Mike here, with another guest post. “Your mama wishes for an outing to Washington Park in the Oldsmobile. I will indulge her until a quarter before two, when I go to the Club.” Papa grumbled about muddy roads and every-man-for-himself intersections, but Mama prevailed. I had no say in the matter. [Blue Thread, Chapter 3] [...]
All posts in category History
Julius Josefsohn’s “Merry Oldsmobile”
Posted by Ruth on May 20, 2013
http://bluethreadbook.com/2013/05/20/julius-josefsohns-merry-oldsmobile/
Don’t Tell Ruth!
She hasn’t said a word to you, has she? I mean about being away for a few weeks and pretending to blog just as if she were at home. Well, if Ruth Tenzer Feldman thinks she can get away with that, she has another think coming! And think she will, when I take over this [...]
Posted by Ruth on May 14, 2013
http://bluethreadbook.com/2013/05/14/dont-tell-ruth/
Catch My Drift
Alfred Wegener liked to puzzle out problems, and one of them was how the world’s continents came to be. South America and Africa looked like two puzzle pieces that should have fit together once. Back in 1912, while our fictional Miriam Josefsohn was campaigning for woman suffrage, Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift. A [...]
Posted by Ruth on May 10, 2013
http://bluethreadbook.com/2013/05/10/catch-my-drift/
Charlie Chaplin, “Militant Suffragette”
The actor we know as Charlie Chaplin (Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin) is probably most famous for his image of a man with a small mustache and a derby hat. That was not the Chaplin who appeared in “A Busy Day,” the silent film that Keystone Studios released on May 7, 1914. Growing up impoverished in [...]
Posted by Ruth on May 7, 2013
http://bluethreadbook.com/2013/05/07/charlie-chaplin-militant-suffragette/
Miriam, Maypoles, and May Day
I don’t think that there’s a definitive answer about the origins of the maypole, although the tradition of dancing around a maypole seems to have been with us since forever. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Miriam Josefsohn and her friends danced around a maypole in 1912, although the earliest photograph I’ve seen from [...]
Posted by Ruth on May 1, 2013
http://bluethreadbook.com/2013/05/01/miriam-maypoles-and-may-day/
Hauptmann, Atlantis, and Titanic
In Blue Thread, which takes place in late 1912, Miriam’s mother says: “The Titanic was such a shock. I can’t imagine how the Steinbachers have the courage to make the crossing next spring.” Here it is, spring 2013, a hundred years after the Steinbachers’ ocean crossing, and I’ve discovered a coincidence that might have shocked [...]
Posted by Ruth on April 25, 2013
http://bluethreadbook.com/2013/04/25/hauptmann-atlantis-and-titanic/
Miriam’s Willamette River: Filthy!
Earth Day wasn’t celebrated back in the time of Blue Thread, when the Willamette River sorely needed attention. The first Earth Day took place on April 22, 1970. According to Earth Day Network: “The idea came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 [...]
Posted by Ruth on April 22, 2013
http://bluethreadbook.com/2013/04/22/miriams-willamette-river-filthy/
Centennial of Income Taxes
The question is: “Did Julius Josefsohn of Blue Thread fame pay income tax a hundred years ago in 1913?” There are two answers. The first is: “Who cares? He’s an imaginary character, the father of an imaginary girl.” Well, yes, that’s true, but some authors live with their characters a while. I am one of [...]
Posted by Ruth on April 16, 2013
http://bluethreadbook.com/2013/04/16/centennial-of-income-taxes/
April Fish Day!
Meanwhile, back in Blue Thread, Miriam snarks at her mother’s use of French words “as if French instantly turned chatter into conversation.” But I have a feeling Miriam would have approved of this postcard, which was popular in her day. One April 1st tradition in France is to slap a paper fish on someone’s back [...]
Posted by Ruth on April 1, 2013
http://bluethreadbook.com/2013/04/01/april-fish-day/
Bridge: The Historical Hand
In Blue Thread, Miriam’s mother takes her to a bridge game at Mrs. Steinbacher’s house in the hopes of teaching Miriam to play bridge. Mrs. Steinbacher steered me to the sideboard and poured me a glass of Chablis. ‘Try these Belgian chocolates,’ she said. ‘They’re positively luscious. Here, come sit beside me. I’m playing East, [...]
Posted by Ruth on March 28, 2013
http://bluethreadbook.com/2013/03/28/bridge-the-historical-hand/
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Welcome!
My name is Ruth. I write books and articles for children and young adults. Blue Thread is my eleventh book, and the first one in which I have knowingly stretched the truth.Visit this blog to satisfy your curiosity about:
- Every factual and fictional part of Blue Thread
- What happens to the characters after the book ends
- The real connection between Blue Thread and pursuing justice
- The next book in the Blue Thread series
- Almost anything else you ask
Thanks for stopping by.
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