Mining for Authentic Details

Lorna Kerin Beall

In the children’s novel I’m writing, The Wormy Bean Winter, Kata’s Finnish Pappa and her thirteen-year-old brother, Jari, go to work in a Copper Mine in Butte, Montana.

Vanadium, Colorado mine, ca 1900. Western History/Genealogy Dept., Denver Public Library.

I needed to find out if they used Carbide helmet-lamps there in 1919. So I called a librarian in Butte and, surprise of surprises, she’d seen a photograph of a miner wearing one for the very first time in that mine in 1912!  She also explained in detail how the carbide “lumps” worked. I owe her many thanks.

I also needed to know the name and description of the contraption (elevator?) the miners took to enter the mine. My daughter (who had done some research for her own screenplay) hooked me up with Carey Granger, the tour guide and care-taker of the Good Enough Silver Mine in Tombstone, Arizona. Carey told me it was called a cage.

In, The Wormy Bean Winter, Pappa and Jari have to go in the cage for the first time. I likened it to a cage of chickens they’d seen fall off a buckboard and clatter down a cliff.  Carey, thanks for sharing the authentic details that help make my story a little more accurate. I probably still need to double-check some of my mining details... 

A Memorial to our Muse, Cousin Willo.

Sisu. One of my mom's favorite words. Finnish for gutsy. She loves to weave it through her stories about our Finnish ancestors. Wonder if she got it from our cousin Willo? I remember when Mom first started researching Finnish customs for her book, Model-T Biscuits. She sent Willo a list of questions about their family stories and growing up on the S. Dakota homestead. This got Willo a'thinkin'. She, in turn, self-published a book about her father, Axel Sacrison, and his art. What a gift she left for her children. Mom and I were thrilled when she sent us a copy of her next book, Cave Hill Finns: They Had Sisu!

It is a treasure trove of old-timey photographs of our ancestors' homestead; Cave Hill Lutheran church; sheep wagons; the sisters decked up in their white Sunday dresses on horseback; Mumu weaving a rag rug on her loom; and Axel's wonderful painting of his mother in her puku (dress) and huivi (head scarf) walking past the homestead by the buttes. Inspired by their sisu, I pored over these family photographs as I adapted, Model-T Biscuits, into a screenplay.

One summer, all of us cousins stayed at Aunt Edna's house while attending the Finn Festival in Astoria. Since Willo had been such a help, Mom and I wanted to share, "Model-T Biscuits" with her and our other cousins. As the fragrance of fruit soup with cinnamon wafted in the air, we all sat around the kitchen table and read it out loud. I always felt a special kinship with Willo.  I was delighted to find another family member who was also into video production, so I sent her my short Western, "Desert Angel." Willo, Mom, and I share a love of all things Finnish and old-timey - themes we all wrote about on our blogs.

Cousin Willo and Aunt Edna at Cave Hills Lutheran Church

We love antique bottles: blue medicine bottles, ink wells, tinted with time, beautifully flawed, light filtering through, reminiscent of past lives. After seeing my Facebook post of glass bottles in a window cell, she started her own collection of blue glass that are posted on Willo's blog.

Reminiscing about Willo, I can almost feel her presence as the light streams through the antique glass in my kitchen window. Thank you, sweet cousin Willo, for sharing our family stories and the meaning of sisu. Lepää rauhassa.

Ringo's Grave

I feel like I'm coming full circle finally seeing Ringo's grave site. I had performed a dramatic reading of the pioneer journal of Johnny Ringo's Mama at Tombstone Territory Rendezvous in November of 2011.

Is this really Johnny Ringo's grave?

While everyone else crowds around one tree, Karen makes herself comfortable on a fallen tree.

Ron Woggon gives a speech on how Johnny Ringo's body was found sitting on this tree. There is a long standing debate on whether he killed himself or was shot, (In the movie, Tombstone," Doc shoots him) and whether he was moved here. There is a discussion about where the bullet holes entered his head. Everyone is a CSI expert these days! lol. At the time of Johnny's death, the coroner never even saw the body before writing the report that we scrutinize today.

The people in the nearby house, didn't even hear the gun shots.

Dan, being the brash newcomer, adamantly proclaims that this tree is too young to be the right tree.

I love my baby!

Karen feels drawn to the fallen tree and starts digging around for the rock that was at the base of the tree.

On Angel Wings and a Prayer

It is night time before we finally hit the road for Tombstone - too dark to read in the car. Instead of practicing for my reading, I sing the songs for my musical theater showcase at Live Theater Workshop (the day after my Tombstone reading.) Dan is so patient as I sing, "Into the Woods!" for the ga-zillionth time.

At Tombstone Territory Rendezvous...

Thursday: After a lovely day trip to Ringo's grave and Gleeson Ghost town, we head to Schieffilin Hall for lectures. The first one is a powerpoint of John Clum based on Gary Ledoux's book! And there are our photographs from Special Collections. The photos we were using in our presentation! The photo of the Clums' white house! Only the caption says it is the home of John and his second wife. This drives us crazy, because in our fervor as new researchers, we are sure that it is John and Mary's house! 

Friday:  My performance is this afternoon. We skip the field trip to the old baseball field so I can practice. But The Tombstone Epitaph is just across the street from our hotel.

We stop in just to ask if they have a copy of the paper about the Townsite issue. Nope. Or if they know the location of the Clums' house...Nope. Maybe Woodie Clum's book has the address... Nope. They explain that, "Apache Agent: The Story of John P. Clum," by Woodworth Clum is out of print. 

Caught up in the search, we stop at the visitor center and ask to look at a plat map, a surveyors map of all the lots in Tombstone. They give us a historical town map, but the Clums' house isn't listed. 

We stop at every book store in search of the elusive book. We use the wifi at Wyatt's Coffee Shop so Dan can download new photographs for the presentation, while I worked on my bio and introduction.

Two hours left until my presentation! I leave Dan at the courthouse bookstore and rush back to our room.  And I still have to put my hair up in a bun and dress up in my "school marm" outfit." One thing good came out of our research...Since we didn't find the article about the townsite issue, I concentrate on telling John and Mary's story. I manage to read three letters out loud. Can't wrap my mouth around the word "seraphic." (John says his wife has become an angel...) Didn't have time to practice the eulogy at all. 

Passed some friends on the way to Shieffilin Hall and they looked pleased that I was in full period wear.

I have 15 minutes to practice at the podium, but people come into the hall to escape the hot lobby. I end up practicing in the hot lobby. Still can't pronounce "seraphic." 

Eric Eardman (a descendant of Wyatt Earp) introduces me, I take off my black bonnet at the podium and say a silent prayer.

I set the stage by reading an excerpt of John's love letter, "My Dear Darling, Precious little sweetheart. My pretty dear. My beloved little wife. I am sorry I can't kiss you tonight." My hand shakes a little as I read the first letter that Mary wrote to her new mother-in-law describing their wedding. Then I read her last letter to her mother-in-law detailing their daily life including the Townsite issue. I rave about the weather and how I have never felt so well in my life. I gush as I describe little Woodie's doings and sayings.

I fold my hands as I read, "At night he says his prayers so cute. Now I lay me, etc - crossing his little hands - then kisses me, papa and Grandmama. He wanted dolly to say hers so he said the entire prayer and remarked "dolly said at." Finally, I tear up a bit as I read John's letter sharing the news of his dear departed wife going to Heaven to become an angel. My mouth is dry, so I still can't pronounce "seraphic."  I say, "Sorry," and take a sip of water. 

All in all, it turned out to be a really rewarding experience. As I head back to my seat, a twenty-something man says, "Thank you."

It was a good thing that I included the Townsite issue. Bob Palmquist elaborated on it in his lecture. He referred to my presentation three times. He seemed to really appreciate that I had shared the Clum's letters. My friend Soni later responded on facebook, "Thank you for SUCH a great and informative performance last weekend! I learned a lot and will never look at the Clums the same way again! lol"  Thanks, Soni! 

That night we celebrate with a stroll down Safford Street scouting out the Clum's house.

This is NOT the house.

According to Parsons, it was supposed to be "down the street from a church." We find St. Paul's Episcopal Church. (It was actually the wrong church.) Town lot researcher Nancy Sosa explains that the house is no longer on that lot. She laughs at the thought of us looking for a house "down the street" from the church. In a small town like Tombstone, every lot is just down the street.

On the last day we find Woodies' book behind glass at the Epitaph office.

Wrapped up in research, I forget to rehearse.

After going through Mary and John Clum's letters at the U of A Libraries Special Collections, I decide to perform Mary's last letter to her mother-in-law.

I am especially excited to include Mary's insights on the Townsite issue. (I figure this should be of great interest to the researchers and historians at Tombstone Territory Rendezvous.) In the letter, Mary writes, "It is a great outrage to move people off their lots by man force. They tried to move a house last night but did not succeed as the Marshal interfered and put a stop to it.  This morning the citizens moved it back to it's former position. Clark, Gray, and Co. felt somewhat chagrined but do not dare offer any resistance. The entire public is against them. I hope no violence will be used...We have two nice lots of our own and our little house and are comfortable, so are deeply interested in the question at issue."

Intrigued, I put off packing for our Tombstone trip and practicing for my dramatic reading. Instead, I delve into my personal library of Tombstone history. I uncover comments about the Townsite issue in the correspondences of Clara Spalding Brown in, "Tombstone from a Woman's Point of View," and the private journal of George Whitwell Parsons from, "A Tenderfoot in Tombstone." (Both edited by Lynn Bailey.)

Parsons has several entries about the subject as he was heavily engaged in fighting Clark, Gray and Co. about their rights to the town lots. He mentions obtaining two lots himself with Rev. McIntire near the Clum's house on Safford Street. He thinks having the Rev. on his side will help, but also describes the attempt to move the Judge's house while the Judge is away. A judge even! What nerve!

Mary Clum's letter and George Parsons' journal both discuss Clum's articles regarding the Townsite issue in his paper, The Tombstone Epitaph.

I wonder out loud if I can get a copy for my reading. Dan, my ever curious, ever helpful beau, does a search for copies of that paper. Unfortunately, he can't find any copies of the Epitaph from that time period, 1880-81.

Caught up in this research, neither of us gets anything we need to get done for our trip that night. And my reading is Friday! Ahh!

There's always Tombstone...

Who Snatched Geronimo's Gun?

Seeking inspiration to rehearse my dramatic reading of the Clum letters, I watched the "true story" of John Clum capturing Geronimo in "Walk the Proud Land" (starring Audie Murphy). 

What fun! It was even shot at Old Tucson Studios! Perfect way to get in the spirit for our trip to Tombstone! Trailer highlights such as Ann Bancroft's sprayed on tan, Audie's full head of hair (John Clum was prematurely bald), and the hilarious musical theater war dance, should have clued us in on the film's authenticity. But the claim that it was a true story sent me and my beau on an ardent search for the facts. After all, it was based on the book, "Apache Agent: The Story of John P. Clum," by his son, Woodie. 

(SPOILER AHEAD)

As research for my dramatic reading, I read several letters that the Clums wrote to each other during this time period (1886). It was interesting to discover what Mary meant when she wrote to her mother-in-law, "I fully appreciate the many trials and temptations he must encounter."  The movie dramatizes that temptation with an Apache widow that the chief gives to John. In reality his wife never comes to the reservation to confront the widow, like she does in the film. Nor do they get married in Tucson. The historical letter includes a detailed description of their wedding in Delaware, Ohio, surrounded by Mary's family. 

It is probably more accurate to say that the film is "inspired by a true story." John Clum did in fact fight for the rights of the San Carlos reservation Indians to govern and police themselves. He created a troop of very successful Apache police who even protected settlers from violent Apaches. 

In the movie there is just one chief and a few under chiefs living on the San Carlos reservation. In reality there were several chiefs and their tribes. (I realize this is a plot convention used to tighten the story.) Word arrives that Geronimo's renegades have been attacking settlers and are on the Ojo Caliente reservation. The movie has Clum deciding spontaneously to go after Geronimo, when actually the Commissioner of Indian Affairs directed him to do it. (With a promise of backup troops if needed.)

In the movie Clum has a handful of Apache police with him when he approaches Geronimo, and a scheme (inspired by a biblical story) in which a few Indians surround them in the mountains and shoot off their guns - the echo making them sound more numerous than they were. In reality, Clum found Geronimo on the Ojo Caliente reservation (abandoned by the Indian Agency). Clum had 20 braves with him as he approached the chief. There were 80 more hiding in the commissary poised for a clever ambush that intimidated Geronimo's renegades into surrendering. The next day the cavalry comes to the rescue, marching in formation, flags and pennants flapping. Clum is lounging with his legs up and casually points out Geronimo already shackled in chains. He and his Apache police had captured the great warrior Geronimo without firing a shot.

But what about Geronimo's gun? In real life, John just snatches Geronimo's gun, Geronimo pulls a knife on him, but one of the Clum's Apache police relieves Geronimo of his weapon. In the movie, there is skirmish including some gun shots and John ends up with the gun. I like the actual incident better. History was more compelling than the movie.  

Unfortunately, the movie inspired this blog entry instead of my rehearsal. Leaving tomorrow for Tombstone! My reading is Friday afternoon! Better get at it! Wish me luck!

The Clum Letters: Through the Eyes of Mother Clum

While preparing for my dramatic reading at Tombstone Territory Rendezvous, I conducted research on Epitaph editor and Indian agent John Clum (He actually captured Geronimo!) at the U of A Special Collections library. After poring over Clum family letters, I have decided to portray John Clum's mother reading letters from her son and his wife, Mary. I plan to include: the first letter Mary wrote to her new mother-in-law in which she shares the details of their wedding, Mary's last letter before dying in which she tells about her life in Arizona, and John's letter sharing the sad news of his dear wife's death (as well as the newspaper clipping he enclosed.)

Dear Maddie: Researching Tombstone Mayor John Clum's Letters to His Dear Wife (or They Actually Let Me Touch Historical Letters!)

Researching John and Mary Clum in Special Collections at the U of A.

by Jana Segal

It had been a few years since I performed the dramatic reading of John Ringo's mother's pioneer diary at Tombstone Territory Rendezvous, so I was eager to perform another historic reading. TTR organizer, Jean Smith, suggested that I do something on the wife of one of the mayors of Tombstone since this year's program already included several prominent men. I googled "mayors of Tombstone." At the top of the list were the current mayor of Tombstone and John Clum. John Clum - Earp supporter, Epitaph founder, and Indian agent! His wife at the time was Mary Clum. I was intrigued to find out more about her. Someone was already scheduled to do a presentation on Mayor Clum based on Gary Ledoux's new book, so Mrs. Clum would fit in nicely. Following that lead, I discovered Gary Ledoux on facebook and asked him if he had any copies of the Clums' letters. He didn't, but he graciously sent me some pages from his book that included excerpts from Clum's April 16th letter to his wife (written while serving at the Southern Apache Indian Agency where he captured Geronimo.) I had a date to work with! A google search for that letter, led to a collection of the Clums' letters in the University of Arizona Libraries Special Collections.

I was tickled to find how easy it is to look up historic documents at Special Collections. The research librarians were so helpful bringing up boxes full of folders with letters, newspaper clippings, and old photos. (I imagined them scooting their little cart by row after row of artifact boxes like the iconic scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark.") Plastic envelopes held the fragile, aging letters. I couldn't believe that I was allowed get my grubby mitts (or white gloves) on 130 year old love letters! I read Clum's letter to Major J. F. Wade from the the 9th Cavalry detailing the capture of Geronimo. I struggled to decipher the Clums' messy handwriting and smiled at their gushing affection. Finally, I happened onto John's letter to his mother sharing the heartbreaking news of his wife's death. Profoundly touched, I knew that I had to share their story with a dramatic reading of their letters.

Tombstone Territory Rendezvous will be held October 29th to November 2nd.

Preparing a Reading of a Historical Document

Jana Segal

I had such a good time performing the reading of Sharlott Hall's short 1880's story, “The Fruit of the Yucca Tree,” at the Tombstone Territory Rendezvous last year that I decided to do another reading. After some discussion about what would be a good fit for this group of Tombstone enthusiasts, historians and researchers, organizer Jennifer Lewis and I came up with the idea doing a reading from pioneer letters or journals from the Southwest. Jenn generously did some speedy research and found, “The Journal of Mrs. Mary Ringo.” It's the mother of Johnny Ringo's accounts of her family's wagon train trek from Liberty, Missouri to Austin, Nevada. I perused the journal. It included plenty of hardships and Indian attacks! We were set!

So, how do you cut a 38 page journal into a 4 ½ page script?

First, I read it through marking all the juicy parts and possible story threads that could be built into a compelling story. For instance, I marked all the passages about Indians - including the interactions with friendly Indians so I would have rising and falling action. I wanted to show some of the scenic beauty along the way and their daily activities without getting too boring or repetitious. On a second read, I included a strand about the sick cattle. I figured that the TTR audience would be interested in anything about the young Johnny Ringo (who later became a famous outlaw) so I marked the little I could find about him. The most dramatic journal entry was Mary Ringo's account of her husband's death, so I decided to set up his character by including whatever I could find about him.

I typed up all the journal entries I had selected – double spaced to have room for the comments when I “break down” the script. Since this is a historical journal, I decided to stay true to it by not changing Mary's wording. But I did cut sentences here and there to lessen repetition and boring details (like how many miles they traveled each day.) I tweaked and cut until it flowed as a story.

Time for some research -

I did a little research to find out Johnny's age at the time of the wagon trip (Johnny was 14) and the route they were traveling (from Liberty, Missouri to Austin, Nevada). I also found some facts about Johnny that I could use in my introduction. Johnny Ringo (also known as Ringo) started his life of crime by killing a man in the Mason County War. He later ended up in Tombstone embroiled in a conflict with Doc Holliday. Wyatt Earp went after Ringo believing that he was one of the Cowboys responsible the murder of his little brother Morgan. My next step was to look up any old-timey words that I didn't know so I could interpret it accurately.

Next, I “breakdown” the manuscript.

I underline the words I want to emphasis and put slashes where I want to pause for effect. I mark different parts for tempo - for instance exciting passages that I want to read fast or sentences I want to sloooow down. I love it when I find a line I can YELL (and wake up that audience.) At this point, I practice it aloud and circle lines that are awkward to say so I can work on them. I might watch a period accurate movie set in the same time period to get a sense of the dialect. If I'm having trouble with some stiff dialogue, I might leave the page and try saying it in my own words to get more conversational.

Now I put on my actor hat, and re-read the journal for hints of who Mary was so I can flesh out her character. (For example, Mary Ringo bought a new dress along the way so she cared about her appearance. She also puts a positive slant on everything.) I might even write my own journal entry in her voice to really get in her head. I search for sections where I can add emotions and mark them. I ask myself how she would feel about a certain situation. Are there any clues about how she feels? I try to incorporate as many emotions as I can and contrast them. I work towards building the emotions to a dramatic climax.

How do I know when I've practiced enough?

I practice it until I know it well enough that I can look up from the page to the audience. At some point, I like to read it out loud to another person – so I get used to having an audience. This helps offset stage fright. If I can, I practice in the space to get comfortable there. It's really about reaching a certain level of comfort and confidence – then let me at it! I'm ready to perform!  

Piecing Patchwork Memories for Wormy Bean Winter

 by Lorna Kerin Beall

    When Jana and I accepted our screenplay award for Model T Biscuits at Santa Clarita, and she’d given her articulate acceptance speech, I stammered a few nervous sentences. I managed to end by saying that it was my Finnish mom and her sisu, (the Finnish word for guts and determination) that inspired me to write Model T.
   
    Later, as I pondered my mother’s courage, I began to remember what I heard about her childhood as her family homesteaded on the South Dakota prairie. I didn’t have much to go on at first. I recalled that she’d told me that her younger sisters, Irene and Leona had slept in the same bed with her which kept them warmer in the bitter winter weather and caused them to roast like sticky marshmallows in the summer. We had a black and white snapshot of Mom, her brother Gus, and Irene and Leona playing with bits of broken crockery using snake holes in the side of a Butte for a cupboard! (Scary.)
                                                                                                                              
      Mom, Dad and I had a small farm in Prosser, Washington. Mom loved to work outside with cows, calves chicken and such. All of our cows and calves had names. I had a steer named Cocoa that I rode all over the farm. I only fell off one time, when he jumped over a little ditch.

    Mom told me several times that when she was a child she’d been stuck in their homestead shack doing inside chores while her sister, Irene, who would’ve loved changing places with her, got to work outside. There was enough outdoor work to go around since they had to haul water from way out by the barn, carry wood in and ashes out, and chop out a multitude of wounding cacti.  I know they all had to pitch hay from dawn to dusk at haying time.

Fred Hultstrand History in Pictures Collection, NDIRS-NDSU, Fargo 

My grandmother ( Finnish Mumu) also inspired me. My Omaha cousin had written several inspirational articles about our mumu’s sisu. If I remember correctly these were published in some senior citizen magazines. As a child our mumu was once surrounded by a wolf pack and survived. And as an adult she’d encountered a different type of predator - the two legged kind - whom she met head-on with a pitchfork.  
                                                                                                                           
Hearing about these incidents and talking to my cousin, inspired me to begin writing a middle-grade, multi-cultural novel, Wormy Bean Winter. It would be loosely based on our family’s homesteading adventures on the prairie. Since it was to be a children’s novel, I made my mom the 12-years-old protagonist, always keeping in mind that all of her family members had a lot of faith and sisu.

  But where to start? I formulated a long list of questions, ranging from “How far did the family have to carry water?” to “Did you have a Christmas tree?” I even asked, “Were you hugged and kissed a lot by your parents?” I sent my questions to my cousin, Willo Boe, who lovingly and eagerly began to help and contacted other family members. In fact, she was inspired to write three wonderful non-fiction books of her own with amazing photos about our family. (These have been invaluable help in my writing.) In the first, she wrote in the acknowledgments, “Without my cousin, Lorna Beall’s curiosity regarding our grandparents’ lives, none of us would have considered the project.”

Our family heritage is a beautiful patchwork quilt pieced with both soft and more durable rag pieces.