She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain

Waiting for a book in production conjures up a combination of excitement and drama. After concentrating and struggling with many edits, it is hard watch the little bird fly from the nest as it wings its way off to the print shop. As the author, it is hard to let it go after a couple of years of concentrated effort, and it seems too soon to watch it fly away, out of reach and beyond further guidance and tender nurturing. It is, however, time to take a few breaths, ponder what is at hand, and switch gears and concentration to marketing mode. Fly little bird, fly.

For me, the transition was helped along when I was presented with a tough question by a fellow member of Women Writing the West. I am grateful to author Carolyn Niethammer in Arizona for her insightful and thought-provoking question, which made me collect my thoughts and express what I had accomplished and produced. I will share the exchange with you here.

Carolyn Niethammer wrote:
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> Joyce, I’m curious about your new book.  Several other books have been written about Baby Doe.  What led you to do another one? What new information or new take on her do you have?  Any book of this type is an enormous undertaking and I’m sure you have good reasons to think you could do better — and I’m so curious what they were.

Hello Carolyn –

My take on Baby Doe and other characters is to go beyond myths and legends to reveal the truth and the “voice” of my characters. They are succinct reads that appeal to history buffs of all ages and tourists looking for a solidly researched historical perspective.

To find Elizabeth Tabor’s voice, I went places never before revealed. Visualize personal notes written among recipes in a favorite cookbook. I found those, along with home remedies. It was much like snooping through her cupboards and medicine cabinet. Good stuff!

If you are familiar with the work of Caroline Bancroft, my niche is a modern version of her format, except my nonfiction work is reality based. My combination of journalism and genealogy background for biography is somewhat unique. I seek primary sources for facts and I do not make up dialogue. This is the real deal, skillfully edited and crafted by Filter Press.

Good questions — thanks for asking — Joyce

P.S. Denverites: Come see me next Sunday, April 17, at the Englewood Public Library Author Showcase. With luck, Baby Doe will be with me!

I just heard that several copies are in the mail and will be in my hands for Sunday’s event. Then the fun begins!

Joyce Lohse, 4/13/11
LohseWorks.com

 

Real Boom Town Treasures

mine ruins

Publication date of my latest book, Baby Doe Tabor: Matchless Silver Queen, is fast approaching. As we struggle through final edits in an attempt to provide the most interesting and correct factual information possible, I am enjoying revisiting Colorado’s mining history as I have throughout the process. Just as I learned about railroads and their impact on our country’s western expansion during my work on General William Palmer: Railroad Pioneer, I have experienced a similar learning curve about mining for Baby Doe Tabor’s story.

Research has taken me to Leadville, Colorado several times. I enjoy immersing myself in its rich history and breathtaking  landscape (literally, at an altitude of 10,200 feet,) while searching for my own nuggets of information and stories to preserve and share in biographies. My most recent trip took me to California Gulch, a stretch about three miles from Leadville, which was the site of the area’s earliest frantic mining activity.

Oro City Ruin

Nothing much is left of Oro City in California Gulch, where Horace Tabor first arrived in 1860. The Mineral Belt Trail through the mining camp reveals only a handful of partial building remains and mine ruins as a reminder of the frantic, fleeting days when Oro was a boom town. Nearby in Leadville, rich history has been preserved and restored at every turn, to be enjoyed, shared and absorbed by those who visit. After all, the stories of the lives of their pioneers are the real boom town treasures which have endured to the present.

Save the date:
Boom Days in Leadville, August 5-7, 2011

Joyce B. Lohse, 3/25/11
LohseWorks.com

 

 

Closure and Reflection

Finalizing a book manuscript to hand over to the publisher is a strange and wonderful time. I could continue editing indefinitely, but the time has come to finalize it. The danger with over-editing is that the life and character might be sucked out of the text, rendering it ordinary. Thus, I bid farewell to Baby Doe Tabor while she is still lively and colorful so her story can move on to the next step. I have enjoyed the ride, and gained a much broader perspective of her character and her times. The biggest lesson I learned from this one is to not be judgmental. As wisdom sets in, I find that message repeated over and over again. There was certainly more going on with Lizzie Tabor than meets the eye. With that thought in mind, I have closure with gratitude to Baby Doe for her story of fortitude and persistence.

Right now, I am also thinking about a friend of mine. Pat Werner, a member of Women Writing the West, was a mighty fine writer and researcher. She passed away much too soon. Pat was cool. We were sisters-in-arms in the fight against cancer, but we much preferred sharing historical research. She called me from the hospital bubbling with finishing touches on her book. A week later, she was gone. The memory of sharing writing adventures and friendship with her still inspires me in my quest for excellence in writing. Her final book was just published by our mutual publisher, Filter Press. If she was still with us, we would all celebrate the victories and defeats, and the fabulous stories of Colorado history we were able to share and enjoy.

Watch for my book, Baby Doe Tabor: Matchless Silver Queen, which should reach publication sometime this year. In the meantime, Pat Werner’s book, The Walls Talk: Historic House Museums of Colorado, is a fabulous piece of work to help direct those seeking history destinations in Colorado this summer, or anytime. For more information, go to: www.filterpressbooks.com .

Joyce B. Lohse, 6/16/10
www.lohseworks.com

 

Historic Shadows and Footsteps

Busy times and family fun have arrived with the onset of summer. As I push hard to finalize my latest biography, I cannot resist the lure of a mountain road on a sunny day in the name of history research.

Once again, my intrepid research pal Christie accompanied me on a field trip to the mining town of Leadville. With Christie driving her 4×4, we explored the routes of the Silver Kings through the Oro City mining district and California Gulch. Ruins cast shadows where prospectors once clamored through rocks in the 1800s in search of riches in the form of gold, then silver. Five taverns once lined up one next to the other along the narrow clearing. In an atmosphere of industry, noise, pollution, and debauchery, Horace and Augusta Tabor arrived to open a general store in 1860. They provided needed supplies for all who came in search of their fortunes. When prospectors could not pay, Horace was willing to “grubstake” them. They agreed to share their fortunes with him when they struck it rich.

Thus began the fabulous tale of Horace Tabor and the Matchless Mine which made him a Silver King. This was only the beginning of the story. After Horace Tabor became a silver king, he met a beautiful young divorced woman named Elizabeth Doe, fondly known as “Baby”. With his marriage to Augusta strained and crumbling, he sought a divorce. He wished to build a new life with Baby Doe, a woman who appreciated the finer things in life, including him.

Eventually, Horace and Baby Doe married and moved to a large home in Denver. However, it was in Leadville where the magic began when they met, and Tabor made millions from his Matchless Mine. Leadville has preserved the Tabor legacy as part of its local history. As you walk the streets of Leadville, you can absorb its culture as you walk in the shadows and footsteps of silver kings and their queens.

My next book, Baby Doe Tabor: Matchless Silver Queen, is due for publication by Filter Press later this year. It is an amazing story of a couple who found love and riches, then lost a fortune during an economic downturn. Baby Doe’s reaction to the situation was unexpected, unusual, and legendary. Progress reports will be forthcoming as the book nears publication.

Joyce B. Lohse, 6/5/10
www.lohseworks.com

 

Forever Young

As Women’s History Month winds down, census records are on my mind. They are a blessing and a curse to the biographer. Once again, I am researching a Victorian Colorado woman who was fashionably demure about revealing her age and birthdate. Elizabeth “Baby Doe” Tabor was born in 1854. I am not sure of the exact date, because I have encountered negative evidence in that regard. She attained the age of six by the 1860 census. If my math is correct,  she would have been 46 years old in 1900. The newly widowed Baby Doe figured it out differently. In 1900, her birthdate is shown as 1861 and her age as 38, thus not breaking the dreaded 40 barrier.

Baby Doe was not unusual. Literally every woman I have researched during the Victorian Age lied about her age and birth year on census records. The age is never higher. Male pioneers rarely deviate from their birthdate. What does all this mean? Perhaps women back then felt a need to work harder to maintain a youthful demeanor and appearance for a variety of reasons. It could strictly be a case of feminine vanity. As a result, I work harder to prove my facts, and I usually discover more insights along the way. So it goes.

This subject was on my mind recently as I filled in my 2010 census form. Thinking ahead, would my children’s children some day find some interesting data as a result of my entry? In spite of their flaws, or possibly because of them, census records reveal interesting facts and perceptions about those who precede us.

Joyce B. Lohse, 3/28/10
www.lohseworks.com

 

History In My Hands

History researchers in Denver beware and be aware. As of Oct. 31, the Colorado Historical Society is closing its library for the next two years while they move and reconstruct their museum. Yes, I said two YEARS!! Realization of this closure has thrown my research schedule for my next biography into panic mode. The subject for the next book is Elizabeth Tabor, known around Colorado as “Baby Doe”, the Silver Queen of Leadville.

Although my writing and research schedule has become somewhat tospy-turvy and compressed, I hit paydirt this week when I squeezed in a visit to CHS before the impending closure. The large volume of the Tabor holdings are a two edged sword. The good news is that there is much information to read, view and assimilate. The bad news is that it takes time and organization to sort through the inconsequential, sift down to the nitty-gritty, and identify the really good stuff.

Frustrations slip away when treasures fall into the researchers hands. Fortunately, those moments came and I was transported to a time long ago when our pioneer state was newly formed. A silver king named H.A.W. Tabor put aside his ego and business concerns to scribble words of love to “Lizzie”, the bold script fading but the intent still clear on thin scraps of paper. A voyeur into the past, I was able to interpret these items directly from the source. History was in my hands.

I will miss CHS while they regroup. However, when one door closes, two more usually open. The adventure is just beginning. I am almost grateful that I was forced to scramble into disjointed action. Almost.

Joyce Lohse, 10/23/09