Stories come from all sorts of places. Surprisingly, the idea for Timber Rose came from two 1908 books on sex and self, What a Young Wife Ought to Know and What a Young Husband Ought to Know. The first was given to a friend as a gag gift when she got married. The latter was found in thirft shop. The findings after comparing the advice? The husband knew a lot more than the wife. Waay more. It led to the question what as it like to be a married couple in 1907?
As I had already explored the Glacier/Maples Falls area in Washington State as the model for the community of Frazier in Tree Soldier I decided that I would set my story there. There were already hints in that novel about the parents of Kate Alford – her mother’s wealthy family were not happy with her father, so her parents had eloped. The story of Timber Rose just came naturally out of the research about the area. The Forest Service was only two years old and the hiking climbs of the Mazamas and the Mountaineers had begun their climbs. These two entities worked together to bring the wilderness to the general public during a time when Big Lumber was cutting down trees and fighting the unions who wanted the eight hour day. Caroline finds freedom hiking and climbing in the mountains and forests.
In the research I also uncovered about the hiking cubs in this early 20th century, I discovered almost half of their membership were women. They were well educated, adventuresome and not going to let fashion and corsets to hold them back. They were also going for the right to vote and the freedom to be a New Woman.
J. L. Oakley, May 26, 2014
