I gave Louisa and her friend Grace a ride to St. Paul yesterday, and before returning to Northfield, Sebastian and I visited the Minnesota State Capitol, a gorgeous building designed by St. Paul architect Cass Gilbert.

I'm so glad Sebastian suggested the spontaneous field trip. I was last on the Capitol grounds in January with 100,000 other people for the Women's March Minnesota, but I hadn't been inside since chaperoning Elias' sixth grade field trip in 2012. Since that time, the 1905 building underwent a four-year, $310 million repair and restoration project. It reopened to the public earlier this year.

My paternal great-grandfather, G. Oliver Riggs, had a special connection to the Capitol (I've written about it previously in this blog). During the 1917 St.

It's easy to keep track of my book project's birthday because it all started in October of 2006, when Elias turned 6. Now he's 17, and I am so close to being done, I would love to whip up a cake and celebrate. But I will have to hold that out as an incentive while I finish this last important stage of the project: revision. Instead, I am marking the occasion (a few weeks late) with a slice of fresh-out-of-the-oven pumpkin bread.

I didn't set out to write a book in October 2006.
2

The fun starts tomorrow (Saturday, July 29) at 10 a.m. in beautiful, historic downtown Northfield. Below is a list of the bands set to perform in Bridge Square. Glossy, free programs will be available (thank you, advertisers and By All Means Graphics). Bring your sunscreen, a lawn chair, your family and friends, and your love of music. We'll provide the entertainment!

For more information, or to support this free festival with a tax-deductible donation, visit the Vintage Band Festival website.

Early in June, my son Elias made a list of movies he wanted to watch during summer vacation, and we've slowly been making our way through it. Included on the list have been classics like The Godfather and Citizen Kane, and more recent Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated films like Moonlight and La La Land.

I came across sad news late last night while I was doing some online research for the last chapter of my book. Leonard Jung, a former St. Cloud Municipal Boys’ Band member who is featured prominently in Chapter 5, died in early December 2016. He was 97.

Here is a link to his obituary (and a cool photo of him as a young Navy man): Leonard Jung obituary

Below is another photo of him, that he shared with me. He’s on the far right.
4

The last chapter ... That sounds ominous, doesn’t it? It is ominous, in a way. Chapter 26, the last chapter I have yet to write of my book (which is technically the second-to-last chapter) is the one where—spoiler alert—my great-grandparents G. Oliver and Islea both die. I know, I feel bad killing them off, but as my wise author friend Carolyn Porter told me, “You’re not killing them off. Quite the opposite. You’re creating a lasting legacy.”

Carolyn knows about creating a legacy, by the way.

I don’t want to interrupt my writing momentum too long this morning by blogging, but it seems like a good time to provide an update on my book project and reflect on how far I have come in the past year.

The working title of my book is Finding My Musical Family: A Tale of Crackerjack Bands, Hometown Boosters, and a Great-Grandfather’s Legacy. It is a combination memoir/history book about my quest to uncover the incredible career of my paternal great-grandfather, G.

I have a story problem for you: a writer leaves home for a four-day writing retreat in northern Wisconsin with three chapters of her book left to write. When she returns to Minnesota, she has five remaining chapters. How is this possible?

Did I mention that the writer majored in journalism in college, and not math?

Story problems are not my thing, but stories are.
Popular Posts
Popular Posts
About Me
About Me
Blog Archive
Blog Archive
Labels
Labels
Loading
Dynamic Views theme. Powered by Blogger. Report Abuse.