Tag: Wisconsin

Stepping into the Story – Madeline Island & As Waters Gone By

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Madeline Island. 

Sophia smiled as she tweaked the sun-shimmer on a wave with her brush. The oil paint, the canvas, the brush in her hand – she had loved them ever since they first came into her life when she was thirteen years old.

It wasn’t until a month ago that she loved the subject of this painting: Madeline Island rising out of the Superior waves.

As-Waters-Gone-ByOn the coffee table nearby sat the book that started it all. Sophia had won the book in a silent-auction gift basket. When she finally cracked the cover, she was delighted. By the end, she knew she had to do one thing. She simply had to visit this place called Madeline Island. 

So that’s what she did.

She sat in her car on the ferry – the closest her car would ever get to driving on water – with her bike stashed on the rack. Once on land, she drove past the historic homes and all around the fourteen-mile-long island. She noted the itty-bitty library, the school, and the School of the Arts with its red and white buildings. She biked where she could see sparkling Superior. She snapped photos for later use. Then she returned to LaPoint for ice cream, meandered in and out of shops and even sketched. The sun came and went with the clouds.

Now back at home with her easel and brushes and the island captured on canvas, Sophia smiled. What was it about the book that made her so want to be there – to step into the story? The whimsical, relatable characters? The descriptions of the natural beauty? The heartwarming sayings that she wanted to paint on the walls of her dining room? The meals the characters enjoyed that made her tastebuds dance? Those all had something to do with with it, but…

It had to be the hope that flickered on like the flame of her candle (purchased on the island). Maybe it was also the refreshing reminder that God uses peculiar people to do His work – people who are willing to do the works He has prepared for them. 

Yes.

That’s why she was here, doing this peculiar business of spreading color on canvas. Her work was to capture the beauty of the Master Artist, to inspire others to pause and wonder, to share what she saw so that others might see Whom she sought.

Or something like that. She was a painter after all, not a writer. 

 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;  Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”  ~I Peter 2:9-10 (KJV)

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” ~Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

 

A Visit to Raspberry Island Lighthouse

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Lynn sat on the shore of Lake Superior, musing over her visit to the Raspberry Island Lighthouse. 

Built in 1863, this lighthouse guided sailors along the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior. Lynn had soaked in the stories along with the sun and Superior breezes. She could have gone without the biting flies. Must bring insect repellant next time.

Nasty insects aside, it had been a lovely excursion. The lively guide had given her several nuggets to think about, but at this moment she wondered what the lighthouse would say if it could speak for itself. Inhabited by light keepers (during the shipping season) and often their families and guests for over eighty years, surely the walls could share quite the history lesson. Perhaps a dramatic comedy. Also, Lynn realized, a tragedy or two. What were the breakfast conversations? Did the light keeper grumble when his assistants didn’t hold up to his own work ethic? How did the children spend their time on an island that was practically their own world? Did they wake during the night to make sure the light was still shining like their father did? 

Maybe she could find a book of the stories to take home.

Lynn watched the soft waves come in to shore, their lapping the backdrop to her thoughts. What scenes of life would the walls of her own home share if given the opportunity? They are always watching after all.

Lynn closed her eyes and smiled. God is always watching, too, beyond the four walls of my home, even in the remote places like this breathtaking bay in the greatest Great Lake.

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3, ESV)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

“If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” (Psalm 139:9-10, ESV)

 

13 Stories of America – Part II

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To see the first seven stories of America, visit the previous post. 

8. Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink – Ah, yes, here I am talking about Caddie Woodlawn again! I love this story because I consider it a “living book” and it touches on important players in the American pageant – Native Americans.

9. Defeat of the Ghost Riders (Trailblazer Book #23) by Dave & Neta Jackson – Ingenuity and perseverance could be called two of Americans’ greatest gifts, and Mary McLeod Bethune is a great example of both. Funding a school with homemade sweet potato pies? Oh, yes! Through the eyes of fictional Celeste, readers meet Mrs. Bethune as she is starting her school for girls in Florida. One line that especially struck me was her quoting of Lincoln’s words, “We destroy our enemies when we make them our friends.” 

10. Little Britches by Ralph Moody – America would not be what she is without her cowboys and (so far) Ralph Moody in the Little Britches series is my favorite. The escapades of this hardworking fellow – told by himself –  are sure to bring the gift of laughter to you and your family. 

11. The Adventures of the Northwoods series by Lois Walfrid-Johnson – As America stepped into the 20th century, immigrants from the world over continued to pour through her gates. Readers young and old will come to understand the lives of immigrant families who settled in the Midwest through the eyes of Irish-Swedish Katherine O’Connell, her stepbrother Anders and their friends. Questions like “What was Minneapolis like at the turn of the century?”, “What was it like to go to a one-room school?” and “What dangers did miners in the Upper Peninsula face?” will be answered. Throw in intriguing mysteries and these historical-fiction tales are a mixture of education and excitement – can’t beat that!

12. The Chicago Years by Nancy Rue – It seems that we learn a lot about the War for Independence, the Civil War, the pioneer era, the Great Depression and the World Wars, but somehow we skip the 1920s. This series by Nancy Rue is here to change all that! Rudy Hutchinson and his twin sister move to Chicago to live with their grandmother and are soon up to their earlobes in adventures. Along the way, readers will discover Italian-American culture, German-American culture, Jewish-American culture, the work of Jane Adams at Hull House, the cultural trends of the 20s and, of course, the mob! 

13. The American Adventure series by various authors – The American saga is told from the journey of the Mayflower to the end of WWII in this series that traces a family tree. While the 48 – yes, forty-eight! – books in this series are out-of-print, you can still find many copies available (inexpensively) online. The hunt is worthwhile because this series paints a portrait of America’s history in such a memorable way. Even issues like the internment of Japanese-Americans on the West Coast during WWII are faced. Another benefit of this lengthy series is the opportunity to see how one generation’s choices affect the next. If you are looking for a way to engage children in history or if you want a pleasant way to learn for yourself, I recommend this series.  

There you go! Thirteen stories of America. Do you have a different favorite on your shelf? I’d love to hear about it. Send me a message anytime here. 

What is Womanhood? A Conversation with Caddie Woodlawn

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Lived by a grandmother and passed down over the years, it’s a story that beats with real life. It’s the story of a redheaded, spirited girl growing up in 1860s Wisconsin where she and her family work and play together and learn what is important to them. It’s the story of Caddie Woodlawn. 

This story came to life for me via the television screen and later through the pages of the Newbery-Award-winning book by Carol Ryrie Brink. The two are different in some big ways. Overall, I have to say that although the film captured my imagination and I absolutely loved the costumes, the book is, by and large, better, both worldview-wise and for learning about life in 1860s Wisconsin. But, of course, you could check out both versions for yourself! 

Main Characters (in the book):

Caddie – A red-headed explorer who loves spending time with her brothers and learns many lessons.

Tom – Caddie’s older brother, a kind heart

Warren – Caddie’s younger brother, a jolly soul

Hetty – one of Caddie’s sisters, a chatterbox reporter

Mr. Woodlawn – Caddie’s father, a hard-working Brit who loves America

Mrs. Woodlawn – Caddie’s mother, a Bostonian lady who occasionally misses city life but loves her husband more

Annabelle Gray – the Woodlawns’ Bostonian cousin

While the book is full of exciting escapades like a prairie fire and Caddie’s race to protect the Native Americans, one quiet scene stood out to me. It seeks to answer a question every girl (or parent of a girl) faces at some point: What is womanhood all about and is it something a young girl could be excited to claim?

After a particularly miserable experience, Caddie and her father talk. Within that conversation, Mr. Woodlawn shares with his daughter what he thinks womanhood is:

“It takes nerve and courage and patience, but good women have those things. They have them just as much as the men who build bridges…A woman’s work is something fine and noble to grow up to, and it is just as important as a man’s. But no man could ever do it so well…I want you to be a woman with a wise and understanding heart, healthy in body and honest in mind. Do you think you would like to be growing into that woman now?” (pg. 244-245) 1

How does Caddie answer? How would you answer? Whether we are girls or we are raising girls, I think we could agree that being “a woman with a wise and understanding heart, healthy in body and honest in mind” who also has “nerve and courage and patience” is a worthy goal. 

After you’ve read the book and/or watched the movie, perhaps you’ll be a fan of Caddie Woodlawn and her conviction-driven spunk. Do you know you can still visit her home in Wisconsin? Check out the Dunn County Historical Society website. All you will find in the park  now is the log cabin and the small white house (pictured above), but, as another redheaded heroine of children’s literature says, there’s plenty of “scope for the imagination” in that. 

[1] Carol Ryrie Brink, Caddie Woodlawn (New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1990), 244-245.