The Real-life characters blog

A Mile of Flowers

A Year of Memories, Monday Memories, Real life characters

Aunt Annie, as everyone in Linden called her, frequently tended those who were sick and under quarantine with a contagious disease, even when others in town wouldn’t go near them. She’d say, “God never punished anyone for doing good.” After her husband disappeared...

Ruby O’Shaughnessy

Real life characters

Many of the characters in the O’Shaughnessy Chronicles are closely based on my own family members. In the novels my mother, Laura Fitzsimons, and her sister, Alice, are respectively Catherine and Ruby O’Shaughnessy. “Ruby O’Shaughnessy. I Like that. Bold and vibrant.’...

A Mesmerizing Language

A Year of Memories, Monday Memories, Real life characters

I was only a boy, but I’d visit Great-Uncle Nick just to hear him talk. He was raised among the Cornishmen of Linden, Wisconsin, and he absorbed their habits and the Cornish linguistic variation of the English language. Uncle Nick was half-Irish and half-Cornish, but...

Not a Dime in Their Pocket

Life lessons, Real life characters, Reflections

The following short story received a Nonfiction Honorable Mention in the 2021 Jade Ring Contest from the Wisconsin Writer’s Association “As far as memoir writing, it doesn’t get much better than this. This reviewer encourages the writer to continue to tell...

Gusta Stephens

Real life characters

“Ruby shouted, ‘There she is,’ and pointed toward the engine. All eyes turned upward, and the waiting crowd emitted an audible gasp when they saw a young lady perched atop the coal tender. Gusta wore a fringed buckskin skirt and a red chenille shirt with a white...

Mitchell True Value Hardware of Mineral Point

Harold's Favorite Places - Iowa County, Real life characters

Note: This article was written and previously posted before the Mitchell’s closed their hardware store in early 2020. In the O’Shaughnessy Chronicles, Mitchell Hardware is the inspiration for Mason’s Hardware. These award-winning books are available...