Louis Rock Rochon, my great-grandfather, was a rolling stone.(Pun intended.)Â He was born in 1848 in Quebec. When he was 17, his father died; then Louis immigrated to Illinois in 1867. He was still single and living in as a boarder in Chicago in 1880, but moved back to Canada the next year to live … Continue reading Friday Finds – The Cook County Poor Farm
Category: My Blog
Throwback Thursday – It’s like pulling teeth!
Toothbrushes were invented in about 1690 and only the wealthy could afford the imported bristled brushes. Peasants of 1650 (and most cultures going back 600 years) used twigs (such as hazel) chewed until frayed to clean their teeth with a tooth powder made from ashes or ground egg shells or animal bones. Or they simply … Continue reading Throwback Thursday – It’s like pulling teeth!
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Writer’s Wednesday – Marketing Tip
I’m old fashioned and use AOL for my emails. They may be ancient in tech terms, but they’ve given me an easy way to get the cover of one of my books in front of people likely to buy. Maybe your gmail or yahoo will let you do it, too. AOL allows me to customize … Continue reading Writer’s Wednesday – Marketing Tip
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Tuesday – Time Travel
Imagine a time when food was scarce. We could learn from our ancestors. If you were a hungry peasant trudging through the marshes of northwest France in 1650, you might look at cattails as dinner. The shaggy green spears of cattails could be dinner, dessert, mattress stuffing, and roofing shingles—all in one plant. Cattails (Typha … Continue reading Tuesday – Time Travel
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Mystery Monday
Why can't we build structures that last for centuries? My genealogical records show our Rochon family tree goes back to at least 1639 to Saint-Cosme-de-Vair in the Perth region southwest of Paris. That inspired me to start my historical fiction novel there on a poor peasant farm. The parish church is central to the story. … Continue reading Mystery Monday
Jeanne Meeks ~ Fiction Author 