Patricia Simmers Thompson will be forever remembered for her inspired, succulent interpretations of blue-plate classics that, to this day, remain beyond imitation. Though she left many of these priceless recipes behind, her children make largely feeble attempts to imitate her culinary artistry. Some, such as her recipe for wonderfully pungent spaghetti sauce, may be lost forever,now that bottle after soulless bottle […]
Meany Remembered as Brilliant Party Prankster
You know the kind of stories that reduce you to a senseless mass of convulsive laughter, where you involuntarily blurt out laughs like coughs, where your eyes stream with tears and you can’t speak? And just when you stop, you make eye contact with another person who also got the joke and start all over again? Those were the kind […]
Julius and Marie Krutschnitt Couldn’t Wait to Marry
Julius Kruttschnitt, Jr., and his wife, Marie Rose Pickering, married six months ahead of plan, much to the dismay of Pickering’s mother, according to a September 25, 1907 article from the San Francisco Call. Apparently, the ceremony at the Pickering household, was pulled together so quickly that Kruttschnitt’s parents didn’t even attend. He’s quoted in the paper as having no idea […]
Lost Work of Marie Pickering Recovered
My great-grandmother Marie Rose Pickering by the early age of 20 had made “quite a reputation” as a short-story writer, as well as musician and linguist. That’s according to a September 25th, 1907 report in the San Francisco Call. But where are these literary masterpieces? None has survived the handing down of family treasure troves. Thankfully, at least […]
A Twisted William Thompson Was Published in 1899
Who would have thought that William Thompson, the rugged frontiersman who was instrumental in the founding of Virginia City, Montana, was also a published author? Perhaps this explains the penchant of descendants toward things literary. Asked by the Anaconda Standard to reminisce about his first Christmas at Alder Gulch, a mining camp that included the town of Virginia City, Thompson relates in an avuncular […]
Visit to Boyce, Virginia Leaves One With More Questions Than Answers
I seldom see a town that bears my unusual family name. So I had more than passing interest in visiting the town of Boyce, Virginia, located only a two-hour drive from my hometown of Washington D.C. Unfortunately, the trip to the former railroad town left me with more questions than answers. A commemorative plaque in downtown Boyce, located […]