By the summer of 1942, large numbers of working-age German men had been transferred to the eastern or western fronts to fight. This resulted in increased vacancies at factories and mines at the very point in time when more laborers were needed to support the German war industry.
A note from Carolyn: Louise Dillery was one of two individuals who translated Marcel’s letters into English. When I asked what she would say to people in her beloved Paris following last week’s attack, she wrote the following, and wanted me to help get her message out:READ MORE
Most often, the pieces of handwritten ephemera I collect have to do with serious topics: war, legal contracts, pleas for emergency assistance.
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Last Thursday evening, I had the honor of sharing Marcel’s story to 90 people at the White Bear Lake Area Historical Society annual meeting. READ MORE
Before credit cards, merchants would obtain “assurance” slips noting the client agreed to pay in 30 or 60 days, or some other agreed-upon schedule.
Last week, I attended one of a long-running series of World War II lectures at Fort Snelling. Each gathering, an author or expert gives a presentation, followed by a panel of WWII vets who provide first-person testimony related to the evening’s topic.
Book development editor Jill Swenson brought this word to my attention this morning, and throughout the day it has proved to be an enchanting distraction.
Flâneuse (female) / Flâneur (male): A passionate wanderer.
Yesterday, a small cardboard box arrived, and as I walked up the driveway, I tried to puzzle out who it was from. When I opened it, I was delighted to see a hard-cover book from a Kickstarter campaign I backed months earlier, and had nearly forgotten about.
September has been a month of polishing: polishing the proposal, polishing the first chapters of the manuscript. I’m even enrolled in a class called “Punch & Polish” at the Loft Literary Center.
Over the weekend I finished reading the book ‘Alex’s Wake.’ It was one of those books that started with a slow drip, but ended with a wave of sadness so enormous it was impossible to hold back tears.
Next time you’re in an antique store, look for the box of old photos. Trust me, there is almost always a shoebox of photos sitting in some forgotten corner, filled with miniature black-and-white glossy prints stripped from the pages of a photo album.
One of the amazing people I’ve met along this journey is Louise Dillery. Readers of the book will get to know how amazing she is, too. She translated some of Marcel’s letters, and has turned into a dear friend. Louise is nearly 90 years old, but you would never know it — she’s sharp as a tack, and loves to talk about thoroughly modern things like eyebrow tattoos, Beyoncé and the allure of ‘bad boys.’