Tuesday TIdbits: WHO SURVIVED 8 ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS?

Hmmmm?

 

Male or female?

 

Female.

 

U.S. Person?

 

No.

 

England?

 

Yes.

 

Was it a royal?

 

Yes.

 

Queen Victoria?

 

YES!

 

Alexandrina Victoria came into the world on May 24, 1819. At the tender age of eighteen, she became queen when her late father’s three older brothers passed away with no heirs. There are a lot of facts and tidbits I could write about this queen, but I have chosen to focus on the unprecedented eight attempts on her life.

 

On February 10, 1840, she married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, whom she proposed to the previous November. Four months later while pregnant, the first attempt on her life occurred. The queen and prince were riding around Hyde park in an open carriage on June 4, 1840, when Edward Oxford stepped out of the crowd and fired twice at Victoria. She was unharmed, and the crowd wrestled Oxford to the ground. Oxford’s motive for this attack is unknown, and he later claimed there were no bullets. He was deemed not guilty but insane and spent time in an asylum before being deported to Australia.

 

The second and third attempts were perpetrated by John Francis. On May 29, 1842, Francis aimed at the queen and pulled the trigger. However, his gun failed to fire, and he ran off. Convinced Francis would try again, the queen and prince set out on the same route the next day, May 30th. This time several plain-clothed guards were in the crowd. A shot rang out, and they apprehended Francis immediately. He was sentenced to hang, but Queen Victoria intervened and had him deported to Australia instead.

 

Number four occurred on July 3, 1842. While Victoria rode in a carriage to Sunday services, John William Bean made his way to the front of the crowd and pulled the trigger on his weapon. It failed to fire due to being loaded with tobacco instead of bullets. Mentally ill and having a severe spinal deformity, which caused him to be barely four feet tall, he was sentenced to eighteen months of hard labor.

 

Nearly seven years passed before the fifth attempt on June 29, 1849. William Hamilton, frustrated with Britain’s endeavors to help Ireland during the Irish famine, decided the best course of action was to shoot the queen. However, his gun also had no bullets, only gunpowder.

 

The sixth was probably the most traumatic for Victoria. Robert Pate, ex British Army officer and known for slightly lunatic behavior, approached the queen in her carriage with three of her children on June 27, 1850. She was visiting a dying uncle at Cambridge House. Pate moved to the front of the crowd and struck the queen on the head with his cane. This left her with a bruise and a scar. Pate was sentenced to seven years in the penal colony in Tasmania.

 

Well over twenty years came and went before number seven, which was likely the most politically motivated and occurred on February 29, 1872. Seventeen-year-old Arthur O’Connor scaled the wall of Buckingham Palace and slipped past the guards to lie in wait for the queen to return from her ride around London. O’Connor rushed up to Victoria’s carriage and raised a flintlock pistol a foot away from the queen. Guards wrestled him to the ground. O’Connor said he never intended to hurt the queen, which his broken pistol attested to. He only wanted to get her to release Irish political prisoners held in Britain.

 

And the final attempt was on March 2, 1882 by Roderick Maclean. As the queen left Windsor Station, heading toward the castle, Maclean fired a wild shot at the queen, which missed. Boys from Eton College pummeled Maclean with their umbrellas before the police arrested him. Found not guilty but insane, Maclean spent the rest of his life in an asylum.

 

Later, Queen Victoria said of this incident, “It is worth being shot at to see how much one is loved.”

 

She passed away on February 22, 1901 at the age of eighty-one; not from any assassination attempt but from failing health.

 

I have to say, Queen Victoria seemed to be one of the luckiest people to be targeted and apparently brought out the crazies.

 

 

MRS. WITHERSPOON GOES TO WAR (Heroines of WWII series)
2023 SELAH Award 3rd Place in Historical Romance

A WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) flies a secret mission to rescue three soldiers held captive in Cuba.

Margaret “Peggy” Witherspoon is a thirty-four-year-old widow, mother of two daughters, an excellent pilot, and very patriotic. She joins the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots). As she performs various tasks like ferry aircraft, transporting cargo, and being an airplane mechanic, she meets and develops feelings for her supervisor Army Air Corp Major Howie Berg. When Peggy learns of U.S. soldiers being held captive in Cuba, she, Major Berg, and two fellow WASPs devise an unsanctioned mission to rescue them. With Cuba being an ally in the war, they must be careful not to ignite an international incident. Order HERE!

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE LADY’S MISSION. Her other novels include THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET

(Quilting Circle Book 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3) is a Selah Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; The Widow’s Plight, The Daughter's Predicament, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection , Prodigal Daughters Amish series, "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.
Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of thirty-seven years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:


Books2Read Newsletter Blog FB FB Readers Group Amazon GoodReads BookBub

 

Sources:

Who Knew?: Women in History by Sarah Herman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Queen-Victoria-Eight-Assassination-Attempts/

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/articles/there-were-eight-assassination-attempts-on-queen-victoria/

https://www.history.com/news/eight-times-queen-victoria-survived-attempted-assassinations

Tuesday Tidbits: CODED MESSAGES WITH POSTAGE STAMPS

It seems people have been devising ways to communicate without words for centuries. A lot of us have heard of the language of flowers where the types and colors have different meanings. Or the language of fans where people could communicate across a room with the position of a fan.
 

Postage stamps are no different. When they came on the scene in the 1840s, people around the world developed codes to send additional meanings beyond their written words.
 

Prior to 1840, mail service was confusing, expensive, and less than reliable, which mostly served royalty and government. Postage was calculated by the mile, making the recipient pay the cost. However, the lack of a stamp didn’t stop secret messages. Small, well-placed marks on the address side of the letter could be all the recipient needed to know what the message within held.

As mail service became more accessible with up to three or more deliveries a day in some metropolitan areas, mail arrival was the event/s of the day. Everyone got excited, so it was impossible for a couple to covertly communicate without the whole household knowing—and the parents reading them.
 

How could a person solve this quandary? Include a secret message, of course. And how would they do that? With the introduction of the pre-paid postage stamp, one could be positioned to convey additional information. These could be as simple as “yes” or “no”, or more complex like “Be careful. We are being watched.”, “I need to see you”, “May I have your portrait?”, or “I’ve learned of your deceit.” One “how-to” booklet claimed 270,000 different missives could be encoded.
 

This means of postage communication became greatly popular in the 1890s and into the early twentieth century. Millions of booklets and postcards with these codes were printed and distributed. What business-minded person wouldn’t want to get a slice of that lucrative pie?

A problem arose that no standard code existed from region to region. Therefore, in one area, the position could mean “I can’t wait to see you.” while in another it meant “I just want to be friends.” Talk about mixed messages. The wrong tilt could mean “He has discovered everything!” or “Tomorrow at the same place.” Some even used two stamps; the various positions and angles of the pair in relationship to each other said a lot.

If you would like to see a vast array of these post cards from around the world deciphering these codes, go here: https://riowang.blogspot.com/2011/12/language-of-stamps.html
 

Apparently, codes became so complicated that stamps were put anywhere and everywhere on a piece of mail: front, back, top, bottom, center, and all places in between. It may have looked haphazard and careless, but these placements were deliberate. This seemingly randomness didn’t bode well for the post office when individuals would have to search an envelope or postcard to find the stamp. In light of this chaos, the top right corner was eventually designated for postage. However, that didn’t stop people from continuing to send additional messages via stamps. What they could say was merely more limited.

There’s no definitive way to know how much these coded-stamp communications were used in actual correspondence, but they were hinted at being used into the 1960s.
 

Another tidbit I found in my research had nothing to do with the secret codes but rather with an alternate use for postage stamps. During the Civil War, people hoarded coins, causing a shortage. This prompted the use of postage as currency. Due to their fragile nature, they didn’t fare well in hand-to-hand transactions. In 1862, John Gault solved this problem by creating a brass encasement. The stamp was wrapped around a circle of cardboard and put into the protective coin-like jacket. A thin film of mica (a silicate mineral) served as a window, allowing the stamp to be readily seen as well as protect it from damage. Cool!

What secret message might you be sending every time you adhered postage a little askew?

MRS. WITHERSPOON GOES TO WAR  (Heroines of WWII series)
2023 SELAH Award 3rd Place in Historical Romance

A WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) flies a secret mission to rescue three soldiers held captive in Cuba.

Margaret “Peggy” Witherspoon is a thirty-four-year-old widow, mother of two daughters, an excellent pilot, and very patriotic. She joins the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots). As she performs various tasks like ferry aircraft, transporting cargo, and being an airplane mechanic, she meets and develops feelings for her supervisor Army Air Corp Major Howie Berg. When Peggy learns of U.S. soldiers being held captive in Cuba, she, Major Berg, and two fellow WASPs devise an unsanctioned mission to rescue them. With Cuba being an ally in the war, they must be careful not to ignite an international incident. Order HERE!

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE LADY’S MISSION. Her other novels include THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET

(Quilting Circle Book 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3) is a Selah Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; The Widow’s Plight, The Daughter's Predicament, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection , Prodigal Daughters Amish series, "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.
Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of thirty-seven years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:


Books2Read Newsletter Blog FB FB Readers Group Amazon GoodReads BookBub 

Sources:
https://www.sitepoint.com/uncovering-secret-coded-language-postage-stamps/
https://riowang.blogspot.com/2011/12/language-of-stamps.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States

Tuesday Tidbits: GARDEN NEWS & REMINDER

Once again, I’m going to try to grow a vegetable/fruit garden. I think I’m a glutton for punishment, but I was excited that my feeble attempt last year yielded me a couple of handfuls of edible veggies and a strawberry.

I have started my seedlings inside.

I’m tickled they started growing so fast--just two days!

Under2Weeks

Look at these little guys go!

3 Weeks

They are really growing! That green bean in the front left corner as well as the other beans, peas, zucchini, and summer squash may cause me trouble because of how tall they are growing already. I have another 3 weeks—AT LEAST—before I can transplant them outside. It could be 5 weeks. I hope they don’t get too big for their little starter pods. I have some skewers I’m going to need to tie them to.

I, also, got a berry kit and started blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries. These ones are slow to start sprouting, but I’ll be patient.

Besides my seedlings, I bought a sweet cherry tomato, a pear tomato, and a mint plant. The couple of tomato plants I bought last year did better than the ones I started from seeds. I may or may not transplant the tomatoes into the raised garden beds. I’ll see how much room I have. The mint, on the other hand, is staying put in the pot, lest it take over the garden, yard, and neighborhood. I love the smell of mint.

In addition to those, we bought a pair of raspberry bushes and a pair of blueberry bushes. I love raspberries. They always take me back to my grandparents’ garden. Mm-mm good!

Last year, I tried to find rhubarb plants because I LOVE rhubarb pie. But I could never find them locally. Well, I started looking earlier this year, and I found some at Walmart, so I bought four. I also got some seed potatoes. I’ve never grown potatoes, but I love to eat them. I also have a few potatoes in my pantry that are growing that I’ll try planting as well.

I’m moving my garden from one side yard of my house to the opposite one, which meant moving a ton of rocks with a shovel and a rake. I did it over a couple of days. Then I laid down cardboard as a weed barrier.

The columbine is blooming again this year. So pretty!

I’m going to attempt to plant a few butterfly-and-hummingbird-attracting flower seeds in the landscape cloth holes in my flower garden rather than buy already started flowers. They may or may not grow. I hope they do, because one of the flowers that came up on its own attracted butterflies, and it was so fun to see them enjoying the blooms.

The flowering tree we planted last fall is blooming! It makes me so happy.

I’m excited to see how everything grows and to eat the fruits and veggies of my labor.

Will you be doing doing any gardening this summer?

***Don’t forget to enter in the multi-author giveaway.

You could win one of 17 Mountain Brook Ink books in a variety of genres. Giveaway runs from April 17, 2024, 12:15 am MST to April 27, 2024, 11:45 pm MST. Hurry! You don’t want to miss out.
Go to the link for contest details
https://kingsumo.com/g/zqujwr/mountain-brook-ink-and-mountain-brook-fire-multi-genre-author-giveaway
I hope you win one of the books!
Happy Reading! 

MRS. WITHERSPOON GOES TO WAR (Heroines of WWII series)
2023 SELAH Award 3rd Place in Historical Romance

A WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) flies a secret mission to rescue three soldiers held captive in Cuba.

Margaret “Peggy” Witherspoon is a thirty-four-year-old widow, mother of two daughters, an excellent pilot, and very patriotic. She joins the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots). As she performs various tasks like ferry aircraft, transporting cargo, and being an airplane mechanic, she meets and develops feelings for her supervisor Army Air Corp Major Howie Berg. When Peggy learns of U.S. soldiers being held captive in Cuba, she, Major Berg, and two fellow WASPs devise an unsanctioned mission to rescue them. With Cuba being an ally in the war, they must be careful not to ignite an international incident. Order HERE!

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE LADY’S MISSION. Her other novels include THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET

(Quilting Circle Book 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3) is a Selah Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; The Widow’s Plight, The Daughter's Predicament, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection , Prodigal Daughters Amish series, "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.
Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of thirty-seven years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:


Books2Read Newsletter Blog FB FB Readers Group Amazon GoodReads BookBub

 

Tuesday Tidbits: MULTI-AUTHOR MULTI-GENRE GIVEAWAY

I am involved in a multi-author giveaway. You could win one of 17 Mountain Brook Ink books in a variety of genres being given away.

CONTEST DETAILS:
If you enjoy reading various genres of fiction and non-fiction, you’ll want to enter this giveaway! You’ll have at least seventeen (17) chances to win a free book or audio from one of these great authors. PLUS most of these authors will give a FREE BOOK TO EACH PERSON who subscribes to their newsletter.

There will be at least seventeen winners randomly selected by King Sumo. First winner will get first choice among the prizes. Other winners will be offered choices among the remaining prizes.

You can increase your odds of winning by sharing the contest link and graphic on social media and by signing up for each author’s newsletter. As mentioned above, added incentives for subscribing to each newsletter are 1) extra points giving you more giveaway entries for each sign-up, 2) learning about new-to-you authors, and 3) a free book or other freebie to each subscriber from many of these authors.

Contest is open to U.S. and International winners, however not all books are available in every region.

Giveaway runs from April 17, 2024, 12:15 am MST to April 27, 2024, 11:45 pm MST.

~~ Link to the contest ~~
https://kingsumo.com/g/zqujwr/mountain-brook-ink-and-mountain-brook-fire-multi-genre-author-giveaway

Books to be given away
TITLE - AUTHOR - GENRE - FORMAT
I will be giving away a copy of my THE DAMSEL’S INTENT - Mary Davis - Historical Romance - Paperback
The other books being given away are:
SIDES - Bradley Caffee - YA Sci-Fi/Dystopian - eBook
RAHAB’S COURAGE - Naomi Craig - Biblical Fiction - Paperback US, eBook Intl
THE SECRET OF STARDUST - Heather L.L. FitzGerald - YA Fantasy - Paperback
IN SEARCH OF FOREVER - Patricia Lee - Contemporary Romance - Paperback
RAIN - Dana McNeely - Biblical Fiction - Paperback or Audiobook
COURTSHIP OF HARRY’S WIFE - Jeanie Marie Mirach - Christian Mystery/Suspense - Paperback
HOLD YOUR BREATH - Kristen Hogrefe Parnell - Romantic Suspense - eBook
MADE LIKE MARTHA - Katie M. Reid - Women's Non-fiction - Paperback
THE PROMISE OF DECEPTION - Jessica Sly - Speculative/Historical Fantasy - Paperback
APRIL’S PROMISE - Terrie Todd - Historical Fiction - Paperback
EMMA’S HERO - Carrie Walker - Contemporary Romance - Paperback
ONE WOMAN FALLING - Melanie Campbell - Women's Fiction - Paperback
THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT - Laura Thomas - Romantic Suspense - Paperback
HILLS OF NEVERMORE - Janalyn Voight - Historical Romance - Paperback
MBF book of your choice - Mountain Brook Fire - Speculative Fiction - Paperback
Choice from WOMEN OF THE WEST series - Miralee Ferrell - Western Historical Fiction - Paperback

I hope you win one of the books!

Happy Reading!

Tuesday Tidbits: HISTORICAL DISCONNECT, CABINET CARDS, & PHOTOSHOP

French Actress Mlle. Nostier, circa 1905

 

 

In school, I didn’t like history class. It was presented in a dry, boring fashion. I couldn’t keep all those dates and names straight. I also felt I had nothing in common with those long dead people.

So, why in the world do I write historical fiction?

I have discovered the joy and beauty of history and the characters who lived it. They are not who I thought they were. The more historical tidbits I learn, the more I realize not much has changed. Oh, sure we have more technology but people are basically the same. Same fears, same issues, same hopes and dreams.

A writing friend found little snippets in old newspapers that read a lot like current day social media posts about kittens and pranks. Who would have thought? Apparently, things haven’t changed so much.

One of the things with all our modern technology is how anyone can change how they appear in a picture with things like photoshop, face-tuning, and filters. A person can change the colors, put any background behind them, erase skin blemishes, modify facial and body features, and so much more, like special effects. It’s hard to know what’s real anymore. I don’t think this modern trend is doing us any favors. We’ll look back a hundred years from now and not know how people really looked.

Back in the good ol’ days, a picture spoke a thousand words. Or did they? Even back at the beginning of photography, some of those “words” were altered. Changing what we look like didn’t start with the computer age or even the invention of photography. Back when portraits were painted, people wanted their likeness to not be too accurate. Even before photography, the subject/s of a portrait requested that the artist “adjust” certain features to improve them.

But I figured before the advent of computers and photo-manipulating type software, altering a photograph was rarely if ever done. Today, there are so many apps that allow the casual user to change anything about an image to where it hardly resembles the original. Some of these are fun and hilarious.

 

Camille_Clifford_as_Marquise_de_Pompadour,_1907

 

This waist looks suspicious.

 

It seems since the beginning of photography, the subject of the image wanted to appear different than they were in reality. Photographs were first printed on paper in 1847. When photography was beginning to gain popularity, cartes-de-visite (visting cards) were created in France in the 1850s, a smaller (2.5 x 4 inches) precursor to cabinet cards. Cabinet cards consisted of a thin-paper photograph (roughly 4 x 5.5 inches) mounted on a light-to-heavy-weight cardstock (roughly 3.5 x 6.5 inches). Where the cartes-de-visite were small and designed to give as calling cards or to give to a friend, cabinet cards by design were meant to sit upon a cabinet and could be viewed from across the room.

Not everyone wanted others to see them as the truly looked. A skilled photographer could alter the negative before printing a photograph, anything from smoothing out a person’s complexion to slimming down the waist to achieve that perfect S-shaped figure. There were whole manuals on how to retouch negatives. Let’s take another look at that cabinet card from the beginning of this article.

Close-Up of the Waist--French Actress Mlle. Nostier, circa 1905

Notice the white space between the small of her back and her arm. That’s where the photographer scraped away her waist for the desired look. This one is quite obvious, but others were more cleverly disguised. Another technique was penciling in part of the background over the waist. The majority of the photo-altering was done to remove freckles, wrinkles, and other facial blemishes. (For more examples of historical photo-altering visit Bernadette Banner’s video on this topic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYGUfg_NJzg)

I guess I assumed the old photographs were accurate, but where there is vanity, there is retouching. The more I think modern people have little in common with people of bygone eras, the more I find out they aren’t much different.

In The Damsel’s Intent (Quilting Circle 3), a stranger watching Aunt Henny has a cabinet card he is often looking at. In The Débutante’s Secret (Quilting Circle 4), Aunt Henny learns who that stranger is and why that cabinet card is so fascinating.

THE QUILTING CIRCLE SERIES Box Set

Historical Romance Series

By Mary Davis

THE WIDOW’S PLIGHT (Book1) – Will a secret clouding a single mother’s past cost Lily her loved ones?

THE DAUGHTER’S PREDICAMENT (Book2) *SELAH & WRMA Finalist* – As Isabelle’s romance prospects turn in her favor, a family scandal derails her dreams.

THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (Book3) *SELAH Winner* – Nicole heads down the mountain to fetch herself a husband. Can she learn to be enough of a lady to snag the handsome rancher?

THE DÉBUTANTE’S SECRET (Book4) – Complications arise when a fancy French lady steps off the train and into Deputy Montana’s arms.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNZPRRS2/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3NJNTQ5SD1WGB&keywords=the+quilting+circle+by+mary+davis&qid=1700957455&s=digital-text&sprefix=%2Cdigital-text%2C155&sr=1-7

 

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE LADY’S MISSION. Her other novels include THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET (Quilting Circle Book 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3) is a SELAH Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT, THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection, Prodigal Daughters Amish series, "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of thirty-seven years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at: Books2Read Newsletter Blog FB FB Readers Group Amazon GoodReads BookBub

 

Tuesday Tidbits: QUILTING: AN EXTREME SPORT

A Mini Quilt made by ME

I’ve been sewing since I was in first grade. I ran my mom’s sewing machine at top speed, much to the consternation of my dad. “Slow down!” My reply was always, “If it’s not supposed to go this fast, then why did they make it able to go this fast.” Though I sewed as speedy as possible, I never thought of sewing as dangerous. That was until I read these stories where wildlife and quilting came together.

~~~This first story took place in Georgia in 1885. A group of ladies decided to bring a shy bachelor out of his shell and planned a quilting at his house. Well, he was no dummy and outsmarted them by escaping to the far side of his property. Unfortunately for him, he was chased back home by a vicious coach-whip snake that had sunk its fangs into the back of his coat. “He fell into the yard, when one of the girls rescued him and killed the snake.” I wonder if she snagged his heart as well. (Story originally in Marion Daily Star, Marion, Ohio, April 7, 1885, page 1)

I had never heard of this type of snake, so I looked it up. They are supposed to be one of the fastest snakes, reaching speeds of four miles per hour.

 

~~~Story number two happened in Kentucky in 1888. Some ladies gathered at a home that was a lean-to of sorts built against a mountain cliff. While the ladies quilted downstairs, the children played upstairs. The ladies heard a heavy thump but dismissed it as the children. Immediately, the children screamed and tumbled down the ladder from the loft. After the children, a big black bear popped his head through the opening—with a torn piece of clothing in its mouth from the last child down—and promptly somersaulted down. He had apparently lost his footing on the cliff above the house and fell through the roof.

The younger women screamed and ran for the door. The older women had steadier nerves and seized the children. The bear went to the kitchen for the savory meal cooking there and burned his nose. Meanwhile, the lady of the house grabbed her husband’s rifle from the smokehouse, poked it through the window, and shot the bear dead.

Even with the uninvited bear’s alarming arrival, the quilting wasn’t permanently dispersed, and the women gathered once again. The man of the house returned soon after the kerfuffle for lunch. He skinned the bear, and “. . . some of the choicest steaks graced the dinner Mrs. Holiday spread at her quilting.” What a woman! (Story originally in The Landmark, Statesville, North Carolina, November 22, 1888, page 1)

~~~Now on to North Carolina in 1889 for the third story. A man decided to take his pet raccoon to a quilting. The women were plying their needles to fabric when the coon ran inside covered in bees. (He had a sweet tooth for honey, and the bees were none too happy.) In his flight from danger, the coon dashed under the quilt. “…the chairs flew, and the dresses flapped and such a dancing was never seen before.” I guess this was a literal quilting bee. LOL! (Story originally in The Landmark, Statesville, North Carolina, July 4, 1889, page 4)

Apparently, quilting is far more dangerous than I ever imagined. Even though I was a daredevil with a sewing machine, that was the extent of my bravado. Stabbing myself with a needle was never fun but was, thankfully, the worst I had to worry about. I never realized this chicken girl participated in an “extreme sport.” 

THE QUILTING CIRCLE SERIES Box Set

Historical Romance Series

By Mary Davis

THE WIDOW’S PLIGHT (Book1) – Will a secret clouding a single mother’s past cost Lily her loved ones?

THE DAUGHTER’S PREDICAMENT (Book2) *SELAH & WRMA Finalist* – As Isabelle’s romance prospects turn in her favor, a family scandal derails her dreams.

THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (Book3) *SELAH Winner* – Nicole heads down the mountain to fetch herself a husband. Can she learn to be enough of a lady to snag the handsome rancher?

THE DÉBUTANTE’S SECRET (Book4) – Complications arise when a fancy French lady steps off the train and into Deputy Montana’s arms.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNZPRRS2/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3NJNTQ5SD1WGB&keywords=the+quilting+circle+by+mary+davis&qid=1700957455&s=digital-text&sprefix=%2Cdigital-text%2C155&sr=1-7

 

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE LADY’S MISSION. Her other novels include THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET (Quilting Circle Book 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3) is a SELAH Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT, THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection, Prodigal Daughters Amish series, "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of thirty-seven years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at: Books2Read Newsletter Blog FB FB Readers Group Amazon GoodReads BookBub
 

Resource: Quiltings, Frolicks & Bees: 100 Years of Signature Quilts by Sue Reich