Category Archives: family history

Addy’s Granddaughter

Posted on June 8, 2020 by jayne bowers

Good readers make good writers. At least that’s what I keep telling myself when I fail to work on a story or submit something I’ve already written. In my critique group, sometimes we talk about workshopping a piece to death, … Continue reading →

Posted in book reviews, books, families, family history, nonfiction, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Studebaker or Chevrolet?

Posted on July 29, 2019 by jayne bowers

Is there a friend of mine, Facebook or otherwise, who doesn’t know I’ve been working on a family history for nearly two years? Each time I’m “done,” someone finds an error, has a different memory of events, or wants to … Continue reading →

Posted in ancestry, Benjamin Dreyer, books, editing, families, family history, nonficion, stories, story telling, Uncategorized, writing, writing projects | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Getting the Tools

Posted on May 14, 2018 by jayne bowers

“What have you been writing lately?” a friend asked. Embarrassed to say, “Nothing much,” I replied, “This and that.” Before she had a chance to inquire further, I shared that I’d been reading a lot. “Good readers make good writers, … Continue reading →

Posted in books, critique groups, family history, reading, Uncategorized, writers, writing, writing groups | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Family Stories

Posted on May 7, 2018 by jayne bowers

The three of us rode to the Myrtle Beach Airport in the misty, predawn light, that special time of day when the world seems almost magical as it emerges from darkness into light. No wait, it was around four o’clock, … Continue reading →

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Our Lighted Seasons

Posted on February 27, 2018 by jayne bowers

It’s one thing to get an idea and quite another to make it a reality. I wanted to compile information about my ancestry and put it into a family history, but how to do it was a mystery. Where was … Continue reading →

Posted in ancestry, Annie Dillard, books, family history, Uncategorized, writing, writing projects | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Like Scarlett Said

Posted on October 2, 2017 by jayne bowers

I’ve been working on a family history off and on for the last year, more off than on. I’ll work feverishly on dates and names for a few days and then get distracted by experimenting with chalk paint or rearranging … Continue reading →

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Pistol Packing Grandmother

Posted on May 25, 2017 by jayne bowers

It’s turning out to be a mammoth task, this family history that I’ve been working on for a couple of years. I’ll start and stop and then start again. I’m fascinated by the people and their lives, but well, I … Continue reading →

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Two Words

Posted on May 15, 2017 by jayne bowers

A friend posted something on Facebook yesterday that I’ve been pondering ever since. She wrote of her ambivalent feelings about Mother’s day and her awareness that it’s not a happy flowers and chocolates kind of day for everyone. There are mothers … Continue reading →

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Hello Honey

Posted on May 4, 2017 by jayne bowers

My father visited me in a dream on a cruise ship in Alaska. Who am I? Where did I come from? Who are my people? Those questions have haunted me for years, and now that I’ve begun writing a family … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska, family histories, family history, stories, Uncategorized, writing projects | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment