Category: My books

Do you associate volcanoes with North Carolina?

Now that I have your attention… today’s blog post is about ancient history. This is one of the topics I wrote about in Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2.

Photo of a volcano by Guille Pozzi on Unsplash.com.
Photo by guille pozzi on Unsplash

Harrisburg, North Carolina sits inside a 22-mile syenite or ring dike. One can get a feel for it from several high points in the area, such as when traveling south from Concord on US-29 near the intersection with Union Cemetery Road. It’s like looking across a gigantic bowl.

Another possible place from which to catch a glimpse of the “bowl” is on NC-49 southbound after you pass Old Charlotte Road. The Charlotte downtown skyline is visible briefly from that location as well as the one referenced above on US-29.

Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2, by Janet Morrison

What, you may ask, is a syenite or ring dike? I’m no expert on volcanology, but my understanding is that it is a circular dike around a volcano.

According to 2001 Encyclopedia of Earthquakes and Volcanoes, by David Ritchie and Alexander E. Gates, Ph.D.:

“If magma is removed from the magma chamber beneath a volcano, it can undergo caldera collapse. The volcano and the area around it collapse because they are no longer being held up by the liquid. A series of concentric faults and cracks develop around the collapsing volcano. As they do, magma will squeeze up around the cracks and faults forming ring dikes.”

I’ll take their word for it.

In 1966, U.S. Geological Survey geologist Harry E. LeGrand and Henry Bell III led a scientific excursion in Cabarrus County to study our ring dike and other interesting rock and mineral deposits in the county.

You might be able to access a pdf of “Guidebook of Excursion in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, October 22-23,1966” by going to https://www.carolinageologicalsociety.org. Search for “1960s Field Trip Guidebooks” and then scroll down to find that particular guidebook.

The Harrisburg area has experienced a population explosion since 1966. The landmarks noted in the 1966 guidebook are either gone or more difficult to locate today. The concentric rings that were reportedly visible from the air in 1960 by R.G. Ray might not still be intact.

If you’d like to know more about this topic, the 1849 meteorite; Harrisburg’s first organized housing and business development of 100 years ago; the Morrison-Sims Store and Old Post Office; the flood of 1886, the Piedmont Area Development Association (P.A.D.A) of the 1960s; earthquakes that have been felt here; McCachren’s Store; Rocky River bridges in the 1870s; the Sauline Players; a tribute to George L. Govan; Rocky River Academy; the Rocky River Presbyterian Church’s fourth sanctuary which was completed in 1861; a 1777 estate sale; Hugh Smith Pharr and his mill; a 1907 attempted train robbery; 1816 – the year without a summer;

Also: items such as milk, apples, and dry cleaning that were all delivered to homes in the mid-1900s; Blume’s Store; high-speed trains; the boundaries of Township 1; early Harrisburg education; Pharr Grist Mill on Back Creek; how electricity came to Harrisburg; a 1912 church homecoming; Pioneer Mills Gold Mine and Community; a fellow named Collett Leventhorpe; a 1911-1912 debating society; and the tenth anniversary of the Harrisburg Branch of the Cabarrus County Public Library system… please purchase Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2.

The book also contains nearly 150 pages of my research notes on subjects I didn’t get to write about when I wrote a local history newspaper column from 2006-2012.

Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1 and Book 2 are available in paperback at Second Look Books, 4519 School House Commons in Harrisburg, NC.

Second Look Books, 4519 School House Commons, Harrisburg, NC

They are also available in paperback and e-Book from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW2QMLHC/.

An infographic ad for Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Books 1 and 2

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read.

I hope you get to spend quality time with friends and family.

Remember the people of Ukraine.

Janet

P.S. Please visit https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com and subscribe to my e-Newsletter. Next issue due out the first week of January!

How publishing a cookbook helped me as a writer

Since my main interests in writing are historical fiction and history, it would seem that publishing a cookbook has nothing to do with either one of those or my pursuit of a career as a writer. I beg to differ.

If one wants practice in proofreading, I recommend they proofread a cookbook. At least two typos got past my sister and me in the proofreading stages. Proofreading a cookbook is a humbling experience. It should serve me well in my next short stories and books.

The Aunts (A U N T S) in the Kitchen: Southern Family Recipes, by Janet and Marie Morrison
The Aunts in the Kitchen: Southern Family Recipes, by Janet Morrison and Marie Morrison

Proofreading a cookbook is part paying extreme detail to numbers and part writing directions in a concise yet thorough way. It means trying to put yourself in the shoes of someone making the recipe for the first time – or even a novice cook or baker.

Are the instructions not only correct in sequence of method but also clear enough to give the cook the best chance to follow the directions with ease instead of confusion and frustration? Are the recipes presented in a way to give the cook the best chance to be pleased with the final product?

Proofreading is tedious work and it is always a good idea to have a second set of eyes. In fact, if my sister and I had not worked together proofreading the 289 recipes in our cookbook, half the errors we found probably would have slipped past us.

A few words about the software I use

Is there a book in you that is begging to come out? Do you think self-publishing is not within your reach? That is where I was two years ago. I never expected to be able to format a book in a form acceptable for Amazon or any other self-publication platform.

The Atticus.io app has enabled me to publish two local history books (Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Books 1 and 2); two short stories (“Slip Sliding Away” and “Ghost of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse: An American Revolutionary War Ghost Story”); and a cookbook (The Aunts in the Kitchen: Southern Family Recipes) since last November!

BookBrush.com has made it possible for me to design the book covers for each of those books. I am not computer savvy, in the big scheme of things; however, I have been able to accomplish all this self-publishing in a little less than one year.

In addition, I have created memes for Facebook and bookmarks related to my books on BookBrush.com. That is just a fraction of what one can do through BookBrush.com tools.

Disclaimer: I am receiving no compensation in any form whatsoever for mentioning Atticus.io or BookBrush.com. I just want other writers who are considering going the self-publishing route to know about these tools I have used. What they have made possible for me has been life-changing.

The formatting and book design tools are not without challenges. There are learning curves with both but, if I can do it, anyone can do it.

The Atticus.io support team is extraordinary. Hands down, they are the best tech support group of people I have ever worked with. They have job security as long as I am self-publishing books!

Both BookBrush.com and Atticus.io have free workshops to help you understand how to use their various features.

Self-publishing is an education, and I have found it to be a beneficial introduction into the publishing world. It remains to be seen if any of my current projects (historical short stories, a devotional book, and historical novels) will be self- or traditionally-published.

Regardless of which path my current and future writing projects take, my self-publishing experience will serve me well. That definitely includes proofreading!

The rewards

So far, I have learned that by the time I paid for:

  • website redesign;
  • maintaining a website and blog;
  • the right to use Atticus.io and BookBrush.com;
  • printing bookmarks designed on BookBrush.com
  • printing and shipping costs for author copies;
  • books about the craft of writing;
  • online writing courses;
  • etc…

it can be difficult to break even financially.

I consider the two short stories I have self-published to be ways to get my name out there as an historical fiction writer. It all falls under the adage: “To make money, you have to spend money.” I offer one of my short stories as a gift to everyone who subscribes to my e-newsletter.

It is not easy to get established as a writer. It has been a winding road and at times a daunting endeavor; however, my reward already is to see my name as the author on the spine of several books.

If I accomplish nothing else, I am happy that someday my heirs will know that I had a dream to write and I persevered to realize that dream.

Since my last blog post

Some weeks I can’t remember what I’ve done since my last blog post. It isn’t until I look back over my to-do list and find items checked off as completed that I realize I am making steady progress in my writing.

I did research for a short story I’m writing; typed notes from The Author Estate Handbook, by M.L. Ronn and added to the list of the things I need to take care of before I update my will; researched Fort Dobbs State Historic Site near Statesville, NC, Shallow Ford on the Yadkin River, and Bethabara State Historic Site for the novel I am writing; and planned a trip to visit several sites pertinent to that novel.

I watched a BookBrush.com free presentation on Zoom about book marketing on Pinterest. It was a real eye-opener. Good news/bad news: Now I have a thousand new tasks to add to my to-do list.

Until my next blog post

If you want to write a book, do it!

I hope you have at least one good book to read this week. I have more than I can find time to read!

Make time for your friends and family.

Don’t forget to visit https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com and subscribe to my e-newsletter.

Remember the innocent people of Ukraine and the Middle East. It is the innocent citizens who are so often caught in the middle and pay the ultimate price for the actions of dictators and terrorists.

Janet

The Wide Range of Books I Read in September 2023

Although September gave me 30 days in which to read, I had more books on my list to read than time allowed. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the three novels and the one nonfiction book I managed to squeeze into my schedule.

You Can Run, by Karen Cleveland

You Can Run, by Karen Cleveland

Karen Cleveland is a former CIA analyst. She writes spy thrillers now. You Can Run, like the other books of hers I have read, Need to Know (see my April 2, 2018 blog post: More March 2018 Reading) and The New Neighbor (see my October 10, 2022 blog post: Spy Thriller, WWI Novel, Nonfiction, and Historical Mystery Read Last Month are real page turners. When you read one of her books in bed at night, don’t plan on getting any sleep. You’ll have to read “just one more chapter.”

In You Can Run, the protagonist, Jill, works for the CIA. She is being blackmailed. To save the life of her young son, she does something illegal. She spends the rest of the novel looking over her shoulder. Saying she spends the rest of the novel “looking over her shoulder” hardly does the plot justice. One bad thing after another happens, as she and her family and others get pulled deeper into the spiral and they can’t get out. No matter what you do, do not under any circumstances read the “Epilogue” until you have finished reading the entire book, including the last chapter. The “Epilogue” will ruin the story for you. I didn’t see it coming!

The Wind Knows My Name, by Isabel Allende

The Wind Knows My Name, by Isabel Allende

I usually don’t enjoy novels that flip back and forth between protagonists, and when I got to page 67 in the large print edition of The Wind Knows My Name, I was so invested in Samuel Adler that I was quite jolted when a turned the page and found myself reading about a new protagonist.

But… Isabel Allende is a masterful writer, and I was soon just as invested in the little girl who illegally crossed the Rio Grande and into the United States on her father’s tired back. The story of that little girl took me directly to the Mexican-US border of today and the desperation the “illegal aliens” experience in their home countries. How desperate must they be to risk their lives to try to get themselves – or even only their children – into the United States?

And how desperate did Samuel Adler’s mother feel when she put her young son on a train to get him away from the clutches of the Nazis and to relative safety in England?

In The Wind Knows My Name, Isabel Allende weaves compelling stories about these individuals and then makes a connection between the characters. I recommend everything that Isabel Allende writes.

And on top of that, she is a very nice person. She donated an autographed copy of one of her novels to the Friends of the Harrisburg Library for our autographed book sale a decade or so ago.

Falling, by T.J. Newman

Falling, by T.J. Newman

Falling is T.J. Newman’s debut novel, and it’s a good one! My sister read it and recommended it to me and our book club.

I recently read that one of the keys to writing good fiction is to give the protagonist an impossible choice. Falling fits that perfectly. In a nutshell, a commercial airline pilot is forced to decide whether to crash the plane and save his wife and children, or not crash the plane and let his wife and children be murdered.

This novel takes you minute-by-minute through the scenario. There are red herrings and there is a surprise twist. The author is a former flight attendant, so she knows the inside of a commercial jet and protocols well.

What will the pilot decide to do?

According to her “About the Author” page on Goodreads.com, Universal Pictures is making a movie based on the novel.

The Author Estate Handbook: How to Organize Your Affairs and Leave a Legacy, by M.L. Ronn

The Author Estate Handbook: How to Organize Your Affairs and Leave a Legacy, by M.L. Ronn

I mention this book in case other writers out there are interested in its topic. By reading the book, I discovered that I have done some things right but I’ve overlooked other things I need to take care of before I die.

The author explains how an author’s estate is different from everyone else’s estate. As an author, you own “intellectual property.” You own copyrights that will live on for 70 years after your death. If those things are not properly addressed in your will, you are leaving a mess for your heirs.

I’m not just talking about published books here. If you blog, your blog posts are “intellectual property,” so you need to tell your heirs what you want done with your blog when you die.

Each chapter lists specific tasks you need to take care of, if you’re a writer. I highly recommend this book to writers.

Since my last blog post

Our first shipment of author copies of The Aunts in the Kitchen: Southern Family Recipes arrived and the book is now available at Second Look Books in Harrisburg, NC as well as on Amazon! Plans are being made to have a book event on November 4 at the bookstore! Stay tuned.

I got the new Covid vaccine and am happy to report I had no ill effects. Those people who insist on belittling Covid 19 have obviously not known someone who has died from the virus or been severely sickened by it. I’m growing weary of Covid jokes by the fortunate few who have escaped it or have not known someone who has or is suffering through it. I thought we had gotten beyond the jokes, but I learned differently last week.

Until my next blog post

Have you ordered my American Revolution e-ghost story?  “Ghost of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse: An American Revolutionary War Ghost Story” is available from Amazon, along with my other books: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CH7JCP11/. Don’t let October slip past you without reading my ghost story!

“Ghost of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse: An American Revolutionary War Ghost Story,” by Janet Morrison

Have you ordered The Aunts in the Kitchen: Southern Family Recipes? I think it would be a wonderful present for a friend’s birthday or other special occasion, but it’s impossible for me to be objective. If you’re in the Charlotte area, it’s available at Second Look Books, 4519 School House Commons in Harrisburg. If not, you can find it at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJLKFDPR/.

The Aunts in the Kitchen: Southern Family Recipes, by Janet Morrison and Marie Morrison

Don’t forget to subscribe to my e-newsletter at https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com and receive a free downloadable copy of my southern historical short story, “Slip Sliding Away.”

Make time for your friends and family.

Remember the people of Ukraine and Israel. Terrorism cannot be tolerated.

Janet

The Aunts in the Kitchen: Southern Family Recipes

When my sister, Marie, and I were growing up in the 1950s, Sunday afternoons occasionally called for our family to get in our parents’ Ford two-door sedan and ride a few miles to visit our mother’s paternal aunts. I knew that the elderly ladies we visited were Aunt Lula, Aunt Sallie, and Aunt Ella, but we always referred to them collectively as “The Aunts.”

“The Aunts” lived in the house their father, Lee, (our great-grandfather) built in the 1860s. He had married our great-grandmother, Sarah, in 1862. My hunch is that the Civil War probably postponed the building of their house until at least 1865. Perhaps they lived with Sarah’s parents until they could get materials to build the house.

Nevertheless, the house fascinated me. For starters, there was always a fire in the fireplace and my mind can still conjure up the smoky smell of a house of that era that was warmed only by a wood-burning fireplace.

One of “The Aunts” was bedridden. We sat around the room in which she was confined by illness. I was enamored by the crackling fire in the fireplace because we did not have a fireplace in our house. Our house was heated by an oil stove in the living room. It’s where Mama would put yeast dough to rise. But I digress.

I spent so much time staring at the dancing flames and glowing wood embers in the fireplace at The Aunts’ house that I have no recollection of what my great-aunts looked like. I was seven years old when the last one of them died.

I was too young to appreciate the fact that my Great-Grandpa Lee had built the house or that my Great-Grandma Sarah had died there just hours after giving birth to their tenth child in 1881, leaving Lee to bury her and the baby born the day before and to raise their seven surviving children alone.

Fast-forward to the 21st century

Marie and I are “The Aunts.” It is a moniker we carry with pride and affection when our niece, nephew, and their young adult daughters refer to us as “The Aunts.”

We have very few recipes from those original women who were known as “The Aunts.” We have fewer still from our grandmothers who died in 1930 and 1946; however, we had many aunts on both sides of the family and our mother was a beloved aunt to our cousins. They were all good cooks. They all spoiled us with good food and helped make us the people we are today.

All our aunts are gone now, along with our mother. We hope this cookbook will help keep their memories alive by sharing the recipes for some of our favorite dishes they made, as well as some of our own, and recipes from other women in our family who were or are aunts.

Although we especially hope that our relatives will treasure this cookbook, we also want it to introduce you to the special aunts and cooks in our family even if you have no knowledge of or connection to them.

How the cookbook took shape

A couple of years ago Marie or I had the idea of compiling the recipes from our aunts. The project soon took shape and it seemed only right to name the book, The Aunts in the Kitchen: Southern Family Recipes.

The book’s 289 recipes run the gamut from the early 1900s hot salve “Pneumonia Receipt” Grandma Morrison used to treat people suffering with pneumonia, to potato yeast for making bread, to Depression and World War II Chocolate Pudding, to dozens of cakes and pies, to our niece’s slow cooker hot chocolate that’s to die for, to peach ice cream you prepare in a microwave oven, to Mrs. Anne Baker’s Award-Winning Pulled Mints.

The writing, editing, and book formatting software from Atticus.io (a Progressive Web App) enabled us to format 289 family recipes in a way that was acceptable to Kindle Direct Publishing, an arm of Amazon. Bookbrush.com made it possible for us to design the book cover in a way that Amazon could use. A friend who is a wonderful photographer took the photographs for the front and back cover, along with a separate photo of a treasured Morrison Dairy Farm milk bottle from the 1920s/1930s.

Milk Bottle from 1920s/1930s Morrison Dairy Farm, Harrisburg, North Carolina

The items on the front and back cover are all from our family, so each piece holds a special meaning to us. We describe each item in the book.

How you can purchase a copy

The Aunts in the Kitchen: Southern Family Recipes will be available around mid-October in paperback at Second Look Books in Harrisburg, North Carolina, and it is already available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Aunts-Kitchen-Southern-Family-Recipes/dp/B0CJLKFDPR?ref_=ast_author_dp.

If we can get other independent bookstores to sell it, we will do so and will give that information in my blog and on my website, https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com. Most independent bookstores will not sell books printed by Amazon, so we are depending on word of mouth to publicize the cookbook.

We do not anticipate publishing the cookbook in electronic form.

Since my last blog post

Marie and I still look at last week’s proof copy of The Aunts in the Kitchen: Southern Family Recipes. Imagine our excitement in finally holding that 303-page cookbook in our hands! It is no longer a figment of our imaginations and dreams.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read. By the way, I can sit and read a cookbook for hours. Perhaps you can, too. (Hint, hint.)

Treasure your time with friends and family, even if you disagree on politics. Record their stories (and their recipes!), even if you disagree with their politics. I think you will be glad you did.

Remember the people of Ukraine.

Janet

Being Reminded of the Value of Friendships

You will recall from my blog post last Monday that Second Look Books in Harrisburg, NC was hosting a “Meet & Greet” for me on Saturday afternoon. I tend to see the glass half-empty or sometimes completely empty. Try as I might, I tend to expect the worst. The worst rarely happens, but I’m not to be deterred in my expectations.

I approached the Meet & Greet” with a fear that no one would come. After creating an “event” on Facebook last week and sending it out as an invitation to several hundred people, I only received “coming” responses from four people. One of them was driving an hour to get here and I was afraid she would regret making that effort if she came and the event was a big flop.

As usual, I had it all wrong. Lots of people came! Six of my classmates from high school came. I’ve known two of them since the first grade, but we hadn’t seen each other in years. Four of the classmates were there at the same time, so we had a mini-reunion.

A number of friends I know from church came. Others came who I’d never met, so I now have some new friends. Various people shared their memories of Harrisburg. Ours is a fast-growing and fast-changing small town. It was barely a village from I was born. The roads and schools can’t keep up with the growth.

Many of the changes are good, but most of us on Saturday were glad we grew up when we did – back when everybody knew everybody and traffic was nonexistent. We talked about how we used to have to drive five miles or more to a grocery store and now we have a multitude of supermarkets to choose from.

My books displayed just inside the front door on the Local Authors shelf!

It was a privilege to write the local history newspaper column for six and a half years. It was indeed a privilege to interview so many older residents and write down their experiences and memories. Having those 175 newspaper articles in book form now is a dream come true.

It was gratifying on Saturday to see and hear how excited and appreciative others are that I wrote the articles and that things finally fell into place for me to publish them in book form: Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1 and Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2.

Who knows? Maybe Saturday’s event was just the impetus I needed to nudge me to get back to work on my novel! A few short days ago, I was disillusioned. I was ready to give up on it. Dear friends and new friends gave me a real boost on Saturday. I’m ready to continue now!

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read. If you need some suggestions, I know of a couple of local history books I’d recommend.

Take time to nurture friendships.

Remember the people of Ukraine, Nashville, Louisville, Fort Lauderdale, and Dadeville. There are lots of hurting people out there.

Janet

Meet & Greet at Second Look Books, April 15th

What?        Author Meet & Greet

Where?      Second Look Books, 4519 School House Commons in Harrisburg

When?       Saturday, April 15, 2023

What Time?         2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Second Look Books, 4519 School House Commons, Harrisburg, NC

Copies of Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1 and Book 2 have arrived and been autographed.

Photocopies of my 11×14-inch “Harrisburg in the 1900s” two-map sets have been made.

Business cards and bookmarks are printed.

Saturday, April 15 is the big day for my Meet & Greet at Second Look Books in Harrisburg, North Carolina! I’ll be there from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Please drop by, even if you’ve already purchased both books.

The bookmarks and Harrisburg maps are free while supplies last.

What maps?

I drew the maps based on detailed memories that Mr. Ira Lee Taylor shared with me while I was writing the “Did You Know? local history column for Harrisburg Horizons newspaper (2006-2012.)

One map covers from along NC-49 to Back Creek. The other map covers from Back Creek to Reedy Creek and where McKee Creek flows into Reedy Creek.

Mr. Taylor told me where such things as the telephone switchboard, spoke factory, two cotton gins, railroad houses, corn fields, cotton fields, and livery stable were in the early 1900s.

He told me where the various stores and post offices were. Being the town’s only mail carrier for several decades, he knew where everybody lived, so I included much of that information The map show where the roads were (and were not) before the coming of the high-speed rail.

In case you arrived in Harrisburg after the two-story red brick old Harrisburg School was torn down, this set of maps will show you the layout of the school grounds. The school property is where School House Commons Shopping Center is now.

The maps also show the locations of the Oak Grove Rosenwald School and the Bellefonte Rosenwald School that you read about in Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1.

Some things you’ll learn about in my two books

There are stories of local heroism from 1771 and the detailed memories of a World War II US Army veteran who told me about his training for D-Day through to the end of the war.

There are stories about the original Hickory Ridge School, which was a one-room school on Hickory Ridge Road.

There are stories about the Rosenwald Schools that served the black students in the early 1900s.

There are stories about the man from Russia (actually, Ukraine) who settled in Harrisburg in the 1920s to practice medicine until his death in 1960. He was a country doctor who made house calls

There are stories about the construction of the Charlotte Motor Speedway and the first World 600 Race when the track was in such bad shape that chunks of asphalt broke the windshields out of some of the race cars.

There is information about the 22-mile syenite ring-dike that Harrisburg sits in. It’s what remains of an ancient volcano.

Until my next blog post

Remember the people of Ukraine – where Dr. Nicholas E. Lubchenko was born and lived until young adulthood.

I hope to see you on Saturday!

In case you don’t have a good book to read, please consider purchasing my local history books. They’re available in paperback at Second Look Books. They’re also available in paperback and for Kindle from Amazon.

Even if you don’t live or have never lived in Harrisburg, North Carolina, I think you’ll find some interesting stories that you can probably relate to if you are of a certain age. And if you a child, teen, or young adult I think you’ll find it interesting to read about how life used to be in our sleepy little farm village of a couple hundred people in the early 1900s that has grown to nearly 20,000 people in 2023.

What?        Author Meet & Greet

Where?      Second Look Books, 4519 School House Commons in Harrisburg

When?       Saturday, April 15, 2023

What Time?         2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

I hope to see you there!

Janet

Local History is Revealed in National Archives Holdings

The first documented gold discovery in the United States was here in present-day Cabarrus County, North Carolina in 1799. The discovery by a little boy playing in Little Meadow Creek led to gold fever in the area. Numerous gold mines were dug and mined to various levels of success.

In fact, there was enough gold found in the southern piedmont of North Carolina that a branch of the United States Mint was built in Charlotte in 1836 and 1837. It opened for the production of gold coins in 1837.

A trip to the National Archives at Atlanta (which is in the Atlanta suburb of Morrow, Georgia) a few years ago gave me the opportunity to look at ledger books from the Mint in Charlotte. Within those pages I recognized names from my community.

Register of Gold – Branch Mint – Charlotte

I’m blogging about some of that information today to give you an example of the type of documented local history I included in Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2. Although the book (and Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1) concentrate on Harrisburg, both books do include articles about other communities in Township One.

One of the communities rich in history in the township is Pioneer Mills. Little more than a quiet crossroads now, it was a center of activity in the mid-1800s after the discovery of gold and the opening of Pioneer Mills Gold Mine.

I recognized names such as John C. Barnhardt from the Pioneer Mills community as taking 123 ounces of amalgam to the Charlotte Mint on August 31, 1843, for which he was paid $2,340.33. That was no small sum of money in 1843!

Robert Harvey Morrison, on whose land the Pioneer Mills Gold Mine was located, was paid more than $4,000 for the gold bars and amalgam he took to the Mint from late in 1846 into early 1850.

Other names I recognized in the Mint ledgers included two other Barnhardts,  Robert R. King, three men with the surname Treloar, and R.B. Northrop.

Comparing US Census records, Charlotte Mint records, and various years of Branson Business Directories helped me get a better idea of what the Pioneer Mills Community must have looked like 150 to 180 years ago. There was a general store, a dry goods store, a blacksmith, a school, and a post office, In 1869, Pioneer Mills Community had three physicians.

Gold mining brought people from Canada, Great Britain, and New York to Pioneer Mills. Gold mining, no doubt, brought some undesirable people into the community, which led the wife of the pastor of Rocky River Presbyterian Church to say in the early 1870s that Pioneer Mills “is no place for a preacher’s son!”

If you’d like to read more about the history and people of Cabarrus County, North Carolina, you might enjoy Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Books 1 and 2. They are available in paperback at Second Look Books in Harrisburg and in paperback and for Kindle from Amazon.

By the way, you can visit the research room at the National Archives at Atlanta (in Morrow, Georgia) by appointment only. Visit the website for more information:  https://www.archives.gov/atlanta.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read.

I hope you spend time with family and good friends.

And, as always, remember the people of Ukraine and count your blessings.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Janet

Three Compelling Books I Read in February 2023

After a couple of months of not getting to read much for pleasure, February turned out to be just what I needed to get back in the habit of reading. My favorite genre, historical fiction, really came through for me last month.

The Diamond Eye, by Kate Quinn

The Diamond Eye, by Kate Quinn

I listened to this historical novel on CD. I was spellbound from disc one until the very end of disc 11. I yearn to write historical fiction so vividly. I long to captivate readers with fiction based in an era not their own. Kate Quinn has established herself as a master of the art and craft of writing historical fiction.

The Diamond Eye is based on a true story. Mila Pavlichenko lives in the part of the Soviet Union that is now Ukraine. She works at a library and adores her young son. When World War II transitions to the invasion of Russia by Nazi Germany, Mila does the unthinkable. She becomes a sniper for the Russian Army. And she excelled at it.

After her official kill count reaches 300, Mila becomes a national heroine and is sent on a tour of the United States to drum up support for the fight against Hitler. There, she meets President and Mrs. Roosevelt. Eleanor Roosevelt, seeing a bit of her own independent nature in the sniper, befriends Mila.

The book follows Mila through the war and how she constantly has to prove herself because she’s a woman and not automatically taken seriously. She’s called the usual names that men who are threatened by strong women call them.

It is a stunning novel and reminded me why I enjoy reading historical fiction. Yes, it’s fiction because conversations are imagined, but reading well-written historical novels is an enjoyable way to learn a lot of history.

The Home for Unwanted Girls, by Joanna Goodman

The Home for Unwanted Girls, by Joanna Goodman

This is another gripping historical novel. I was so impressed by Saskia Maarleveld’s reading of The Diamond Eye, that I looked for other books she had recorded. That’s how I found The Home for Unwanted Girls. I thought that was an interesting way to find another good book!

The Home for Unwanted Girls is about an unwed mother in Quebec in the 1950s who is forced by her parents to give up her baby girl. The book shines a light on the ugly history of the orphanage system in Quebec at that time. When the orphanage is turned into an insane asylum and the orphans are forced to take care of the patients, the outcome for the girls seems hopeless.

This novel follows the life of one of those orphans and the 15-year-old mother who wanted desperately to keep her. The mother never gives up on finding her child, even though she is told the girl died.

The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World, by Jonathan Freedland

The Escape Artist, by Jonathan Freedland

This book was spellbinding! It tells the stories of 19-year-old Rudolf Vrba and Fred Wetzler who did the impossible in April 1944. They escaped from Auschwitz! The book tells how Vrba studied the precision with which the Nazis conducted searches and exactly how long the guards searched when a prisoner was unaccounted for. He and Fred worked with two accomplices to plan the escape of Vrba ad Wetzler. Their two accomplices were to stay behind while Vrba and Wetzler escaped to take the truth of what was happening at Auschwitz out into the world.

It’s a fascinating read. It follows Vrba and Wetzler after their escape. The eye-opening part of the book was the aftermath of their escape. They testified and provided written descriptions of the horrors of Auschwitz. Their testimonies matched to the nth detail; however, their words and their physical conditions of malnutrition fell on deaf ears.

Winston Churchill didn’t want to bomb the rail lines going into Auschwitz because England bombed in the daytime. President Franklin D. Roosevelt didn’t want to bomb because it would be a diversion from plans. Jewish organizations in Europe refused to believe what was happening at Auschwitz because it was just too extreme. How can people do such things to their fellow human beings?

Along with the tragic murdering of Jews at Auschwitz, the fact that world leaders who had the power and where withal to do something about it in fact chose not to act is a gut punch.

My general takeaway from the book is that one’s life and future can be determined by someone else’s snap decision. Decisions were made on a whim by guards at Auschwitz every day that determined who lived, who died, and who escaped.

It’s a book that will haunt me.

Since my last blog post

I continue to try to get the word out about my second local history book, Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2.

I also continue to ask people to go to my website, https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com and subscribe to my newsletter. Subscribers receive a free downloadable copy of my first historical short story, “Slip Sliding Away: A Southern Historical Short Story.”

“Slip Sliding Away: A Southern Historical Short Story,” by Janet Morrison

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read. I know where you can get a good historical short story to read!

Take care of one another.

Remember the people of Ukraine.

Janet

Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2 is Published!  

I’m pleased to announce that not only did my second proof copy of Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2 arrive in a timely manner, but it was also in fairly good order!

The cover is now a reddish-brown instead of dark brown. (I don’t think I’ll try to self-publish any more books with a red cover! We all learn from our mistakes.)

There were still a few formatting errors that resulted from the last “chapter” (my research notes) being almost 30,000 words in length, but at least Carl Higgins’ World War II B-26 bomber was flying horizontally on page 467.

Although the manuscript was proofread and corrected several times, three typos got past me. I strive for perfection, but I’ve yet to see a perfectly printed book. I can live with three typos in a 536-page book.

Available on Amazon!

Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2 is now available in paperback and for Kindle from Amazon. Click on https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW2QMLHC/ for the paperback or click on https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXBQ1F79/ for the Kindle book. I shortened the Amazon URL so they wouldn’t look so intimidating. If they don’t work, just put the name of the book in a search on Amazon.

Available soon at Second Look Books!

The paperback book will be available in a few weeks at Second Look Books in Harrisburg.

The first issue of my newsletter!

Those of you who read my blog post last Monday and subscribed to my newsletter before March 1, received the first issue of the Janet Morrison Books Newsletter (clever name, eh?) on Friday. I hope you enjoyed the variety of information it contained.

If you’ve read my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, you were able to answer the trivia question near the end of the newsletter.

Please subscribe to my newsletter & receive a free short story!

I’m working hard to get my writing career off the ground, so please subscribe to my newsletter. I plan to send out a newsletter every other month, so be sure and visit my website, https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com  and subscribe so you won’t miss another issue. You’ll also receive a downloadable copy of my short story, “Slip Sliding Away: A Southern Historical Short Story.”

Thanks for being on this journey with me!

All these recent accomplishments are the culmination of a lifetime of studying local history and learning how to research and document it and 22 years of studying the craft of writing.

It’s been a bumpy journey. Thank you for having faith in me and offering encouraging words along the way! I have some loyal lifelong friends and just as loyal friends I’ve made through my blog and Facebook. I value each and every one of you.

Buckle up! I’m just getting started!

I’m working on a family cookbook, more historical short stories, and an historical novel. With my two local history books and first short story published, I look forward to concentrating on my fiction writing.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book (or historical short story!) to read.

Make time for your family and a hobby.

Don’t forget the people of Ukraine.

Janet

The Sauline Players Theatrical Troupe Thrilled Audiences in 20th Century

Did you ever see the Sauline Players perform? Chances are you did if you went to school in the piedmont of North Carolina in the early- to mid-1900s.

As I write that, though, it occurs to me that I don’t know if they performed at the schools for black children. I hope they did, for their performances were a real treasure for those of us who lived in rural areas and didn’t have easy access to live theatrical performances.

Two of the 91 local history articles in my new book, Harrisburg, Did You Know?  Cabarrus History, Book 1, are about the Sauline Players. I’ll share some highlights from those articles in today’s blog post.

When I researched the Sauline Players for Harrisburg Horizons newspaper in 2011, I was surprised to learn that the theatrical troupe was based in the small Gaston County town of Belmont, North Carolina. I have fond memories of their performances in the auditorium at Harrisburg High School in the early 1960s when I was in elementary school.

In 2010, I learned that Joseph Sauline was with another traveling acting troupe in Charlotte in the 1920s when that company went broke. Not to be outdone, Mr. Sauline stayed in the area and organized his own acting group — the Sauline Players.

An online search in 2010 led me to a Sauline Players listing on the acting resume of Ms. Joan McCrea. I was able to get in touch with her agent, who in turn gave Ms. McCrea my contact information. Imagine my surprise one day when I answered the phone and found actress Joan McCrea in Los Angeles on the other end of the line!

The ensuing correspondence with Ms. McCrea turned my single newspaper article about the Sauline Players into a two-part series.

If you want to know more about the Sauline Players and other local history articles I wrote for Harrisburg Horizons newspaper, look for my book, Harrisburg, Did You Know?  Cabarrus History, Book 1.

Harrisburg, Did You Know?
Cabarrus History, Book 1,
by Janet Morrison

Where to purchase Harrisburg, Did You Know?  Cabarrus History, Book 1

Paperback available at Second Look Books, 4519 School House Commons, Harrisburg, NC

Paperback and e-book available from Amazon:  ­­­­­­­­­­https://www.amazon.com/Harrisburg-Did-You-Know-Cabarrus/dp/1888858044/.

Since my last blog post

My book received a lot of positive and well-placed publicity last week. The proprietor of Second Look Books in Harrisburg tells me sales have been brisk.

I took a long enough break from formatting Harrisburg, Did You Know?  Cabarrus History, Book 2 to design the cover for the paperback. Then, it was back to formatting. I’m pleased to have the cover designed so I could mark that task off my to-do list.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read. I’m reading a couple of books now. It’ll be interesting to see how many I get read in January.

Remember the brave, freezing people in Ukraine.

Janet