Category Archives: Fire in the Heart

Molly decodes her Fire in the Heart family tree

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. grabbed the PBS spotlight with his 2012 genealogy show, Finding Your Roots. By Jon Irons [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. grabbed the PBS spotlight with his 2012 genealogy show, Finding Your Roots. By Jon Irons [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Without reality TV shows or fancy websites, Molly found a way to learn about her family’s history.

Today, she might have a future working in the field.


From Fire in the Heart to today: California gold prospecting

California Governor Earl Warren posed with a boy dressed as a gold prospector for the state's 1950 centennial celebration. By California Centennials Commission [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

California Governor Earl Warren posed with a boy dressed as a gold prospector for the state’s 1950 centennial celebration. By California Centennials Commission [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Molly’s ancestors were part of the California Gold Rush, considered by many to have lasted from 1846-49.

However, other accounts indicate that the desire to discover gold has never ended.


Serialized fiction: from West Against the Wind to Charles Dickens

From newspaper serialized fiction to literary stardom: Charles Dickens See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

From newspaper serialized fiction to literary stardom: Charles Dickens See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The predecessor to Fire in the Heart is West Against the Wind, which began as serialized fiction.

My great-grandfather, Reuben Ketchum, wrote serial stories for newspapers in the 19th century.

For others, like Charles Dickens, serialized fiction was the springboard to literary stardom.


A gold nugget to rival the Fire in the Heart treasure?

A once-buried treasure! By User SilkTork on en.wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

A once-buried treasure! By User SilkTork on en.wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Molly’s mother believed that one ancestor had buried a gold nugget somewhere in California.

Those treasures are still being found.


Forget The Raven: This Vermont Griswold became real-life Edgar Allan Poe foe

Rufus Wilmot Griswold By Uncredited [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Rufus Wilmot Griswold By Uncredited [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Griswold, the town in Fire in the Heart, was named for my early Vermont ancestors.

One Griswold who began life in Vermont became a controversial literary figure and rival to famed author Edgar Allan Poe.


Making the Fire in the Heart locale real to readers

Could you imagine your favorite book locale on a globe? Christian Fischer [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Could you imagine your favorite book’s locale on a globe? Christian Fischer [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The setting for Fire in the Heart, Griswold, is a fictional Vermont town. I invented it all, down to a map of the community. Here are more pseudo-places existing only in books.

 


A daguerreotype links past with future in Fire in the Heart

Before the world knew him as author Mark Twain, young Samuel Clemens posed for this 1850 daguerreotype. By Mark_Twain_by_GH_Jones,_1850.jpg: G.H.[?] Jones [or Jonco?] / Hannibal Mo derivative work: Smalljim (Mark_Twain_by_GH_Jones,_1850.jpg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Before the world knew him as author Mark Twain, young Samuel Clemens posed for this 1850 daguerreotype. By Mark_Twain_by_GH_Jones,_1850.jpg: G.H.[?] Jones [or Jonco?] / Hannibal Mo derivative work: Smalljim (Mark_Twain_by_GH_Jones,_1850.jpg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Molly gets a clue about her family’s past through a daguerreotype.

Far from a simple snapshot, these photographic relics are being kept alive by a small group of devotees.


Considering the mysterious woman geologist in Fire in the Heart

Dr. Florence Bascom helped train the majority of female geologists in America  during the early 20th century. By Smithsonian Institution from United States (Florence Bascom (1862-1945) [see page for license], via Wikimedia Commons

Dr. Florence Bascom helped train the majority of female geologists in America during the early 20th century. By Smithsonian Institution from United States (Florence Bascom (1862-1945) [see page for license], via Wikimedia Commons

In Fire in the Heart, Molly’s mother worked as a geologist.

Life has gotten easier since then for women pursuing geoscience careers. Here’s one perspective: