He Served His Country

Looking at History

Post copyright by Doris McCraw













For those who know me, history is a big part of my life. As we honor the people who served our country both overseas and at home, I want to take a moment and remember a Colorado native whose service is not widely remembered.

Born in Mesa County Colorado in 1918 his family moved to Fremont County before he was five.He had two siblings, a brother and sister, but he was the oldest. The family had a restaurant in Florence, Colorado. The whole family helped out, with the parents meeting each other as they changed from morning to evening shift.



At thirteen he got a job in the local theater house and worked for the family owned theaters even after returning home from the war. It took five years to graduate high school because he was working. To find a job in 1931 during the depression is a feat in itself.

He joined the marine corps prior to Pearl Harbor and was stationed in California. A year later he was stationed on the staff of Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner: http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-t/rk-turnr.htm,   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_K._Turner  


Allied sailors and officers watch General of the Army Douglas MacArthursign documents during the surrender ceremony aboard Missouri on 2 September 1945. The unconditional surrender of the Japanese to the Allies  officially ended the Second World War.

While on staff it was decided that in addition to written reports, they also wanted photos of the missions. He learned his craft as a photographer while on the ship from Pearl Harbor to the Pacific Theater. Fortunately there was a sailor on board who had studied photography who helped with the learning process of not only how to shoot the photo, but develop the negatives.

By the time he reached  Iwo Jima he had learned his skills well. He earned the bronze star with a V for valor of Iwo Jima. According to his son, his father said he had went ashore on Iwo prior to the invasion to photograph the area.  He also photographed the surrender of the Japanese aboard the Missouri.

Upon returning home he resumed his work in the movie theaters and practiced the skill of photography he learned aboard ship. He died June 30, 1992 of cancer.

Who was this man? Karol W. Smith, best known as the man who helped created the first state film commission in the United States and was Colorado's first state film commissioner.


Main Street in Buckskin Joe


You can read more about Smith in the book: "Film and Photography on the Front Range"
It can be purchased at Amazon.com or http://www.clausenbooks.com/

To Live History

To Live History

This post written and copyrighted by Doris McCraw and reposted from Writing Wranglers and Warriors

What is it like to live history? There are numerous ‘towns’ and ‘ranches’ that allow visitors to watch living history. Some of the more famous are Colonial Williamsburg and Plimoth Plantation. In Colorado there is  Rock Ledge Ranch. There are those who recreate historic battles from the Revolutionary War on.

Then there are people who take on historic character. I know Ben Franklin (Christopher Lowell), Theodore Roosevelt (Don Moon) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (Richard Marrold). Of course there are those who are unique to Colorado history.  Pearl DeVere, the Cripple Creek madam who died of an overdose of laudanum, Poker Alice, a poker player  in the Old West, Wm. J. Palmer founder of Colorado Springs and his wife Queen and James Burns, the Cripple Creek magnate who was one of the owners of the famous Portland Mine on Battle Mountain near the town of Victor, Colorado.

Theodore Roosevelt The Bad Land Years

All the people who have this passion to pass along history, to create characters as in the living history sites or to research and bring to life people from the past, do so to keep the stories alive. From the period correct costume to having the facts straight, to them the best way to remember the past and learn from it is to relive it and share it.

I too have this passion for history, be it the early women doctors, the labor wars in Cripple Creek/Victor or the founding of Colorado Springs and Colorado, I want to share the wonderful information I find. I also have made it my mission to bring the life of Helen (Hunt) Jackson back to public consciousness. For over twelve years I have researched and performed as this amazing woman. For me and those others who have this passion it is not an option to not do this. We live history because we don’t want to lose history. History is the stories of our lives. As writers we tell stories, as historic characters we do the same. As I prepare to take part in the “Think You Know History” series, I want to share the passion to live history.

Follow my haiku post five days a week at: http://fivesevenfivepage.blogspot.com

Below is the link to my non-fiction piece on the first state film commissioner in the United States included in this book.

“Film & Photography on the Front Range” can be purchased online at: http://www.amazon.com

The Oscar Films So Far...

As most know, I tend to write on this blog when something just needs to be said, or I want to pass on my thoughts. Both count and in this post, the opinions are mine and mine alone.

To understand the following comments, some background. Over the last six or so years a film friend and I make a point to see the best picture nominations. This was fairly simple when there were only five, now with nine or more ridiculously difficult to do. Still we do make the effort, but at the cost of tickets and the quality, well, I wonder should we continue.

There were great hopes for this years crop of nominees, but alas so far that hope has been dashed on the ragged edge of reality. For the most part, the films are not engaging. I have seen five and will give a brief statement about each and why I don't think it was that good.

HER: Creative for the sake of creativity.  Not Oscar worthy for just that reason. No real story and for me the best performance was Scarlett Johansson as the voice. She was almost worth the price of admission.

NEBRASKA: Bruce Dern was pretty good. The choice to film in black and white probably did the best favor for this film. Otherwise it really didn't engage me. A few good scenes but not enough to carry a film.

AMERICAN HUSTLE: The performances were amazing. The story was horrible. No continuity, and there was no one, I mean no one of the major characters I really gave a hoot about. One minor character I cheered for. Otherwise what a wash. As a friend said when walking out...what was that all about?

TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE: It could have been a powerful story, but how many times can you stand to see the sky scanned for two minutes and not see anything else. You could leave the film for ten to fifteen minutes and not miss a thing important. Poorly executed story and editing. Re-edit and take out about forty five or so minutes and making it tighter would have served this film well.

GRAVITY: A good film, nicely told story and they stopped it at the right time. Is it an Oscar film? Not really but so far it is the best of the lot. The story here also failed with over long shots, but not as bad as the above film.

So there you have it. What I thought might be a good year for films so far is not. When film makers get back to telling a story and forget about all the bells and whistles we could have a good year. Take a bit of reality, add some myth and characters you care about and then we will talk. Seems reality TV has made its mark on film and that is not a good thing. Movie makers, please stop thinking we don't care about people and spend your and our time with being clever. Just tell a damn good story in a way that we can care about.

The Gift of Years

The Gift of Years

Warm wind and Winter snow

Each bring to mind

The days when life was fun

Winter snow and Warm wind

Now cause us to pause

Life is work and stress and worry

Snow, Wind, Winter, Warm

A time for the heart

To take stock of the year

Winter wind, Warm snow

To count each blessing

The gift of the years

Warm wind, Winter snow

A deep joy

Passing to each a gift of love.

Holiday Greeting to Each and Everyone.

Doris McCraw

http://fivesevenfivepage.blogspot.com ( haiku 5 days a week)

Secrets in Grandma's Trunk

Today I have my first guest blogger, Cherley Grogg. Cherley is the author of "Stamp Out Murder" and "The Secret in Grandma's Trunk". Please welcome Cherley as she tells us a bit about herself and the inspiration for her YA (adults will also enjoy) novel "The Secret in Grandma's Trunk" She also is our 'fearless' leader on Writing Wrangles and Warriors blog site.

Take it away Cherley!

I’m so glad to have this opportunity to share a little about myself and my children’s novel “The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk”, which is free to download from Amazon for a limited time. The inspiration for the book came from my grandsons. I have three grandsons and a granddaughter. My granddaughter loves to read, but the boys do not, so I decided to write a book they would love to read. I knew it’d have to have strong kids in it, strong physically and head strong too. The characters would all have to be realistic with problems and scuffles among themselves, it would have to be fast paced and full of adventure. Plus my grandsons like sports and girls so I needed to put that in there as well. I couldn’t leave my granddaughter without someone to relate to so I gave the brothers in the story a female cousin who could keep up with them in most things and top them in other things. In addition to the children, there are some strong, funny and interesting adult characters. This book appeals to people of all ages.

The main character in “The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk”, Brandon is not quiet. He’s very outgoing and loud. He’s a leader and his outgoing boisterous personality works well for him, but not listening also gets him into a lot of trouble. Jordan his cousin is a female version of Brandon, but Jacob his brother is the opposite. He’s a quiet listener, a thinker. The 13 year olds get in a passel of trouble because of not listening, and Jacob quietly follows them.

Cherley, can you give us a sample of your book?

Here’s the Blurb: A teen's life disrupts when his Great-Grandmother, a stranger comes to live with him and his family. She upsets his life so much that he stoops pretty low to get rid of her, including trying to find a way to get into the oversized trunk she has stored in his garage. Spunky Grandma keeps the key in a special place.

The kids expect treasure, but discover a terrible secret instead, which puts Grandma in danger’s way. Will she turn to her grandchildren for help or to a young ghost?

This is an excerpt from Chapter Fourteen:

Jacob looked astounded. "How in the world did you pull that off?"    

            "A girl has to have stuff." She grinned. "You know girl's stuff."      

            "No, we don't know, and we don't want to know. The important thing is you got the card." Brandon reached for the credit card.  

             "I want to know," Jacob said.    

             "Believe me, you don't want to know," Jordan laughed as she handed the card to Brandon. "Hurry up. I need to get Dad's card back to him before Mom's out of the shower."

In the next chapter the kids went to play soccer. Grandma went with them. Here’s an excerpt from Chapter 15:

Lilly turned to Grandma. "It doesn't matter what she thinks, she's not on our team. I don't know why the coach favors Jordan. Maybe he feels sorry for her. She's so big and clunky."        

              Grandma's eyes flashed, and her little fist doubled up.  Brandon hoped she wouldn't spit. He put his hand on Grandma's shoulder. "Let's go."                          

"I'll go, but I want her to know that Jordan sure is big.   She has a big heart, and a big personality, and she's twice the lady that girl is. She would never put someone else down to try to make herself look better."    

  "I don't need to put her down to make myself look better. I always look good."    

  Grandma turned her head and spit.

Cherley, what is the link to your book?

“The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk” is free from Amazon; I hope you will enjoy it.

Free on Amazon-limited time http://www.amazon.com/Secret-in-Grandmas-Trunk-ebook/dp/B0089MAPG0/ref=tmm_kin_title_0 

How can readers find you and what you are doing next?

Join me on my Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/cherleygroggfanpage

Here's a link to my website : http://cherley.webs.com/

Cher'ley's Books are listed below and on sale at Amazon and local bookstores. 

Stamp Out Murder” and "The Secret in Grandma's Trunk" This is an especially good book for your Tween Children and Grandchildren.

Cherley, thank you so much for joining me as my first guest. It has been a pleasure and continues success on your writing.   Doris

A Visit to Ft. Vasquez

Fort Vasquez:

On the way home from Cheyenne, WY., I was able to visit yet another on my list of early Colorado historic forts and fort sites. The site of Fort Vasquez is located between Greeley and Ft. Lupton in Platteville on Highway 85. This site is not only a reconstruction of the original fort, but is also a welcome center and museum. The museum may be small, but fascinating. The staff is extremely knowledgeable about the fort and the era when this type of business/trading post was important in what was to become the state of Colorado.

For those of you who would like to know more, here is a brief history of this site.

With the growth and change in the fur trade industry came the business forts.  Originally the trappers, mountain men, would take their furs to St. Louis and other Eastern cities.  Then there came the rendezvous where the furs were brought to areas closer to the mountains.  Finally the forts, such as Bent's fort began to play a bigger role in the fur trade. Soon there were forts populating the eastern plains of Colorado. Ft. Vasquez was one to these.

Built by Louis Vasquez and Andrew Sublette in 1835 it remained in use, with different 'managers' and owners until 1842 when the structure was abandoned. Over the years it was probably shelter for travelers and other uses we may never know about.

During the 1960's college students did archaeological digging in the area and even more information about the fort came to life.

If you are ever up that way, stop by. You may see a mountain man in the fort along with some of the other people who stopped by while in the area during those early days.

For more information you can visit the following links:
http://www.historycolorado.org/museums/fort-vasquez-museum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Vasquez

http://www.coloradodar.org/chapters/fortvasquez/forthistory.htm

A Celebration of Life

I have taken time off from posting. During that time I have been contemplating how to write what in my mind a very difficult post. On February 4, 2011 my mother passed from this life into another place. Whether you believe in an afterlife or not, I do. I truly do believe she is now in a better place.

Do I miss her? Of course. My best friend and sounding board are no longer immediately available to me. There were many phone calls and days spent together after I reach adulthood that are a part of my memories. The gift I will always treasure was the gift of her allowing me to be my own person, make my own mistakes, and still love me and be there for me no matter what. As I write this I find the tears welling up again. They are tears for my loss and I realize that. It will take time, but with the gift she gave me, I will come out on the other side even stronger.

In our conversations over the years I came to know this woman who gave life to me. She was opinionated and if necessary would tell you what you needed to know. She always said, "People think I am being blunt, but if they knew what was going on in my mind, they would realize how tactful I really am." I always loved that about her. She may not always have been right, but she would be truthful, without being hurtful.

She loved children and dolls. Over the years I watched her as she took care of children and usually became good friends with the parents. In many ways she was a grandmother to all of them. There was no way I could be jealous, I was proud and honored that she shared her wonderful gift on how to live life with all of them. That I think is a part of her legacy that will live on. A gift to be shared from generation to generation. The ability to do the right thing, be kind and don't give up on the talents you were gifted with. Life may not always be easy, but continue on for it is glorious in its entirety.

I miss her, always will, but the loss will become bearable with time. We all have a finite number of years here. Use them wisely, I know she always tried to.

Thanks Mom.