Pay Attention to the Details

One of the times that I attended the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching in Cullowhee, North Carolina, a staff member told about injuring her hand because of a large envelope she'd gotten in the mail. I saw the cast around her hand and asked, "What was in the envelope?" 

She looked at me with surprise. "You know, out of all the people I've told this story to, you're the only one who's asked about that."

Looking at this with hindsight, it was the detail oriented writer coming out in me. Details are crucial to a story, but how a writer presents the details is just as important. In some fiction, the author gives the details in separate paragraphs, and sometimes these get lengthy. I always feel like the author is trying too hard to impress, and I often get bored, if the story doesn't soon begin to move forward.

I prefer to make descriptive paragraphs short when necessary, and work the sense of place and setting into the story, as it evolves. However, it's important not to forget about any of the details. I'm also an avid reader, and I've read book after book, where the unchangeable details about a character will be different later on in the book, or where the author has forgotten her own details of the story. I work hard to keep this from happening in my books, and I encourage other writers to do the same.

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Early Self-Sufficient Farms

Through much of American history, people on small, rural farms lived from what they could produce. This came more from necessity than choice. It especially held true for those on the western frontier or in remote locations, like the Appalachians. If the family couldn't grow it, make it, or find it, they didn't have it.

Self-sufficiency began with a home. Early log cabins eventually gave way to houses made with lumber, but few of them were fancy, and they often went unpainted. Many families then built some, if not all, of their furniture. Women spun, wove, and sewed linens, as well as clothing for the family.

Food production was essential. Besides a large garden, farm animals were important. Cows and chickens were the most common, but hogs, sheep, goats, ducks, geese, or others might also be added. Mules, horses, and oxen helped with gardening and other necessary tasks. Hunting and fishing were not done for sport but to provide food. Fruits, berries, and nuts added variety to an often bland menu.

Times might have been simpler then, but we often forget what hard work surviving was. I love history. I taught it for years and now write about it. But, sometimes, when reality sets in, I begin to wonder if the good ole days were so good after all. Like most of you, I also like some of our modern conveniences.

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Historical Rock Houses

Early rock house, Scottish style

When early settlers came to America, they built with whatever resources were available. The very first homes, like the ones at Jamestown or Plymouth, were daub and wattle. However, with the availability of forests, the log cabin became popular in most areas. These were used for years, but in some locations the availability of rocks, provided another building material. In fact, these had been used for home construction in the Old Country for years.

Stone houses had some advantages. They were strong, sturdy, and long-lasting. In addition, they didn't require much upkeep, like the log homes that had to be chinked (filled in between the logs). Disadvantages included they were slower to build and required more skill.

Stone houses seemed to be particularly popular in areas with strong German influence, like Pennsylvania, western Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and the Carolinas. In my historical novel, When Winter Is Past, set in Pennsylvania in 1739, Stanton Klein's large farmhouse is made of stone. It's a standalone novel available online, and most bookstores can order it for you. I lived in Pennsylvania for three summers and have made several trips back. Many of the old stone houses are still standing today, and they are lovely. So are ones in other states. Check out the ones near you.

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Early Plantations

Early plantations developed into self-sufficient communities, much like the castle and the serf system had done in Medieval Europe. Even if the plantation owner went to market occasionally, much of what they needed was produced on site, especially their basic needs. Their crops brought in revenue for other things they might want.

Leaders of the first permanent English colony in America at Jamestown discovered the Indians growing tobacco. Englishmen liked the new plant, and the Virginia colony began growing it in large quantities to export. Plantations evolved. When Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793, that crop became profitable to grow, and cotton plantations sprang up. 

Latta Plantation, a former cotton plantation, near Huntersville, North Carolina, is a good example of a self-sufficient plantation, because it's presented as a living history farm for visitors today. Tour guides have an excellent knowledge of the time period (1800), the property, and the family. Depending on the season, visitors can see the garden, farm animals, and many outbuildings. Take a photo-tour of the plantation here, and visit it, if you get a chance.

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Queen Elizabeth I Takes the Throne

On this day in history, November 17,1558, Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne of England at the age of twenty-five. Her father had been King Henry VIII, and her mother was Anne Bolelyn, the king's second wife, who he later had beheaded. Elizabeth's half-brother, Edward VI, became king when their father died in 1547, but he had always been a sickly child and died at the age of 15 in 1553. 

Half-sister Mary, Henry's oldest child, then became queen. But Mary was a devout Catholic, and she tried to force everyone to turn back to Catholicism, including Elizabeth, who was a Protestant. During the revolts and upheaval that followed, Mary earned the nickname "Bloody Mary." Mary died on November 17, 1558, and Elizabeth succeeded her.

Elizabeth's reign was far from easy. Political intrigue still ran throughout the nobility, and Spain remained a constant threat. However, for the average Englishman, Elizabeth brought stability. Although she said she was a Protestant, which makes sense, given the fact that her father had distanced himself from the Catholic church, so he could have his first marriage annulled and marry Elizabeth's mother, Elizabeth allowed her subjects more choice in how they worshiped, and she wore a crucifix around her neck. She also refused to listen to the more radical Protestants, like the Puritans.

After a long reign, Queen Elizabeth died in 1603. She would have been 70 years old that September. With her, the Tudor dynasty also died out. She had never married, although she'd been heavily courted and is said to have considered marriage for a time. She had no heirs. Her relative, James VI of Scotland, the son of Mary Queen of Scots, became James I of England and took Elizabeth's place. 

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Buttons

November 16 is National Button Day. Buttons have been around a long time. Although button-shaped objects appeared in the Indus Valley about 5,000 years ago, these were used for decorative purposes on clothing and not as fasteners. The earliest known functional buttons came from Germany in the 13th century.

Early buttons were made from natural materials. Today manufacturers usually use plastic or metal. The two most common types are the buttons with two or four holes to be sewn onto the garment with the thread showing or a shank button. The shank button has a hole through an attached shank on the back side of the button, causing it to stand above the cloth but allowing little of the thread to show.

At one time, women collected buttons for later use, since the clothing tended to wear out before the buttons did. Children often used these buttons as toys. A small child might sit for a good while stringing buttons on a heavy thread. A large button could also be strung to make an improvised spinning toy, sometimes called a "buzz saw.

In Uprooted by War, my third novel in the Appalachian Roots Series that's at the publisher's now, Hawk makes buttons from tree twigs for a coat the women make for Moses. Resources were scarce during the Civil War, and the slave had come to the mountains without a coat, so the family improvised to make him one. 

Although other types of fasteners have been developed, like snaps, hooks, zippers, etc., buttons have remained the most popular. However, there are groups, like the Old Order Amish, who don't use buttons because they can be considered decorative. Instead, they use pins. But chances are that you'll be buttoning up something today. Therefore, do so celebrating National Button Day.

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How Influential Is The Church?

Does your church have a positive effect on the community? If it closed its doors today, how much difference would it make in the lives of the people around it? The church was created to be God's workers in a world in desperate need of the hope we have in Christ. We are to be His hands and feet now. What kind of job are we doing? Have we presented Him to the world? Have we taken Him to the needy and hurting in our communities?

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing...(Matthew 5:13).

In the United States today, our Christian heritage and faith are often downplayed. Soon they may be forgotten altogether. What are we doing to make sure this never happens? Christians were once the outspoken majority in this country. Then, we became the silent majority; now, we're the silent minority. Is this trend going to continue until there's no trace of Christianity in this nation anymore.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6).

Once America sent missionaries into other nations to spread the Good News of the Gospel. Now, we and other countries are sending missionaries into parts of the United States where large communities no longer have a church and its hard to find a Christian. Do you have any idea how many children can no longer tell you who Jesus is? It's time to get down on our knees and then get up to go where God sends us and do what he wants us to do.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19).

Think again. How influential is your church? And, how much have you influenced others for Christ? You will have to answer this question on judgment day. Are you ready?

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