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, ...

Traveling across the sea to foreign ports in search of fabrics, teas, shoes, and the fine wines of France, must have seemed a romantic venture to the young mariner in 19th century America!  But for the wife of a seaman, the romance of a sea life was as far away ...