Heirloom recipes, Kitchen and Culture, Wisconsin History
“Sadie reached deep into a bush and nimbly fingered three berries into her hand. ‘My mama says there’ll be no blackberry cobbler this winter if I don’t fill these pails.’” – Aubrey’s Attic At the start of Harold William Thorpe’s children’s chapter book, Aubrey’s...
History, Wisconsin History
“That night at the graduation ceremony, Will and Mary sat in the front row. Will smiled his broadest, most enthusiastic smile, and when Catherine faltered on a line, he furrowed his brows, wiggled his ears, and stuck out his tongue.”—Bittersweet Harvest In real...
A Year of Memories, Farm life, History, Monday Memories, Wisconsin History
December 7, 1941: B-17 C (Flying Fortress) my wife’s uncle, pilot Earl Cooper, flying in darkness and low on fuel, approached Pearl Harbor. He intended to land at Hickham Field for refueling before continuing on to Clark Field in the Philippines. As dawn broke and...
Farming, History, Wisconsin History
If you grew up on a Wisconsin farm prior to the 1950s, you probably had work horses. The day that your family finally sold them, and replaced them with gasoline tractors, might be a vivid childhood memory. “Will, did you ever consider that they might think your...
Harold's Favorite Places - Iowa County, Iowa County Blog, Wisconsin History
Downtown Mineral Point, Wisconsin, holds a special place in my thoughts and memories. In my O’Shaughnessy Chronicles novels, Mineral Point is fictionalized as Ashley Springs. “Ashley Springs’ main business district, High Street, ran uphill a half mile from...
History, Wisconsin History
When Metis fur trader Augustin Grignon built a Greek Revival-style hotel and trading post near the marshy Fox River at present-day Butte des Mort, Wisconsin in 1848, the waterway hadn’t changed much since early French explorers came across it in the seventeenth...
Harold William Thorpe novels are now included on Goodreads! 