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Story Sparks
"Stories are the sparks that light our ancestor's lives, the embers we blow on to illuminate our own"
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Greetings!
A first class education is no small things to give another. Attending the graduation of a young woman from the Indian reservation reminded me of the great gift we citizens give by providing a public education for our children and our neighbor's children and grand-children. From our seat in the bleachers at Madras, Oregon, we watched the processional and cheered along with those we sat beside when "our" graduate's name was read. The blend of Hispanic, old Oregon and Native American names highlighted the great diversity of rural Jefferson County in Central Oregon. My thoughts soared forward to the hope that these young people would have the confidence and courage to seek solutions to the problems we face together while praying, too, that they'd find the fire in their lives that would keep burning toward full and blessed futures.
"Our" graduate was a young woman whom I'd helped deliver as her mother's birthing partner 18 years earlier. We couldn't have been more pleased to see Lorissa Quinn cross that podium to receive her diploma and send compliments to her parents and teachers and the community of Warm Springs and Madras who passed on that first class education so she could make that walk.
If you have a chance this year...attend a graduation, even if you don't know a soul receiving a degree. You are a part of the success of all these young people. As I revise my current Work in Progress, set in the 1800s, I'm reminded that a free public education wasn't always a part of our country's tradition. Girls, especially, were often not allowed to go to school or even tutored at home with their brothers. Thank goodness along the way someone realized that a free public education for all children would serve us all and I for one continue to be grateful, especially each year in June when graduates hold their diplomas to their hearts.
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Midwife's Legacy
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No, I'm not a midwife even though I had that brief privilege of being present when a baby arrived into this world some years back. A physician attended; but I was allowed to cut the cord and say a prayer for the life of a young girl who arrived on a June day in 1994. I remember driving home to the ranch under a star-studded sky full of joy and grateful for being allowed to have a small part in this baby's safe arrival in the world. I committed then to staying with her, walking beside her so not only her birth would be a memorable joy but her life as well.
And I confess, I did revisit that birth when writing my portion of the novella collection titled The Midwife's Legacy published by Barbour Publishing this month. The collection is part of a larger series called Romancing America with this book being "Romancing Oregon." While our collection begins in Mondovi, Wisconsin, it ends in Oregon...just like me.
I set my story called "A Mother's Cry" in my home town of Mondovi. I hope you'll enjoy my contribution along with those of authors Rhonda Gibson, Pamela Griffin and Trish Perry, all fine writers who carried the legacy of my character's midwife's journal and spirit through their midwives on the Oregon Trail, early Portland and into contemporary Oregon. Check out the Romancing America blog and my own for pictures and insights. http://janeswordsofencouragement.blogspot.com. It's a fun summer read full of surprises and yes, happy endings. There is even a book give away! http://romancingamerica.com/posts/the-midwifes-legacy/
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Words!
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 I love words! I have favorites like aghast which just sounds good when one says it and pig that is so light and airy I thought bubbles should have been called pigs. I remember hearing the word butterfly given to this yellow fluttering thing hovering over a mud puddle on our way to bring the cows up to the barn. As a child I thought my older sister was telling me a tall tale with that name. After all, we lived on a dairy and I'd never seen butter fly.
The choice of words people use often gives hints of their origin. During one of my presentations about Where Lilacs Still Bloom, a man commented that I wasn't originally from Oregon. He knew that because of the way I pronounced lilac...sort of like lie-luck. He told me in the Northwest that word sounded more like lie-lock. I love that our words give away secrets.
This month my University of Wisconsin Alumni magazine presented an article about words and regionalization of them. The Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) project has just completed the twenty-sixth letter and published a fifth volume that covers Sl to Z. What an amazing feat, attempting to identify unique uses of words, keeping us from becoming homogenized. Harvard University Press recently published the fifth volume. Dozens of words are used for Stream for example and even worms.
I confess to a little chagrin when I saw some of the names for outhouse. Yes, biffy is one. My mom used that a lot. But here are others that make me want to know what part of the country one used that word in: Reading Room. F.D.R. Garden house. King Tut's Tomb. Chic Sale all words for outhouse. And here's the one that opened my eyes in surprise: Aunt Jane's room. I don't think I can wait until the electronic dictionary is released next year to find out where in the country someone is reading in Aunt Jane's room. I can only hope they're reading one of my titles! http://dare.news.wisc.edu/
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Jane's Schedule
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Take a look and see where our paths might cross in June.
WHEN: Sunday, June 17, 10:45 a.m.
WHERE: Moro Community Presbyterian Church, Moro, Oregon
WHAT: Jane is the guest elder speaking for the morning service. It's Father's Day, too!
WHEN: Saturday, June 23. Workshop 9:00 a.m., Keynote presentation 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Psalm Center, Corban University, 5000 Deer Park Dr. SE, Salem, Oregon
WHAT: Jane will present the keynote and a workshop at this conference called Portal: Art and Faith Writer's Conference at Corban University in Salem, home of such fine writers as Oregon Book Award Winner Gina Ochsner who is the conference coordinator. Jane will speak about the writing life as a reflection of faith. For more information contact gochsner@corban.edu.
WHEN: Friday, June 29, 1:00 p.m.
WHERE: Sierra Vista Middle School, Sunnyside, Washington
WHAT: The 8th annual Sunnyside Summer Institutes Educator Workshop. Jane is an honorary member of Delta Kappa Gamma, an educational sorority. She loves teachers!
WHEN: Saturday, June 30, 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: Sunnyside Presbyterian Church, 737 16th St., Sunnyside, Washington
WHAT: Ladies' Summer Tea. Join Jane as she celebrates women's stories, many from the great state of Washington.
WHEN: Wednesday, July 11, 4:00 p.m.
WHERE: Paulina Springs Book Store, 252 W. Hood Ave., Sisters, Oregon
WHAT: It's quilt Week in Sisters! Jane's back and she's talking about Where Lilacs Still Bloom and The Midwife's Legacy. Please join quilters and others (people who applaud all those beautiful quilts!) at this annual event.
For all event information and updates, please visit Jane's website and click on News and Events. Thanks!
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Word Whisperings | 
True Sisters by Sandra Dallas (St. Martin's Press)
Sandra Dallas is one of my favorite authors and a good friend. She never fails to deliver both great story and singular history. Her latest is no exception. True Sisters - already a New York Times Bestseller - brings together four women on the Martin Handcart Company journey of 1856 "...United by the promises of prosperity and salvation in a new land." The handcart crossings from Iowa to Utah truly happened and the stories of the survivors are more wrenching than the chronicles of the Donner party. The families didn't travel by wagon...they pushed and pulled handcarts across the continent.
Sandra's story-telling takes us along on that journey of mostly European immigrants who had chosen the Mormon faith in Scotland and England and crossed the ocean to help build the kingdom in Utah. Not all were believers. One woman came only to appease her husband. Her story in many ways is the most compelling as she found kinship among the women who did not share her faith but shared her heart in loving family, mourning loss and finding moments of hope along the way. Each of the four women's stories will keep you turning pages well into the night and some of the issues with the men will make you want to...well, I'll let you decide when you read the book.
True Sisters isn't like The Persian Pickle Club with its quilts and characters -- which is being made into a movie, by the way. I can hardly wait! But for lovers of historical authenticity and a depth of understanding of the human condition and a woman's needs in the wilderness of our lives, you'll find a most satisfying read in True Sisters.
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 Where Lilacs Still Bloom continues to garner great sales and many happy emails coming my way. It's number seven at A Book For All Seasons in Leavenworth, Washington where I met new readers at the library and the bookstore. I even chatted with granddaughter's of a pharmacist mentioned in the book The Daughter's Walk. Great fun. I love hearing that after reading the Lilac book, people take more notice of the flowers blooming along their walks or in their yards. Several have planted lilacs this year in honor of Hulda Klager's epic work. As a writer, I always hope my words might help someone see the world a little differently: notice a detail, take a moment to treasure a bloom. Kafka once wrote that "a book should be an axe to the frozen sea within us." I hope that Lilacs - and all the books you'll read this summer - will melt a bit of that frozen sea and bring you a richer, warmer world.
Happy Father's Day!
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