Oregon Pioneers

Portraits of a Century Farm ~ Haunting Gems

Janet Fisher4 Comments

Robin Loznak captured this photo on a dewy October morning on the Martha A. Maupin Century Farm in Oregon, as an industrious spider seeks breakfast in her dew-jeweled web before a backdrop of leaves in glorious fall color. She put me in mind of Halloween on this upcoming edge between summer and winter when we recall in one way or another the ancient celebration of the edge between life and death.

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Haunting Gems

Deadly beauty spins a tale in pearls of light
As days rush by to Halloween.
Death to life, and life to death.
Strands gleam against a sheen of gold,
Leaves soon to scatter off skeletal limbs.

Chill runs in the air and down the spine
With pumpkins glaring in the dark
And children braving hideous things.
Blood, gore, goblins, cackling witches,
And gauzy webs a-streaming.

Look at death and laugh.
Who can be the scariest?
Look at the edge and shiver.
Life to death, and death to life,
Glimmering in our frightful dreams.

Deadly beauty spins a tale in pearls of light.
On this fine autumn day
As life around it ebbs,
One creepy, crawly, skittery, artful, exquisite creature
Hangs waiting for a meal.

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Portraits of a Century Farm ~ Threads of Light

Janet Fisher

Robin Loznak took this picture one September morning a couple of years ago along the hill road of our Century Farm–the Martha A. Maupin Century Farm named for my great-great-grandmother, subject of my new book A Place of Her Own. I imagine Martha walking this road before us, thrilling to the same kind of morning light. Below, I share some reflections.

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Threads of Light

Threads of light weave through a warp of branches,
A living tapestry along a border of dusty tracks
That wind down the quiet mountain.

Seasons pass, summer into fall,
September into October,
And the fabric changes.

Washes of new color gild the fibers,
While rivulets mark the verge
With sinuous patterns.

Leaves drift, scatter.
The weave opens,
And the weft expands as gathering clouds allow.

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Festival Time in Cottage Grove

Janet Fisher

635.kalapuya bksI’ll be visiting another bookstore on another Main Street in America Saturday–this one in Cottage Grove, Oregon. The small town of Cottage Grove boasts three bookstores on its historic Main Street. My next book signing and reading will be held at Kalapuya Books this time, located at 637 E Main, September 20 from 2 to 4 in the afternoon.

It’s Oregon Covered Bridge Festival time, so when the Kalapuya event is done, I’ll trek on over to Bohemia Park on the other side of the railroad tracks for a Meet & Greet the Author from 5 to 6 at the Cottage Grove Souvenir Booth. They’ll have copies of my book A Place of Her Own for sale as well, which I’ll be happy to sign.

It should be a fun day with lots to do. And familiar territory for me, since I lived in Cottage Grove for several years before moving to the family farm featured in my book. If you live nearby I hope you’ll stop by and join us.

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Signing at Eugene’s Friday ArtWalk

Janet Fisher

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERARemember my excitement last May when I visited Eugene bookstores right after my book came out? And I was planning to tell the folks at J. Michaels Books about it? And there the book was already? Right in their window? My blog post about my surprise, “Happy Discoveries,” even got a mention in Brian Juenemann’s Eugene Register-Guard column. Brian writes about the local book scene as marketing director for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association.

So, it’s a pleasure to tell you I’m going back to J. Michaels Books this coming Friday, September 5, to do a book signing event during Eugene’s First Friday ArtWalk. I’ll be there from 5 to 7 pm signing my book, A Place of Her Own: The Legacy of Oregon Pioneer Martha Poindexter Maupin.

If you’re in the Eugene area I hope you’ll stop by. The bookstore is located at 160 E. Broadway. That’s between Pearl and Oak. It’s a great street for meandering in and out of cool shops, taking a few minutes for a sidewalk snack or dinner, nice trees to offer shade.

Looking forward to a happy return. 🙂

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Fort Umpqua Days

Janet Fisher

Elkton, Oregon, puts on a big Fort Umpqua Days event every year on Labor Day Weekend in celebration of the town’s history.This year it’s Saturday and Sunday, August 30 and 31.the fortThe British Hudson’s Bay Company built Fort Umpqua in 1836 near where Elkton sprouted a few years later. It was the company’s southernmost fort in the Oregon Territory in the days when they essentially ruled the area, chasing the lucrative fur trade–before all those American pioneers started trekking west over the Oregon Trail.

The first fort burned in 1851, and a flood in 1861 washed away what was left of it. A few years ago citizens of the area decided to reconstruct the fort on a site just downriver from the original, and the work continues today with new buildings going up inside the wooden palisade walls, with considerable effort made to keep things authentic. Now the HBC flag flies again.

DSCN0434So, during Fort Umpqua Days we celebrate with a parade and a history pageant, a craft fair, and other events. I’ve enjoyed serving on the writing team for the pageant the last few years, in which the history is told with a bit of humor and a bit of truth. And this year I’ll have an outdoor booth for selling and signing my book about one of those intrepid American pioneers–my own ancestor Martha Poindexter Maupin.

DSCN0429Last year kids came into the fort grounds to learn how people at the old fort cooked and kept gardens and washed their clothes, which was probably a whole lot more fun for the kids than for those guys at the original fort. Inside, there are furs and stories aplenty to whet the imagination.

The event is open to the public and fun for kids of all ages. If you enjoy taking a step into the past, here’s a great place to do it.  🙂

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Back to Missouri Roots

Janet Fisher2 Comments

While in the Kansas City area with my daughter and granddaughter, I returned to the Ray County Museum in Richmond, Missouri, at the invitation of the wonderful people there who gave me so much help researching my book about Martha Maupin. Four years ago I visited this museum and genealogical library, where we looked for material about my Maupin ancestors in Ray County.

573.Jenne intro Ray Co

Recalling the delightful days we spent together on the project, Jenne Sue Layman introduced me to a welcoming crowd at their monthly genealogical group meeting.

Jenne is one of three ladies who worked with me in Ray County, and this time I finally got them together for a picture, out in front of the big old brick building that houses the museum, as well as the genealogical library. The old building, which was once the county poor farm, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

594.Ray Co ladies

From left to right: Carol Proffitt, Lisa Smalley, and Jenne Sue Layman.

During my earlier visit here in 2010 the most thrilling item they found for me was an 1839 ledger for Isaiah Mansur’s store that showed lists of items sold and people who bought them. I was thrilled to thumb through the frayed, age-darkened pages and find many listings for various Maupins.

I was pleased to see some more familiar faces at this Saturday event. Glen Hill Jr., who helped me with research in next-door Carroll County was there. Glen came to the event at River Reader Bookstore last weekend, and returned for this one.

591.Glen @ Ray Co

Glen Hill Jr.

Also, quite a few members of the Frazer family came. The Frazers now own the property once owned by Garrett Maupin’s father, Perry.

In fact, I made a small discovery on that 2010 visit when researching land documents in the Ray County Courthouse to see what happened to Perry’s property after he died. The property was divided among Perry’s wife Rachel and their children because Perry didn’t have a will. All the old deeds are written by hand in the florid style of the day. Between that and the legalese, I struggled to follow what had happened, but ultimately all the Maupins appeared to be selling their property to a John Wollard.

The same day I learned this, Jenne took me out to the old Maupin homestead to meet David and Marilyn Frazer. They told me the place had been in their family a long time. When I asked if it was a Century Farm they told me their family had owned it much longer than a century—since their ancestor John Wollard bought it. I knew that name, having seen it so many times that morning.

“Oh, my goodness,” I said. “Do you know who John Wollard bought the place from? He bought it from my ancestors, the Maupins.” So we had a link.

And on Saturday not only David and Marilyn Frazer came to the meeting, but their son and his wife, and two other family members.

588.Frazers Ray Co

From left to right: David and Marilyn’s son Jason, Jason’s wife Misty, David’s sister Karen McBee, his cousin Virginia Miller, David, and Marilyn.

578.speaking Ray Co

At Jenne’s request I talked to the group about my search for my ancestor Martha for the book I wrote about her, A Place of Her Own: The Legacy of Oregon Pioneer Martha Poindexter Maupin.

Afterward we enjoyed a terrific spread of food provided by Carol Proffitt. The members take turns, and this was Carol’s day. It was a good day to be there.

All in all a lovely day.

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