And then there were the people who actually grew up and lived the twenties and were very generous with their memories; Mr. and Mrs. Junior Guinn for their first-hand accounts of early farm practices, and long underwear stories; great grandmother Leora Barnes who was the epitome of a dignified and fashionable lady; Elizabeth Mann aka Mammy for her humor and candor; Aunt Sara and Aunt Bea for their enthusiasm and Aunt Hattie who always loved a risqué story.
I feel so blessed to have so many special people and creatures in my world even beyond those named here. They are what truly give life its most important meaning.
I also want to mention all my author and writer friends at Willamette Writers, RWA and Rose City Romance Writer’s especially Nancy Lytle aka Mercer Addison, a great writer and critique partner and a woman whose friendship and guidance continue to inspire me immeasurably. Also a shout out to editor, Sandi Gelles-Cole and agent, Robert Tabian for their guidance and support earlier in this process.
Thanks to Banks, Oregon librarian, Denise for her endless searches on my behalf and since I couldn’t fly to the source, I blindly sent a letter to some of the kind people of Kansas; the Kansas City Historical Society; Kathy Sheely and the Kansas City Public Library and received numerous responses in turn. I want to thank all the helpful people who collaborated my guesswork, answered questions and corresponded with me; Lavonne Farice, Cleo Carson, author Fern Wood, and daughter Tony Wood of the Kansas Star newspaper; Mr. John Deer of Neodesha for generously copying and sharing his book about Neodesha written by a close friend of his, Mr. Joseph W. Allen.
Aside from a continued fascination (that became an obsession) with the era itself and immersing myself into the research of it, I sprinkled the book with real people, places and events and read hundreds of books on all kinds of related topics from farming practices and draft horses to World War I politics and organized crime, etc. etc. I can’t even count the countless hours I spent on the internet and EBay (or the money) but I am ever grateful for all the valuable resources available and to all those who have gone before me and who take the time to write and share their experiences and knowledge—thank you!
Some other sources I used were as follows: Life on the Dry Line, Working the Land: 1902-1944; Harry Morgan Mason, the American Destiny; An Illustrated History of the United States Progress and Poverty, The Gilded Life of Stanford White; Paul Baker, The New Enchantment of America Kansas; Allan Carpenter, The Military History of the United States; World War 1; Marshall Cavendish, Sarah Bernhardt; Cornelius Otis Skinner, Naked At the Feast, A Biography of Josephine Baker; Lynn Haney, A History of the Farm Tractor and it’s Impact on America; Robert C. Williams, Edison-Inventing The Century; Neil Baldwin, Horses At Work; L.R. Miller and Kristi Gilman, Cars 1886-1930; Nick Georgano, Kansas-America the beautiful; Zachary Kent, Kansas-From Sea to Shining Sea; Dennie Bridell Fradon, and Judith Bloom Fradin, The Good Old Days They Were Terrible; Otto L. Bettmann, The Roads We Traveled; Douglas Waitley, Sentinel of the Plains; Fort Leavenworth and the American West; George Walton, 1923 Sears, Roebuck Catalogue, Thrift Book of a Nation, The Pendergast Machine; Lyle W. Dorsett, Missouri Waltz; The Inside Story of the Pendergast Machine by the Man who Smashed It; Maurice M. Milligan, Tom’s Town; William M. Reddig, At the River’s bend; Sheryl Laoib Schirmer and Richard D. MacKinzie, Cho-O-Nee to High Iron-The “Hidden” Years of the town of Neodesha 1865-1886; Joseph W. Allen, Bloodletting and Badmen; Jay Robert Nash, The Mafia Encyclopedia; Carl Sifakis, and countless unnamed websites.
For more books of the heart, please visit Windtree Press.
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The Songbird with Sapphire Eyes Page 33
