I was four years old in 1969 when Mom decided it was time for me to attend our local nursery school several mornings a week. In those days there was no pre-kindergarten, but nursery school served much the same purpose. I was apprehensive, like most of the little children meeting ...

Remember “the look” from childhood? It could be scary, but it could also be a strong deterrent from getting into mischief or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Most of our parents were really good at it! Teachers often had some of those same looks, turning their attention ...

Consider the life of a pioneer wife. They rose before the sun, often weary from the last day’s work. They pinned their long hair back from their faces, dressed in their layers, and pulled on an apron to start another day. Many of them had traveled long journeys just to ...

The local newspapers of the early 20th century were filled with town gossip, wedding announcements, death notices, and stories of gay parties. When my great grandparents packed all of their belongings, leaving Illinois for a rural life in northern Indiana in the spring of 1912, they received a lovely farewell ...

Remember the monsters of childhood, those dark figures with long, spindly fingers, or the giant, hairy beasts that popped out from behind a closet door or a tree in your backyard? The illusive boogey man has terrified children around the world since the 1500s. I remember stories about this dark, ...