Writing is something I've enjoyed since I was a young girl and my Grandma Schade
captured my imagination with her stories of riding cross-country on the tailgate of her parents' covered wagon, her bare feet dangling.
She could not have known the inspiration and passion for storytelling that she was building within me
all those years ago.
The 19th century period of American
history which included the "Old West" is my particular passion - though I am intrigued by history of any era.
As I go through my days, I often contemplate what life must have been like for those brave souls who lived in times past. In our high school history classes, we all read of the wagon trains that traversed the Oregon, California and Santa Fe Trails. We have watched the western movies and TV shows. We know they wore Stetsons and leather boots, rode horses, and strapped Colt .45's around their middle. The cowboys were rough and daring - they captured my heart.
Whole families of pioneers made their way west over barely visible paths to settle a wild & untamed
land, the women & children following their men. The splendid and enduring Native Americans
fought for the right to life as their people had always had known it.
We could not possibly comprehend their
fear, their anxieties, their struggles day-to-day just to stay alive.
Like giving birth, one cannot truly know the experience unless one has lived it.
Whether wrangler
or farmer, doctor or dressmaker,
those who settled this land were survivors in the fullest sense of the word.
They did what they must to
ensure their family's safety & survival.
They didn't intend to be brave. They just were.
To read a small sampling of my writing, you may check out the Portfolio Page.
I hope you enjoy something there, and I am humbled by your doing so.
We know they wore Stetsons and leather boots, rode horses, and strapped Colt .45's around their middle. The cowboys were rough and daring - they captured my heart. 
