(Roslyn Pioneers: Jim Shepperson, wearing suspenders, is the businessman who didn't tell Black miners in the eastern and midwestern states that they'd be arriving at the peak of a strike. Also pictured is Ethel Florence Williams (Craven) being held...
Samuel Craven, one of Roslyn's most respected miners, beloved husband to Ethel Florence Williams Craven, loving father to 13 (image courtesy of the Craven family)
Roslyn’s Black Pioneers: Unearthing a History
Every August the Craven family upholds an important tradition...
The Emblem is told in two time periods, the 1930's and the late 1880's. Here's a passage that follows one of the first Black miners to Roslyn, WA. His name is David Ward.
1889
When David saw the letter left on Bella Johnson’s kitchen counter, he sought the privacy hard t...
We're a month in to the social distancing mandate due to the threat of COVID-19, and I don't have something particularly original to share. But even though my takeaways are expressed in similar formats, perhaps they're worth repeating:
When he emerged from underground after hours of toil, David couldn’t deny the protest of his back any longer. But two years over thirty, his body gavehim pain that he didn’t think he’d feel until he was an old man. He knew the men who worked bel...
*written for "Choices" magazine/ summer 2019 edition
There's nothing like a milestone to make you take inventory of your life's accomplishments (or lack thereof). My twentieth high school reunion is approaching this summer, and while I see a few fine lines in the mirror...
Write what you know.” I believe it’s the most common writing advice an aspiring author will hear. It’s a worthy consideration, but it’s seemed hollow at times and not always helpful. While it’s important to write from what one knows of life: its wonder, joys, triumphs,...
If Washington state is known for anything in its late August days, its the detrimental wildfires. Threatening, sometimes devastating, the flames spread through farmland, creating chaos and rendering the sky full of hazy smoke. For most th...
*article written for Judi Moreo's personal growth/development publication, "Choices"
When considering life's journey, it helps to think of myself ascending a spiral staircase. This visual reminds me that there are steps behind, steps still ahead, and that anything I'm c...
When these moments happen, they give you pause. Sometimes you feel chills up and down your spine at the stunning nature of them. Or they make you shake your head because they're that uncanny and so incredibly personalized to your situation. Sy...
