Ruth Tenzer Feldman's Blog, page 16
February 19, 2013
Quick! Go See This Suffrage Play!
Here, cribbed in its entirety, is an article from Willamette University. You still have time to see this play. Go for it!
WU Theatre Presents
“Brightly Dawning Day” in February
The battle for women’s voting rights in Oregon was hard-fought and hard-won, taking place in parlors, public squares and print media.
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in Oregon, Willamette University Theatre presents “Brightly Dawning Day,” opening Feb. 15 at Willamette’s Pelton Theatre.
“This is...
February 14, 2013
And the Answer is Yes!
1909 Valentine
Over the past year, many of the people who have read Blue Thread ask me the same question: “Did Miriam and Ephraim ever get together again?”
Now, in honor of Valentine’s Day, I’ll tell you that the short answer is yes. Most definitely. Miriam gradually came to love Ephraim, who had been smitten with her for months before the book started. They married in 1914, back in Portland, at Temple Beth Israel. Miriam’s father, Julius, was furious at his only child marrying “beneath her.” M...
February 7, 2013
Wealth, Weddings, and Downton Abbey
Blue Thread and Downton Abbey? As I was watching a recent episode of this popular TV series, I was struck by how much the two stories have in common.
Time period for one. Both works are set in 1912. Blue Thread mentions the sinking of the Titanic only briefly, with Lillian worrying about taking a vacation in Europe. In Downton Abbey, the ocean liner’s demise is linked to the fate of the manor house and its owners, the Earl and Countess of Grantham.
Then there’s the loss of a male heir. In Blue...
January 31, 2013
Amelia Bloomer Project Lists Blue Thread
I am honored to announce that the American Library Association’s Amelia Bloomer Project lists Blue Thread among its 2013 “best feminist books” for young readers.
Here is a list of all the ABP books in the young adult category for both fiction and nonfiction. I’m currently reading Eight Girls Taking Pictures, which I’d recommend for older teens and adults. Enjoy! By the way, did Amelia really design bloomers? Check out last month’s post on bicycling clothes.
Bickle, Laura. The Hallowed Ones. 201...
January 28, 2013
The Jukebox for All of Us
Mama studied me head to foot and stopped cranking the Grafonola. ‘Good morning at last.’ She had an edge to her voice. ‘Rigoletto or Carmen?’
I headed for the tea biscuits and lemon curd. ‘Carmen,’ I muttered, although to me one opera record was about the same as another.”
While I was writing this scene in Blue Thread, I searched the Internet for the opera selections that the Josefsohns might have listened to in 1912. That’s when I discovered the National Jukebox. In 2011 the Library of Congres...
January 24, 2013
Graphic Design Meets Transit Lines
Roaming through the Internet jungle, I chanced to find this map of Portland area transit lines by graphic designer Cameron Booth:
Cameron writes: “This map…compares the passenger rail network of Portland from three different eras – 1912, 1943, and 2015, when the Portland-Milwaukie MAX light rail line will be completed. In this case, “passenger rail” is defined as streetcar (both old and modern), the once-plentiful interurban trains (a precursor to today’s light rail that once ran down the Will...
January 21, 2013
From Wilson to Obama and Beyond
Election Day, 1912. Miriam and her family in Blue Thread search the night sky:
Red lights on the corners of the building’s massive tower flashed the signal that Mr. Wilson had won the presidency. The red and white lights on The Morning Oregonian tower and the horizontal sweep of searchlights across Council Crest confirmed the news.”
Several months later, Chief Justice Edward D. White administered the oath of office to Woodrow Wilson on the east portico of the U.S. Capitol. Look at that crowd!
Th...
January 17, 2013
Dreaming of Rhodies in Bloom
Although winter is breathing down our necks, chances are excellent that spring will come and the rhododendrons will bloom. These flowering shrubs are so popular that they made an appearance in Blue Thread:
‘This part of Johnson is quite lovely,’ Charity said as we crossed the front porch. ‘Your rhododendrons and rose bushes are gorgeous….’”
Portland–the Rose City–is awash in rhodies, too. “Rhododendron” comes from ancient Greek and means “rose tree.” Oregon has several chapters of the American...
January 14, 2013
Soup from the Past: Grapenuts Broth
Snowy day and soup: a perfect combination. Today I got out my virtual copy the 1909 Washington Women’s Cook Book–sold back then to help finance the votes-for-women campaign–and read through recipes for soup. In among the usual ones for potatoes and tomatoes was this:
Really? There’s no such thing as a grapenut. Could Gertrude mean the crunchy, vaguely sweet cereal that seems to have been part of American breakfasts forever, the one our parents and grandparents ground their teeth on?
The short a...
January 10, 2013
Annie’s, Indies, and You
Today you get two blog posts in one. The first is a reminder about the Time Travel Troika this Saturday at 3:00 at Annie Bloom’s Books. I’ll definitely be there.
That’s enough about me. The second is another official reminder to march into any independent book store in Portland and catch the wonder.
The owners of Broadway Books recently posted a link to an article by author Ann Patchett about her new bookstore in Nashville, and I’ve passed it on to you. Definitely worth reading. My favorite par...
