In my home, I have an early photo of my ancestors, who immigrated from Baden-Baden Germany. I don’t know their first names but the family name is Helmuth, a very stern-looking couple. People never smiled much in those early photographs. But perhaps they didn’t see life as very cheerful.

We all have a somewhat unrealistic view of the two centuries before ours. People always ask me (since I often write about the past) what period would I like to be transported back to if possible. My answer is always, nothing before 1950. I don’t want to live without modern plumbing and antibiotics. Just call me a sissy but life was tough before 1950.

At the beginning of the 20th century, my greatgrandma Louise Fastbinder Dietrich (my maternal grandmother’s mother) was left a widow with nine daughters and no means of support. The elders of the local Evangelical Lutheran Church came and asked her if she could run a boarding house if they bought her a furnished house. She said yes and that’s what they did. Now that’s what I and St. James call true religion.

You would think that a woman with nine daughters would have trouble remarrying, but no, she married again, Mike Dietrich, who was remembered as a loving stepfather by each of his nine stepdaughters. My grandmother was Louise also and I have stories about her too. But I’ll save those for later.

March is going to be a busy month for me, so many author friends will be sharing the strong women in their lives and books. Hope February has been a good month for you!