s-1930s in British Raj India. Here, I will continue to post tips on the writing business.

If, perchance, you are a multi-genre author like myself and have successfully figured out a one-size-fits-all website for yourself, I’d love to hear about it!

Laurie

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One SWEET Magazine Article Writing Assignment

My fun interview with a Norwegian Olympic athlete

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How in the world did I, a freelance writer in the USA, get the amazing opportunity to interview a Norwegian Olympic athlete? In her own home, about a sport I’d never heard of, in a country I had never visited?

Cover of 1994 Viking Magazine with magazine article written by Laurie Winslow Sargent on Lillehammer athlete Hildegunn Fossen

Think creatively about how to find your next freelance magazine article writing assignment:

In 1990’s, my husband’s company in the USA was bought by Norwegians, so he traveled there frequently on business. When I had an opportunity to visit Norway with him, and I was thrilled!

I wondered if I might be able to garner an article assignment related to the trip. A family member told me about Viking magazine, for Sons of Norway members (people interested in Norwegian heritage) so I called the editor. She was responsive to my experience writing for other national magazines.

The editor asked if I’d be open to interviewing a Lillehammer Olympic athlete. (Of course!) She suggested that I contact the Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee. That led me to Hildegunn Fossen, a 24-year-old female biathlon (ski shooting) champion. A dynamite skier and a crack shot with a rifle, she had won the 1993 Norwegian national biathlon competition and was preparing for the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Unbelievably, in Drammen Norway we dined with a coworker who knew Hildegunn. She had been born in his city! I was told exactly where she lived, on a farm several hours away in the mountains. Serendipitously (actually I call it a God-thing), our plans already included a train journey on the Bergen Railway across the country to see the fjords. Hildegunn lived along the way!  I was able to use our preexisting train ticket, but simply hop off for a few hours, then back on. She lived only 12 minutes away from Bromma train station and fetched me to take me to her home.

For those as uniformed as I was: the biathlon for the winter Olympics is combination of skate style skiing (skoyting) and target shooting. In Norwegian, ski shooting is called ski skyting, pronounced “shee sheeting.”

Hildegunn told me that as soon as she had began walking, her folks had put her on skis. At around age twelve she learned to use a rifle. At the time of our interview, she was spending ten days a month on the slopes, practicing or traveling with the national team to competitions in Austria, Yugoslavia, Italy, and Germany. Home training included  jogging, weight lifting, mountain biking, use of road skis (short skis on wheels) on pavement, and target practice.

Curious about ski shooting? Here’s what I learned:

During a 7 1/2 kilometer ski run, the athlete (with a rifle slung over her back) has two opportunities to stop and shoot at targets 50 meters away–once while standing, the other while laying flat on a pad on the snow. The rectangular target has five holes spaced evenly. The athlete, whose rifle is loaded with only five bullets, must shoot through the center of every hole in the target. For each miss a penalty loop of 150 meters must be skied. Finishing times vary from race to race depending on wind, snow and track conditions, and how well the skis are waxed. When it is snowing hard, the athletes wear goggles, raising them to shoot while peering through the swirling snow. A flag near each target helps alter sights on the gun to compensate for wind conditions.

Hildegunn demonstrated her shooting skills for me outside her home, then showed me various interesting awards she’d been given. Most were lovely but practical objects, including a carved clock and a lovely silver goblet from King Harald.

Before I left, I was also given a tour of the farm. Their sheep would graze throughout the summer, in the hills, until rounded up in the fall. The family would shear them, sell the wool, and birth the lambs. I was amused at how when Hildegunn approached the meadow and called out, some lambs came running like puppies, bleating excitedly. One mama had been lost to a lynx so Hildegunn had bottle-fed the weakest lamb.

Bromma NorwayAfter a wonderful visit,  I hopped back on the train to catch up with my husband.

As our journey continued, we got to see the incredible Hardanger Fjord, then traveled on down to Haugesund, Norway.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, we’d later live in Haugesund for two wonderful years and have the adventure of a lifetime.

I realize now how grateful I am that Hildegunn spoke English so well. When we moved to Norway I faced some challenge in not being able to communicate well — especially difficult for a word person! You can read  On Being an Illiterate Writer to see how that temporarily affected my identity as a writer, but it also highly sensitized me to how expats from other countries may feel when they come to the USA if English is not their native language! And they may be even be expert writers in their own language.

It’s so odd to think that I can now read news about Hildegunn in Norwegian, and understand a bit of it, something I never dreamed of when I first I picked up that phone to call Viking magazine!

Also, at the time I called to see about a magazine article assignment with Viking, I wasn’t aware of any Norwegian heritage in my own family. And then my youngest daughter was born there, beginning our own heritage there. And to top it off — she’s an athlete too, now heading off to a college in the mountains to run cross-country and looking forward to skiing too.

And of all things, here it is 22 years later and I and Hildegunn, now with her own family, are connected on Facebook. She posts her family news in Norwegian, and thankfully I can understand some.  You just never know where a magazine article assignment will lead you and the long-term connections you may make because of that!

This video from Rick Steves brings back memories of our Norway in a Nutshell train ride on the Bergen Railway! (Makes me crave that brown goat cheese that tastes like caramel–yum!) Enjoy the virtual ride.

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Childcare Trades with a Work-at-Home Friend

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Have you ever considered childcare trades with other moms who write or otherwise work from home?

Here’s how it worked for me, with a few tips on how to make it work out well:

Playtime image by Lisa Runnel

I found it very helpful, when my kids were preschoolers, doing childcare trades one or two days a week with another self-employed mom.  That meant, of course, that one or two days a week I took care of someone else’s child, in exchange. But this had its perks too.

On days I had my friend’s child,  I devoted myself to playing hard with both kids, which benefited us all. And when the kids played together without me, I got caught up on household tasks.

On  days my daughter was at her friend’s home, she got to try different fun things I wouldn’t have thought of.  I think I got more writing done on those days than I do now, even with my kids all grown and the house quiet all day. There is something about being pressured to get writing done in a shorter amount of time that can be very motivating. I think I sold more articles and wrote more book chapters during these times than any other, because I knew I needed to produce writing during those precious workdays!

I traded childcare with both my daughters, at different times (they were born six years apart).  My first  daughter, Aimee, was in preschool with Eric, and really liked playing with him. It turned out his mom worked from home doing drafting and art. (See this recent article about my friend Joanne and her artwork!)  Since the kids loved being together anyway, and we had similar parenting styles, it was a win-win. Free childcare at least one day a week was wonderful for us, and the kids had a blast. We did the trades until the kids entered elementary school.

Six years later I thought it would be fun to do this again, with my youngest daughter Elisa, so I prayed for a good match. We started a church small group and a couple came who had a daughter the same age. As the girls had fun together, and my friend was also interested in writing, we then traded a day a week too, for several years. I also had the pleasure of seeing that friend’s own book published! (See my friend Barbara’s fun book, Growing Toward God: Life Lessons Inspired by the Wonderful Words of Kids.)

With both families we retained long-term friendships, and it is fun now seeing what’s happening with the kids now they are grown.

If you do the math,  one day a week of free childcare for several years adds up to quite a savings, considering typical childcare rates. But the trades also gave me a bit of extra joy each week.

I have so many fun, fond memories of my playtimes with the kids and seeing how my daughters interacted with their buddies. I still remember how Alexandra loved it when I got out the vacuum and I pretended to be a vacuum monster. I got housework done and she would giggle as I periodically swiped the vacuum at her, growling. She would ask me to get out the vacuum monster when she came over!  We also had fun making cornstarch goop. Cheap fun, and easy to clean up. We have many fun videos of the girls playing together.

My other daughter’s friend, Eric was adorable.  Funny how some of his little words and phrases stuck in my mind. He called Tyrannosaurus Rex “Meteors”  (meat-eaters) and I still do that now sometimes and laugh. He also called bad guys “bad doyes” and that also became part of our family’s  vocabulary. The kids are now all out of college yet I caught myself yesterday calling a villain in a movie a bad doye!  And I have the cutest videos of our kids dancing together at three years old.

This kind of arrangement can work out great if/when you:

1)      Pray for a good match of parenting styles and kids’ personalities.

2)      If you have more than one child and so does your friend, consider whether or not you can handle four instead of two kids. Two (my child and theirs) was perfect for me.

3)      Be willing to take a day of the week to play hard – it benefits all. But know too if you play hard and the kids still take naps you can wear them out, then get a little work done during their nap times.

4)      Be realistic about how many days you trade would be right for you without adding stress. One day a week might be perfect, two, too much. But you can alter how much you trade depending on how busy you and your friends’ workloads are at any given time.

5)      Think ahead a bit about activities to do with the kids.  I had a double stroller (a Runabout I could add a second bike seat to) and we often went on walks to town. At home I had fun things handy for the kids to get into, including an ever-expanding dress up box, art supplies, and kids’ music.

6)      Be honest about any issues that come up – keep lines of communication open. If one parent does not approve of certain types of movies, honor that. But it’s ideal if the kids aren’t plugged into the TV all day anyway. You will also want to be sure both kids are safe in each others’ homes, which could be impacted by other family members in the household. It helps to become friends with the families first and become familiar with their parenting styles and family dynamics.

7)      Let it bring out the child in you on the play days! Then on your workdays, work hard!

8)      Honor your commitments, of course, so the relationship doesn’t become lopsided. If it’s not working out, you can always stop the trades while ideally retaining the relationships.

Write on!

Laurie

[Image by greyerbaby]