Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves

Just a quick reminder -- I will be speaking at the Fowlerville Library this evening, at 6 pm, on some of the not-so-innocent events in this area in the late 1800s. You do have to sign up to attend -- would love to see you there.

Plus, there is a fun give-away just for coming!

Howell Library Author Talk

This evening -- 7 pm to be exact -- I will be at the Howell Library presenting a power point show of pictures and history information as well as talking about my experience of self-publishing.

So, if you have an hour or so to spare, come see me.

Sweet Christmas

Les and Sherry Pardee, owners of Sweet Sensations, have graciously accepted me butting into their Saturday and spending four hours with them. Therefore, I will be at Sweet Sensations today from 10 am until 2 pm -- I hope to see you there.

I will have my book, The Fowlerville Chronicles, available for purchase -- $38. For those of you stumped on your Christmas giving, this might be just the perfect gift.

And, don't forget today is the annual "Christmas in the Ville" with loads of events happening all day long. All of the stores are celebrating the holiday season, there will be a pet parade, the Dashing Through the Snow 5K Walk/Run, and, of course, Santa will arrive at the end of the wondrous parade.

See you there!

Two Months Until Christmas

Just your friendly reminder . . . if you know of anyone interested in Fowlerville or history, this is a perfect gift for giving at Christmas time. So there's my sales-pitch for another month. For those that have purchased a copy, I hope you are enjoying it.

My Very First Author Talk

I'm totally convinced the Fowlerville Library creates an atmosphere for fun. At least that is exactly what I had last night at my first ever author talk. I had a blast. The audience -- yes, people showed up -- asked questions, reacted surprised at some of the stories I related, and bought copies of The Fowlerville Chronicles. Well, except for one copy. We had a drawing at the end of the evening and here I am with our pleased (and surprised) winner -- congratulations to Sue and thanks for coming. In addition to our happy winner, I had a few surprises and pleases last night:

~~As mentioned before, friends and others showed up!

~~My knee caps didn't shake from nerves.

~~My husband, as it turns out, was my "ringer" in the audience. He asked a few questions at the right time to prompt another "download" of information from me (thank you very much).

~~And, last but not least, our former writing group leader drove all the way from Indianapolis just to hear my talk. And she brought me some chocolate!

So, thank you, thank you, to everyone that attended last night. I tried to answer questions as thoroughly as possible, but if anyone would like more information, please feel free to contact me through this website. Also, I hope you came away with a new appreciation of the rich history of Fowlerville.

And now as a side note, the question was asked if Fowler, Michigan, might have been settled by the same branch of the family that settled this area. I don't know the answer, but if you click here, you can read about a "John N. Fowler" settling their village. Maybe someday when I have a few minutes, I'll check this out further.

Author Talk at Library

This evening, at 6 pm, I will be at the Fowlerville Library speaking about The Fowlerville Chronicles. I can hardly wait. I kiddingly mention to friends and family how my head is absolutely stuffed full of history trivia -- to the point, I've had at least one person mention he is going to temper his questions to me so I don't download too much!

But, anyhow, I have been having such a blast since the end of August when I first laid eyes on the finished product. The reception of the book has been astronomical and has led to other interesting invitations, e-mails, phone calls, research requests -- you name it!

Well, this evening comes an event I have looked forward to for six weeks. I will be speaking at the library from 6-7 (even a bit beyond) pm of how this all came about, something I'm calling the "Fowlerville Fab Forty," and taking questions (hopefully I'll have the answer, and if I don't, I will research it).

I will have copies for purchase after the "talk." But, as a special item and even something my friends at the library do not know of, I will be having a drawing at the end of the evening for a free copy. There will be a bowl (or maybe even a hat) where you can enter your name on a slip of paper. It will be only for those attending and you have to be present to win.

So for all my friends that visit the website, please join me tonight. If I have not met you before, please introduce yourself to me. I love knowing my readers and, as always, I love meeting new friends. See you tonight!

Three Months to Christmas

Just a friendly reminder . . . if you need any ideas for your Christmas gift-giving this year . . . I still have some copies of The Fowlerville Chronicles. The year has flown by so fast and we are only 3 months from that celebration. So, if you think a copy of this 425-page, nearly 600-picture, maps, and aerials book is something you would like to give, I would be happy to sign a copy to your recipient and even wrap it in beautiful Christmas paper! Just let me know.

Family Fall Fest

On Saturday the 18th, I will be at the Coughran School in the Historic Village at the fairgrounds from 9 am until noon. I would love to have you come spend some time with me in this restored schoolhouse. I have to leave at noon that day for another chance to do a book signing (this time at Bridget Gallagher's Halfway to St. Paddy's Day party), but will head back the fairgrounds around 2:15 pm.

Starting at 3 pm in the schoolhouse, a "history bee" will be held -- oh, and guess what -- they will be using my book, The Fowlerville Chronicles, as part of their reference material! I am so excited. The winner of the history bee will receive a copy of my book.

Part of the reason I will be heading back to the fairgrounds is because I, along with Cindy Salfate, will be moderating the competition. Afterwards, there will be pictures taken all 'round and possibly even posted next week. How much fun! If the winner is agreeable, you will see that picture a few days from now.

For now, though, be sure to mark your calendar for the Family Fall Fest, held from the 17 through the 19. Oh, and let's hope for some wonderful fall weather!

Handy Township Presentation

The Handy Township offices are now in possession of a copy of The Fowlerville Chronicles. This evening, I was given the opportunity to speak for a few moments on how Handy Township and the village of Fowlerville are so inter-related in the history pages of this book.

At one time, in the not too distant past, both governmental agencies were housed in the same building at the corner of North Grand Avenue and Power Street. This building also served as the location for the fire department before the 1960s. As I sat for a few minutes waiting for the meeting to begin, I looked a little closer at some of the brickwork (which can be seen behind Dr. Hank Vaupel, Township Supervisor, and I) along the north and west walls of the building. The west wall in particular shows evidence of a larger opening, where newer bricks have been added to accommodate a large window. As one of the trustees mentioned, the council room used to be a bay for the fire truck.So, as I sat there waiting for my turn, I thought back to all of the articles I read (some of which I included in the book) of the changes made in this building. In the 1920s, a "ladies rest room" was somewhere in the first floor -- not too far from the library. So many functions and events were held in this three-story building, and I just sat soaking it all in thinking of what to say to the council.

When my turn came, I had two purposes to fulfill; first off to present the copy for the township's library, and the second, to thank Bill Call for his encouragement early on as the seed of thought grew about turning all of this information into book form. Bill wasn't there, unfortunately, but I truly hope the word is passed along to him how much I have appreciated that he saw the value in my work.

It continues to be quite a ride . . .

Book Signing at Curtis Grocery

I am so looking forward to seeing you tomorrow morning from 10 am to noon at Curtis Grocery in the coffee nook at the front of the store. I'll have a notebook full of extraneous materials and articles showing some of my process while compiling the book -- and, of course, the finished product for sale. Looking forward to seeing you.

Presentation to Village Council

Last night, I was given the opportunity to speak in front of the Fowlerville Village Council. I had two things in mind; 1) to thank the council for providing a space for the historical collection (family histories, obituaries, reference books, census books, old copies of newspapers, and a myriad of other collectibles) in a large walk-in closet in the chamber hall, and 2) to present a copy of The Fowlerville Chronicles for the collection. Village President Wayne Copeland was entrusted with the copy. Everytime I have a chance to speak about putting together this book, I have to rein in my enthusiasm. Otherwise, I could speak for an hour (or longer) on the interesting bits of trivia I discovered in my research. I want to speak about all the many intriguing pioneers, events that shaped this village, businesses that provided security as well as products . . . see, I could go on and on.

Instead I opened the doors to the closet to show all of the binders and books that have been organized and I thanked the council for their generosity. And -- we will add my book to the collection.

If you would like to check out this collection, please feel free to visit with me the first and third Tuesdays of each month at about 9 am until 10 or 10:30.

See you in chamber.

Too Much Fun

The "buzz" regarding The Fowlerville Chronicles has grown, at least for me, to the factor of "too much fun."

Yesterday, Maria Stuart interviewed me at 10 am at the Uptown Coffeehouse in Howell and by noon, an article was posted on her website, LivingstonTalk. Look for the article about some crazy woman that "loves Fowlerville." Guess that's me.

In the same day, the Livingston County Press and Argus, thanks to Candy Spiegel, published a wonderful article of an interview I had with her about a month ago. If you head to Livingston Press and Argus, scroll down to the bottom, look for the "tailgating" booklet, then head to page 11, you will see the article.

The Fowlerville Rotary Club also was gracious enough to ask me to speak about the "whys" and "hows" of the book. It was, once again, too much fun because so many memories were brought to the forefront for many of our members. Also, some of our newer members had all sorts of questions about the buildings and storefronts in which they reside.

I'm not an expert, but I have catalogued a ton of information and much of that is still residing somewhere in my brain and in my laptop. As the months progress, I will be posting many of the articles and information I came across in the my research while writing the book; most of which I could not fit into the overall picture.

Be sure to check back -- it might just be something you are interested in.

The Fowlerville Chronicles

It has arrived and is available for purchase -- The Fowlerville Chronicles -- compiled and edited by yours truly. It is a book of 425 pages, with close to 600 pictures, maps, signage, aerials, and a myriad of interesting bits of history. This is a book you will keep coming back to time and time again to see how Fowlerville grew from a settlement of only 14 settlers to what it is today. This book, a work of so many wonderful events and some not so much, is available for purchase on this website using Paypal. The cost includes shipping and sales tax. If you would like to purchase a book directly from me, please contact me by calling 517.223.8154.

Livingston Press and Argus

Candy Spiegel has written an article regarding this very post, which you can find by clicking here and then heading toward the bottom of the page, scrolling the special issues until you find Livingston Home, click on that, then head to pages 6 and 7 (so sorry for this hassle but the link to the exact pages were not working).

It was a blast being interviewed, or as I mentioned to my husband, just call me "motor mouth." I basically downloaded 2 years of information of me putting together these pictures and doing what research I could accomplish around my day job (be sure to click on "day job" to see). She's a good listener!

Since you are here now, thank you also for checking out this website about Fowlerville. Each day there will be a new squint shot, sometimes articles, once in a while recipes and jokes so be sure to check back. And, as one of my visitors, please feel free to leave comments or maybe even suggestions of what you are interested in. I'm always glad to hear from my readers.

So, once again, thank you, Candy, for promoting The Fowlerville Observer.