Sandra Merville Hart's Blog, page 104

Macadamized Roads

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John Loudoun McAdam, a Scottish inventor, traveled almost 19,000 miles from 1798—1814 to form a method of making roads less susceptible to water.

Stagecoaches and wagons got stuck on muddy roads, adding to the difficulty of traveling. As surveyor general, McAdam devised a way to greatly improve roads and wrote of it in his Remarks on the Present System of Road-Making (1816).

To aid in water drainage, McAdam first recommended that roads be higher than the ground beside it. A layer of large broken stones then covered the road. Smaller stones were then laid over them. A fine layer of gravel was the last component.

This design reduced wear and tear on the road. Water drained to ditches on the side.

His recommendation was a great improvement over traveling on muddy roads. His idea spread to the United States.

Construction started in 1811 on the National Road, which began in Cumberland, Maryland, and wound through Pennsylvania and Virginia into Ohio. McAdam’s principles weren’t yet known.

His methods grew in popularity so that road makers used it on a new section of the National Road between Canton and Zanesville, Ohio, in 1825-1830. They broke stones small enough “to pass through a two-inch ring.”

At a width of twenty feet, the road contained the three layers of stone suggested by McAdam. Each layer was compacted with a cast-iron roller. This created the Macadamized road, making travel easier and safer for the pioneers settling in Ohio and farther west.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Bellis, Mary. “John Loudon McAdam – The History of Roads and Asphalt,” About.com, 2017/04/20 http://theinventors.org/library/inventors/blJohnMcAdam.htm.

Edited by Raitz, Karl. A Guide to The National Road, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.

“John Loudon McAdam”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2017. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

“McAdam, John Loudoun.” The Oxford Companion to British History. . Encyclopedia.com. 19 Apr. 2017<http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

“Macadam”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2017. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

 

Filed under: From Our Past Tagged: American history, Cumberland Maryland, Cumberland Road, Historical Nibbles, John Loudoun McAdam, macadam roads, macadamized roads, National Road, Sandra Merville Hart

For a Song by Susanne Dietze

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Lily Kimball’s uncle accepts a fee that sends her and her sister from Boston to Texas to sing in a saloon. The owner, Jackson Bridge, has invited his aunt to live with him and his daughter and requested she find two songbirds to bring with her.

Lily doesn’t want the job—she wants to make a living as a singer but not in a saloon. Her uncle gives them no choice.

But things aren’t always what they seem.

Jackson doesn’t own a saloon. His aunt tends toward confusion. His daughter wanted two birds as pets. Jackson isn’t impressed by Lily’s willingness to sing in a saloon.

Lily cooks at Jackson’s ranch and cares for his daughter while dreaming of becoming the next Jenny Lind.

But dreams have a way of changing . . .

I enjoyed this historical romance set in a small Texas town in 1858.

This novella is part of The Cowboy’s Bride Collection published by Barbour.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Christianbook.com

Filed under: Review Tagged: Book Review, Historical romance, Sandra Merville Hart, Susanne Dietze

Four Tips for Better Soups from Fannie Farmer

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I recently ran across The Fannie Farmer Cookbook in an antique store. This book was originally published in 1896. Fannie Farmer’s name is still well-known today.

Hearty soups and stews may be a main course at supper. Soup with a salad or sandwich is considered a nutritious lunch—depending on ingredient choices.

Here are four tips from her cookbook for seasoning soups, freezing soups, incorporating leftovers in soups, and soup garnishes.

Firstly, wait until soup is almost finished cooking to add seasonings as salt intensifies during simmering. The salt content of ingredients varies so it is best to season to taste.

Partially covering the soup while cooking reduces it and intensifies flavor. Nutrients and flavor will be kept by fully covering the pot while simmering.

Secondly, soups freeze well. Make a big pot and freeze leftovers in portion sizes to fit your family’s needs. Soups that have been frozen may require additional seasoning and diluting before serving.

Boil refrigerated soups every third day to prevent spoilage.

[image error]Thirdly, don’t be shy about incorporating leftovers from the refrigerator into soup recipes. The type of soup dictates what to use because the ingredients need to work well together. Experience will bring good judgment when it comes to these decisions.

Be careful about adding flavorless leftovers. Those vegetables won’t enhance the soup. If the dish didn’t taste good when first serving it, don’t add it to the soup.

Lastly, garnishes enhance taste. Soups appear more appetizing with fresh herbs such as dill, chives, or parsley sprinkled on top. Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for example, is a tasty addition.

[image error]spoonful of sour cream or a slice of lemon is another possible garnish. Nuts, chopped eggs, or raw scallions may work well in some soups. Fresh blanched vegetables make a healthy garnish. Choosing a garnish will depends on the soup ingredients.

Making a pot of soup and experimenting with garnishes, one bowl at a time, may create a whole new dish for your family. This also allows our pickier eaters to eat ungarnished soup if they prefer.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.

Filed under: Historical Nibbles Tagged: better soups, Fannie Farmer advice, freezing soup, Historical Nibbles, Sandra Merville Hart, soup garnishes, soup recipe, soup tips, tips for better soups

DevoKids post – Colorado, the Centennial State

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When gold was discovered at Cherry Creek, it sparked the Gold Rush of 1858. This location is better known by another name. Do you know what it is?  Click here to find out if you guessed correctly.

Filed under: On Another Blog Tagged: Cherry Creek, Colorado, DevoKids, Gold Rush of 1858, Historical Nibbles, Sandra Merville Hart

Conestoga Wagons

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The first major highway built by the United States federal government was the National Road. Construction began in 1811 on the road also known as the Cumberland Road because it began in Cumberland, Maryland. By August 1, 1818, the road reached to Wheeling at the Ohio River. (Wheeling was then in Virginia but is now part of West Virginia.)

Settlers moving westward quickly utilized the road through Pennsylvania and Virginia to the new state of Ohio. Their wagons toted all their worldly goods to a new land.

Conestoga wagons were first built by Mennonite Germans near the Conestoga River area of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in the early to mid-eighteenth century. Skilled craftsman created a unique curved bed, designed to prevent freight from shifting while climbing steep hills. Chains held the back gate in place while traveling.

Early wagon covers were hempen homespun. Canvas was used later. They soaked the canvas in linseed oil to waterproof the fabric. This covering was stretched over several wooden hoops.

The builders took great pride in their work. They painted the wagons blue, trimmed with red.

Built with broad wheels, four to six horses pulled five-ton loads over dangerous Pennsylvania roads. Conestoga wagons hauled products from the eastern states to settlers in Western Pennsylvania and the Ohio Valley and returned with frontier goods like flour, tobacco, coal, and whiskey.

Strong Conestoga horses bred in the Conestoga area of Pennsylvania could pull these loads about twelve miles per day.

Wagoners made their living by hauling freight from the east to the western frontier and back again. These colorful characters made a journey of 250 miles in about three weeks.

Drivers of Conestoga wagons didn’t sit on a bench and hold the horses’ reins. Wagoners rode the left rear horse or walked alongside the horses. When the wagoner tired of walking, he pulled out a lazy board—a wooden board attached to the side of the wagon—and sat on it.

Railroads had slowed the heavy traffic on the National Road by the 1850s. Conestoga wagons were no longer in demand. Wagoners found new ways to make a living.

But what stories they had to tell to their children and grandchildren.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Conestoga Wagon,” History.com, 2017/04/19 http://www.history.com/topics/conestoga-wagon.

“Conestoga Wagon,” Smithsonian National Museum of American History, 2017/04/19 http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_842999.

“Conestoga wagon.” The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. . Encyclopedia.com. (April 18, 2017). http://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/conestoga-wagon.

Edited by Raitz, Karl. A Guide to The National Road, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.

“National Road,” Wikipedia, 2017/04/20 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Road.

White, Roger B. “Covered Wagons and the American Frontier,” Smithsonian National Museum of American History, 2017/04/19 http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2012/10/conestoga-wagons-and-the-american-frontier.html.

Filed under: From Our Past Tagged: American history, Conestoga horses, Conestoga wagons, Cumberland Maryland, Cumberland Road, Historical Nibbles, history, National Road, Pennsylvania, Sandra Merville Hart, wagoners

Do You Know What I Know? by Becky Melby

Two women with the same name share the same OB/Gyn.

Bethany Schmidt is a single mother in a new relationship with her pastor, Jay Davidson. Bethany is falling in love with Jay but needs to decide whether to accept a new job in another city. She also has a secret to share before the dating relationship grows serious. Will Jay understand?

Elizabeth Schmidt can’t believe it. After all these years, she’s pregnant! At forty-one, she and her husband, James, have given up on having children. She arranges for her doctor’s office to call James with the surprising news.

The call goes to the wrong number.

This begins a whirlwind of misunderstandings for both couples that escalate as Christmas approaches.

I enjoyed reading the twists and turns that all began with one wrong number.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Filed under: Review Tagged: Book Review, Contemporary romance, Historical Nibbles, Sandra Merville Hart

Tyrell’s Special Hot Chocolate Recipe

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Today’s post is written by talented author and dear friend, Carole Brown. I’ve enjoyed reading her cozy mysteries and can’t wait to read this one!

I love a man who cooks!

No matter whether it’s from the past (historical) or present day, there’s something manly and mannerly about that person. Western men usually knew how to prepare the basics: just enough to keep him alive, at least. In the military, many service people know that being able to cook is a necessity and at times a life saver. Today, I know many men who cook and enjoy it.

In writing With Music in Their Hearts, giving my male protagonist the ability to cook foods like scrambled eggs and hot chocolate would be an intimate detail about him that branched the difference in the way Tyrell and Emma Jaine were brought up and also set up a cozy setting for the fun action in the scene. When they come in from being outside, Tyrell offers to make hot chocolate for them.

Tyrell’s Special Hot Chocolate Recipe

1 large cup milk or water

1 Tablespoon of honey

1 Tablespoon of dark syrup, such as maple syrup

A pinch of salt

4-9 chocolate kisses (or about the same size of chocolate bits)

Optional: a dab of peppermint or stir with a peppermint stick

Pour chocolate drink in cup after heating on low fire.

Enjoy!

-Carole Brown

[image error]About Carole Brown

Besides being a member and active participant of many writing groups, Carole Brown enjoys mentoring beginning writers. She loves to weave suspense and tough topics into her books, along with a touch of romance and whimsy, and is always on the lookout for outstanding titles and catchy ideas. She and her husband reside in SE Ohio but have ministered and counseled nationally and internationally. Together, they enjoy their grandsons, traveling, gardening, good food, the simple life, and did she mention their grandsons?

Connect with Carole on her personal blog.

[image error]With Music in Their Heart Blurb:

Angry at being rejected for military service, Minister Tyrell Walker accepts the call to serve as a civilian spy within his own country and searches for a murdering spy at the boarding house red-haired  Emma Jaine Rayner runs. Sparks of jealousy and love fly between them even as they battle suspicions that one or the other is not on the up and up.

Will their love survive the danger and personal issues that arise to hinder the path of true love?

Amazon

 

 

Filed under: Historical Nibbles Tagged: Carole Brown, Historical Nibbles, Historical romance, hot chocolate recipe, Sandra Merville Hart

Almost an Author post – Three Reasons I Cry When Reading Louisa May Alcott’s Classic Novel

 

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I have read Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel, Little Women, a dozen times over the years. Find out why this novel always touches my heart in my post on Almost an Author.

 

Filed under: On Another Blog Tagged: Almost An Author Blog, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, Sandra Merville Hart, writing

President Washington Ends the Whiskey Rebellion

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George Washington became the first President of the United States in 1789 to a nation in debt from the Revolutionary War. Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of Treasury, proposed the first national internal revenue tax to reduce the national debt. Congress passed a tax on distilled spirits in 1791.

Frontier citizens living in Western Pennsylvania violently opposed the tax. Dangerous roads made it difficult for farmers to haul corn and rye to eastern markets. They often distilled their grain because it was easier to preserve and store.

The excise officers only accepted cash as payment, which was out of the ordinary for the time period. Many refused to pay the tax.

Others resorted to violence. They threatened excise officers, which was enough to make some leave. Other officers were tarred and feathered before deciding to leave.

[image error]President Washington issued an admonishment in 1792, hoping to resolve the matter peacefully. Instead the situation escalated.

In July of 1794, about 400 rebels burned the home of a regional tax collection supervisor near Pittsburgh.

Washington responded by leading 12,950 men in a militia force to Western Pennsylvania. Perhaps the former general enjoyed wearing full military dress once again.

The rebels had scattered when the forces reached Pittsburgh. Out of about 150 men tried for treason, only two men were found guilty. President Washington pardoned them.

This historic event marks the only time that a United States President directly commanded ground troops.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Kotowski, Peter. “Whiskey Rebellion,” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, 2017/04/18 http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/whiskey-rebellion/.

Logsdon, Chris. “Wills Creek,” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, 2017/04/18 http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/wills-creek/.

“Ten Facts about Washington’s Presidency,” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, 2017/04/18  http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-first-president/ten-facts-about-washingtons-presidency/.

“Whiskey Rebellion,” Encyclopeadia Britannica, Inc., 2017/04/18 https://www.britannica.com/event/Whiskey-Rebellion.

“Whiskey Rebellion,” National Park Service, 2017/04/18 https://www.nps.gov/frhi/learn/historyculture/whiskeyrebellion.htm.

 

Filed under: From Our Past Tagged: American history, excise officers, first excise tax, first national internal revenue tax, first president, Historical Nibbles, history, only President to directly lead ground troops, only U S President to directly lead ground troops, Pittsburgh, President George Washington, Sandra Merville Hart, Whiskey Rebellion

The Bounty Hunter’s Redemption by Janet Dean

Gnaw Bone’s resident seamstress, Carly Richards, isn’t exactly a grieving widow when her husband, Max, is killed by a bounty hunter. His verbal abuse and lately, physical abuse, prevented that. She’s finally prepared to run her seamstress shop to support her young son without fearing her husband’s return from his prolonged absences.

Then Nate Sergeant, the bounty hunter who killed Max, comes to Gnaw Bone. He claims that Max lost the deed to the seamstress shop in a poker game with Nate’s brother-in-law. Then Max killed him to get it back but couldn’t find the hidden deed.

That left Nate’s sister, Anna, as the rightful owner and Nate aimed to see she took over the shop.

Even if it meant taking Carly’s only means of supporting her son.

I enjoyed the twists and turns of this historical novel where an unlikely romance blossoms against all odds.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Filed under: Review Tagged: Book Review, Historical Nibbles, Historical romance, Sandra Merville Hart