An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Jessie was supposed to be a number in a university study. It was supposed to be an easy way to make extra money. After seven years in New York City, Jess was struggling, her dream of becoming a make-up artist on Broadway slipping from her hands. So when she sees an opportunity for extra cash, which she knows her family back home desperately needs, she blatantly lies to get into the study.

The study is about morality and choices. Jess is uncomfortable revealing decisions she regrets, but her answers bring her to the attention of Dr. Shields.

Dr. Shields draws Jessie into her confidence, asking her to take the study beyond questionnaires in an empty room and into real-life situations that push Jessie out of her comfort zone. And then Jessie learns about a previous study volunteer who died and discovers Dr. Shields isn't telling the truth.

The story is narrated in two voices, Jessie and Dr. Shields. There are twists and complications in the plot, filling Jessie with doubt about who she can trust.

Having the villain a psychologist is brilliant, a built-in reason for her to understand Jessie with greater insight and thereby easily manipulate Jessie. Jessie is needy but self-reliant and savvy enough to fight back.

An Anonymous Girl is a clever page-turner, a fun ride that keeps readers guessing. Be warned, don't read this before bedtime. It will interfere with your sleep schedule.

Authors Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's previous book The Wife Between Us is a New York Times bestseller and Amazon.com best book of the year.

I received a free book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

An Anonymous Girl
by Greer Hendricks; Sarah Pekkanen
St. Martin's Press
Pub Date 08 Jan 2019
ISBN 9781250133731
PRICE $27.99 (USD)

The Perilous Adventures of the Cowboy King

Ya-ha-haw!

Who can resist that pulp fiction era cover art, reserved for stories about daredevil heroes?

Yes--That is Teddy Roosevelt, our 25th president, dressed in his Brooks Brothers uniform, custom-made for his fantasy-come-true chance to play at war on San Juan's hills, his sidekick mascot cougar at his side!

I can't think of any other president so deserving of action hero fame, for TR's life was made up of Big Moments that prove that fact truly is stranger than fiction.

And Jerome Charyon's The Perilous Adventures of the Cowboy King takes readers on a thrill ride of TR's early life.

Born wealthy, son of a veritable saint nicknamed Great Heart, and brother to a self-destructive sybarite. Became a boy state assemblyman, taking on the corrupt New York party machine. Married for love; lost her and his beloved mother on the SAME DAY.  Ran off to the Wild West to work himself into oblivion, facing bad guys and evil Pinkertons. Left little Alice to his sister to raise until, returning home, he reencounters his childhood sweetheart Edith and realizes he has to marry her.

Our hero reenters NYC politics, again goes up against corruption, becoming a royal pain so the politicos send him packing to Washington, DC to be Secretary of the Navy. TR pushes for war in Cuba against the Spaniards, cobbles together a ragtag group nicknamed the Rough Riders who become media darlings. Ignored and maligned, after much suffering and victory, the hero of San Juan Hill is made NY State Governor. Again becoming a royal pain, he is pressured to be McKinley's VP where he, like every other VP, except perhaps Al Gore, rots away. And then Garfield is assassinated.

That's just the first part of TR's life.

You can read any one of several marvelous biographies, many thousands of pages have been written about him. Or...you could... go on a jaunt under Jerome Charyn's capable hands and meet the Cowboy King in his own voice. Or do both. Read the scholarly bios, but don't miss the chance to meet Teddy The Cowboy King. It's a rollicking good ride.

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

President Roosevelt from The Presidents Quilt
Design by Michael J. Buckingham,
Quilt by Nancy A. Bekofske

The Perilous Adventures of the Cowboy King: A Novel of Teddy Roosevelt and His Times
by Jerome Charyn
W. W. Norton & Company
Pub Date 08 Jan 2019
ISBN 9781631493874
PRICE $26.95 (USD)

The Presidents Quilt
made by Nancy A. Bekofske

The Diary of Helen Korngold; January 1-5, 1919

This begins my weekly excerpts from the 1919 diary of Helen Korngold, transcribed to the best of my ability, with notes on the people and places mentioned.

Helen Korngold, December 1919, New York City

January 

Wednesday 1
Rise 11:30 A.M.! Oh, such a spiffy time last night. A regular N.Y. Eve. All dolled up in satin clown suit. E.E. proposed—tough luck! Fellows came at 3 AM. Today- Sam, Dewey, Morris & Summer Shapiro, Dewey’s Bostonian friend called. We had lots of fun. All good fellows. I’m sleepy—too much champagne!

Thursday 2
Everybody raved about New Years. So did I. Had good reason to. Classes as usual. Home-Exciting-Handkerchiefs from Ida & army pillow top from Julius K. It’s a beaut. That boy is really thoughtful. I’m so tired! Dewey left for K. C. today—bye-bye. Dewey dear, I don’t expect to see you again. Letter from Herbert in France.

Friday 3
Class—Profs laying it on thick. We should worry. Basketball. Home. That E.E. called up three times. That’s good exercise for him! Going out with him Sun.

Saturday 4
School—taking it easy - Nothing exciting. Summer came over. He’s all fussed about Dewey. Summer seems to be rather fine. Dewey certainly caused a sensation—beat it with $20 gloves & overcoat. I should worry. He was the best company I ever had. Dewey Pierre Flambert! A real hero of war.

Sunday 5
Clean up. Read. Dinner. Rest—bathe—dress. Ernst E. & I go to Syria—then to Cicardi. That fellow knows too many people. Had a regular feast—home in a taxi—pretty soft. Proposal No. 2. To bed at 1:30 P.M. Rested well!

*****

Notes:

January 1

Ernst F. Ellenberg (born March 1893) appears on the January 17, 1920, St. Louis Census living with his wife Hazel B. and father-in-law Harry Freed, a merchant. 'EE' was employed as a traveling salesman in ladies wear. A marriage certificate shows Ernest F. Ellenberg married Hazel B. Cohen on December 4, 1919. Hazel was 28 years old at the time of her marriage. Harry Freed must be Hazel’s step father.

His WWI Draft Card shows he was married, a ranch manager in “food stuffs”, and working for Paul Ellenberger & McScharff Co. He was of medium build and height with light gray eyes and dark auburn hair. He was claiming ‘physical disability’ but the claim was later withdrawn. Both are in perpetual memory at Congregational Temple Israel in St. Louis October 3-9. The 1910 St. Louis Census shows Paul Ellenberg, age 55, wife Hattie, age 43, and son Ernst, age 7. None were employed. The 1900 St. Louis Census shows Paul, born 8/1854, working as a wholesale paper dealer, and living with wife Hattie, born July, 1865, son Leopold, born July, 1884, and son Ernest F., born March, 1893.

A California Death Certificate shows Ernest F. Ellenberg died on February 1, 1934, in Los Angeles.

Dewey Pierre Flambert won the Distinguished Cross and Legion of Honor. The Distinguished Cross is the second highest honor, awarded for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with the enemy force.  I can find no record of his receiving the French Legion of Honor. Born Jan 1, 1898, in New York City, Dewey was living in Montreal, Quebec when he enlisted in the Canadian service on September 26, 1917. His occupation was given as “reporter”. On March 15, 1920, he was listed on the U.S. census as a Private First Class in the U. S. Army General Hospital in Colorado.

Several Morris Blocks turn up in the St Louis Directories of this time period, including 1913 listings for a a family running Chipman Drug Co. on Delmar Blvd and a Morris Block in gent’s furnishings. Others are listed as salesmen or tailors. Several Blocks were Elks Club members, including Ernest, Jacob and A.G. Block. A Morris Block was buried on Sept 6, 1919, in the Mt Sinai, St Louis Cemetery.

Helen attends many Elks activities. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was founded in 1868 as a drinking club before it expanded into a fraternal service organization. St. Louis had Lodge No. 9, Oriental Lodge No. 976 and Lodge No. 527.

Summer Shapiro’s WWI draft card shows him living in Boston and attending Boston University. His home address was with his mother, Mrs. William (Florence Silverman) Shapiro, in Suffolk MA. Summer was short and slender, with brown eyes and black hair.

He was born January 4, 1899, and died on June 20, 1989. The Boston, MA census of 1900 shows William was an insurance agent, born in Russia in 1873 and wife Florence was born in Massachusetts in 1874 of Russian born parents. Their daughter Ruth was born in 1895. The 1920 census shows Summer was a student who worked in a cotton house and that William was a Real Estate broker born in Poland. The St. Louis Dispatch includes a marriage license application by Summer Shapiro on Feb 16, 1945, he was living at 4497 Pershing. It appears his fiance was Mr. Esther Susman.

Several Shapiros were enrolled in Washington University, including Samuel who was in the class of 1916 and has several family trees on ancestry.com. But I do not find a connection to Summer in these trees.

January 2

Julius Koloditsy’s (sometimes Helen refers to him as Jewell) WWI draft card shows he was born in Russia on July 4, 1892, and was of medium height and slender build with black hair and dark brown eyes. His records show he was a Private First Class who served from Sept. 15, 1918, to February 6, 1919.

He was naturalized in 1916. He was living in the Bronx, New York City and worked as a salesman.

On February 9 Helen writes that he was discharged from the service. His naturalization papers showed he was 118 lbs, a salesman, emigrated from Brest-Litofsk, Russia on the S.S. Lapland arriving in 1911. The 1915 New York State census shows him in a boarding house, age 22, working as a clerk. In 1910 he is living with Moses Kocin and family, listed as ‘cousin.’ He was age 27 and a clerk in a hardware store.

He sent Helen an Army 'folder' on February 10; Helen writes it was from “J. Koloditsky of Ashville, N.C.”  Pillow tops, or pillow covers, were common gifts during WWI.

January 5

Syria -A St Louis club

Cicardi’s Restaurant and summer garden; their ad in the 1913 St. Louis Gould’s Blue Book reads, “We cater only to the very best – Italian & French cuisine – Ladies Afternoon Tea Room, card parties, etc.” They were located at Delmar and Euclid in St. Louis. The sorority Pan-Hellenic banquet was held there Dec. 4, 1915. The owner was Augustin J. Cicardi who parents immigrated from Italy in 1857 and ran a grocery. A.J. first established a tavern then added a dining room and garden. He tried to revitalize St. Louis nightlife in the 1920s but his enterprise failed. In later life, he operated small restaurants then a wholesale liquor business.

Helen Korngold's Family History

To better understand Helen's 1919 diary I researched her family tree on Ancetry.com. I started the first tree for Helen's family.

The Korngold Genealogy

Helen Sarah Korngold was born September 27, 1897, in St. Louis, MO. The diary covers her senior year at Washington University (W.U.) in St. Louis. Helen was preparing to be a teacher, and in the fall of 1919, she taught at Wellston and Maplewood schools.

Helen was an extrovert, as her making numerous friends during her Colorado Springs trip in July proves. She was physically very active, participating on the W.U. basketball team, and enjoying swimming and dancing and participating in other leisure actives such as horseback riding and golf over the year.

In the 1917 Washington University yearbook, Helen appears as a member of the Deutsche Verein Club, which promoted interest in German language, literature, and life. Their annual play was “Der Dummkof,” performed on May 1 of that year.

She was active in her temple’s Sunday School programs, even teaching. Helen often burned the candle at both ends, but still was offered a fellowship by her distinguished history professor Dr. Usher. The lectures Helen attended, and the work of her professors such as Dr. Usher, indicate that she grew up in an open and progressive world.

Helen had loads of dates and admirers, including boys from university, temple, and her high school Central High chums. She was in no hurry to settle down but was driven toward her chosen career. She corresponded with many WWI soldiers, like Jules who sent her souvenir pillow tops and handkerchiefs. She was quite taken by war heroes like Summer Shapiro, who was from Boston, and Dewey Pierre Flambert. But these men were just passing through St. Louis.

Helen’s photo appears in the 1924, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, and 1937 Normandy High School yearbooks. Her degrees included A.B. Washington University, M.A. Columbia University, and the University of Southern California. She worked in Commercial Subjects in the Guidance Department.She also wrote an article, Guidance in Action: A High School Program in St. Louis, which appeared in “The Vocational Guidance Journal."

Helen met and married mathematician Fritz Herzog who taught at Cornell and later at Michigan State University. Helen was 40 years old and Fritz was 37.

*

The Korngold Family

In 1919 Helen lived on Page Boulevard in St. Louis, MO with her father Jacob B. Korngold, her mother Eva, her brother Karol, and sisters Lavinia, Otilia, and Florence.

Page Avenue was “one of the city’s more prominent east-west thoroughfares,” and named for Daniel D. Page, the second mayor of the city, who had owned considerable land in the vicinity. The houses were substantial brick buildings, typically with four bedrooms and three baths and over 2000 sq. ft. The neighborhood was not far from Forest Park, the site of the St. Louis World’s Fair and adjacent to W.U. new campus.

Jacob Bernard Korngold was born on October 6, 1863, in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland, the son of Joacha Yocha and Moses Korngold. Jacob immigrated in 1876. He married Eva Frey in 1895. They had seven children in 31 years. He died on August 28, 1939, at the age of 75, and was buried in St Louis, Missouri.

The Book of St. Louisans showed Jacob Bernard Korngold was Republican, the party of Lincoln.

St. Louis had a long history of Jewish presence, and many of her friends outside of W.U. were children of self-made immigrants like her father, men who came to America in the late 1880s and went on to build successful businesses. Jews of German, Austrian, and Polish heritage comprise much of her social network.

The 1920 St. Louis census shows Jacob, Eva (45 Years old), Helen, 22, a teacher in the public school; Karol, at 21 a student; and teenagers Lavinia (17), Otilia (15), and Florence (14). The Korngolds lived in a neighborhood with other immigrants, most from Austria or Russia.

When Eva Frey was born in February 1874 in Indianapolis, Indiana, her father, David, was 33, and her mother, Sophia, was 27. She married Jacob Bernard Korngold in 1895. They had seven children in 31 years. She died on August 6, 1959, at the age of 85, and was buried in St Louis, Missouri.

Eva was born in 1874 in Indiana to parents David Frey and Sophia Herz who was born in 1844 in Lorzweiler, Mainz, German and immigrated in 1866. David was born in Austria and arrived in America in 1865. He died in December 1919, noted in Helen's diary. David and Sophia Frey had seven children, including Bertha Beryl Frey born in Poland in 1875, and died in 1929. Beryl was a music teacher and Helen took lessons with her. Beryle married Louis Lieberstein.

When David Frey traveled abroad on April 28, 1911, he was required to swear out an oath of allegiance that he had lived in the United States since 1880 and was a merchant. He was described as 70 years old, 5’ 5” tall, bearded with gray hair, brown eyes, fair complexion, and straight nose. Jacob Korngold vouched that he had known David for sixteen years.

Jacob and Eva were married on September 10, 1895. The 1901 St. Louis City Directory shows Jacob lived at 1441 Francis St, with his business J.B. Korngold & Co. located at 421 N. Sixth. In 1903 they are living at 3121 ‘Eads’ Ave. By 1908 they were on Page Ave.

The 1912 Book of St. Louisans biographical sketch reports that Jacob B. Korngold was a men’s neckware manufacturer, born on October 6, 1863, in Krakau, Austria to parents Morris and Jocha (Young) Korngold.  On September 17, 1878, he arrived in American on the ship Pomerania out of Austria. He was 15 years old.

The Book of St Louisians: Jacob Bernard Korngold was born in Krakou, Austria and was educated in the public schools there. He immigrated to American in 1877 and married Eva Frey in 1895. He was engaged in the sale of neckware, later learned the trade of cutting neckware. He lived in Tensas Parish, LA until 1891 managing a cotton plantation and mechandise store owned by Lucian Bland. In 1891 he went to Europe and returned to engage in neckware manufacturing.

Jacob first learned the cutting of neckwear and then managed a cotton plantation and store owned by Lucian Bland in Tensas Parish, LA, in the heart of the richest cotton production farmland.

Jacob traveled to Europe and returned on August 15, 1891, on the ship Elbe out of Bremen. He then set up his own business. The 1899 St Louis City Directory lists Jacob B. Korngold of the J.B. Korngold Co. manufacturing neckties.

The Book of Louisians lists Jacob’s organizational ties as Mason, Knights of Pythias, B’nai B’rith and reports that he enjoyed hunting and fishing.

The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal order to be chartered by an act of Congress and is dedicated to universal peace, by promoting understanding among men of good will. B’nai B’rith, or Children of the Covenant, is the oldest Jewish service organization. The Freemasons is a fraternal lodge.

The St Louis Republic newspaper of February 16, 1903, includes a help wanted ad: “Neckwear Handlers Wanted – Experienced operators, finishers, and turners. J.B. Korngold & Co., Columbia Theater Bldg.” The nine-story Columbia Building was erected in 1892 at 318 N. 8th St.

The 1930 St Louis census shows Jacob working as an insurance agent. Perhaps his business was hurt in the stock market crash of 1929. Helen’s world of 1919 was not to last. The New York City families she visited in December include several who were importers of alcohol; the Volestead Act had passed in January of 1919 and in January 1920 Prohibition of sales, importation, transportation, or production of alcohol began. Other New York City families she visited were furriers. With the Depression could their business have survived?

On the 1930 census, Jacob gave his parents' birth in Poland, not Austria. Living with him were Eva, who listed her father as born in Poland and mother in Germany, and daughters Helen (30) and Otilia (25), who were both teachers.

In 1932 the St. Louis City Census shows Helen living with her family at 5253 Waterman, a few blocks from Forest Park. Otila, also a teacher, lived with Eva and Jacob. Jacob was an insurance salesman. Karol Korngold and his wife Flora were living on 5123 Cabanne Ave. and he worked for the Federal Commerce Trust.

Jacob died of chronic heart disease on Aug 28, 1939, and is buried in United Hebrew cemetery. Jacob’s death certificate shows he was a Real Estate Agent.  Helen’s mother Eva died on Aug 6, 1959, of cerebral thrombosis and is also buried in United Hebrew cemetery. Both have perpetual Memorials at United Hebrew, Jacob August on 29 and Eva on August 8.

*

Helen's siblings included:

Florence Miriam Korngold born August 22, 1905, and died June 21, 1995. In 1927 she married sportswear manufacturer Harry Reichman and they had two children: Nelson born in 1937 and Fred born 1931 and died 2012. The 1929 Frank Louis Soldan High School yearbook The Scrip lists alumni Florence Reichman as graduating in 1925. Harry’s WWI draft card shows he was of medium height and build with brown eyes and black hair and working as a clerk.

Lorine Esther Korngold married Harry Mendelson (1895-1888). The 1930 census shows Harry was a salesman for a hat broker, living with Lorine and son David. The 1940 census shows Harry was an insurance broker living with Lorine, son David, and a servant in University City, St. Louis. Lorine recorded a cello piece in 1921 and a notice appeared in the 1921 Central High School yearbook. She appears on a 1956 passenger list to England. She died March 14, 2001, in St. Louis.

Otilia Hannah Korngold was born in April 1904 and died on July 24, 2001. She appeared on the alumni list of Frank Louis Soldan High School. She attended Harris Teachers College in St. Louis and graduated in 1925. She received a B.A. from Washington University in 1936, and is listed as a deceased alumnus in the Fall 2001 Washington University Magazine.

1925 Graduating Class of Harris College included Otilia Korngold http://stlouis.genealogyvillage.com/HarrisCollege.htm

http://www.builtstlouis.net/schools/ittner27.html offers pictures of Harris Teacher’s College

A September 3, 1926, Passenger List shows that Helen and her younger sister Otilia, age 22, arrived in New York City on the SS Rotterdam out of Southampton, England. Their address was 5253 Waterman, St Louis, MO.

The St Louis City Directory of 1932 shows Helen and Otila, both teachers, living with Jacob and Eva at 5253 a Waterman St.

Otila was 38 years old when she married Benno Albert Feuer, who was born June 1909 in Rotterdam, Holland in and arrived in American in 1931 at age 22.  In 1934 Benno became a Naturalized Citizen. Benno and Otila appear in the Enid, OK 1960 city directory which shows Benno was Assistant Vice President of the Continental Grain Co.

Ruth Korngold was born July 1900 and died of diphtheria in Oct 1904. Joseph Jonathon Korngold was born Dec. 24, 1907 and his death certificate showed he died July 16, 1913, of acute perforative appendicitis.

Karol Abraham Korngold  

Helen frequently mentions her beloved brother. Karol Abraham Korngold was born Nov. 8, 1898, and died on October 3, 1971. His WWI draft card records state that he was of medium height (5'9") and build (140 lbs) with blue or grey eyes and fair hair (brown). A soldier’s database of WWI lists Private Korngold’s assignment as “S.A.T.C.” or Student Army Training Corps.  (Students Army Tng C, Washington University, St. Louis MO to discharge). Karol was on the Jewish Welfare Board of Trustees.

Karol received a degree in law from Washington University in 1920. The 1930 census shows Karol was a lawyer living with his wife Flora (born August 1901 in St Louis and died in October 1985) and daughters Judith and Ruth in their $10,000 home. Karol A. died on Oct 10, 1971, and is buried in Mt. Sinai Cemetery. Flora died in October 1985. Both are in perpetual memory at Congregational Temple Israel in St. Louis October 3-9.

*

Helen and Fritz Herzog

Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Korngold, 5253 Waterman Boulevard, have announced announced the marriage of their daughter. Miss Helen, and Fritz Herzog, which took place Tuesday, Sept. 21. The bride received her M. A. degree from Washington University, University, and now is employed as head of the commercial department and director of vocational guidance at the Normandy High School. Mr. Herzog received his Ph. D. degree from Columbia University, New York, and at present is a member of the staff of Cornell University.

In October 1937 Helen married Fritz Herzog. Helen was 40 years old. Fritz Herzog was born in Poland (Posen on his death record) on December 6, 1902. He studied at the University of Berlin from 1928 until 1933. As a Jew, he was expelled from the university and immigrated to the United States to continue his education. On July 27, 1933, he arrived at New York City on the S.S. Washington out of Berlin. The Passenger List states that he was 30, a student, from Pozman, Poland and was Hebrew.

Fritz attended Columbia University and gained his Ph.D. in mathematics in 1934 with his dissertation Systems of Algebraic Mixed Difference Equations. He worked for the Smelting & Refining Company for two years as a statistician. From 1938 to 1943 he was in electrical engineering research at Cornell University.

The 1939 Ithaca, NY City Directory shows Helen as Mrs. Fritz Herzog, working at Cornell University as a “research elec. Assn.”  The April 1940 Ithaca, NY City Directory shows Helen married to Fritz Herzog. Helen was 42 years old. The 1940 U.S. Census for Ithaca, NY shows Friz was a college professor with a four-year college degree, living in rented housing, and married to Helen Sarah Herzog. Fritz earned $1650 a year and had worked 11 hours the previous week. Helen worked as a clerk at the university earning a salary of $0 a year and had worked 63 hours the previous week.

Helen, Fritz, and Helen's niece in 1957

In 1941 and 1942 Helen appears in the Ithaca, New York city directory as a clerk.

By 1945 Helen and Fritz had moved to East Lansing. In 1956 and 1959 she appears in the East Lansing city directory working as a clerk at Michigan State University and Fritz is a professor at MSU.

Fritz spent the remainder of his career teaching at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI. He was a visiting professor in 1943 and an associate professor in 1946. Along with Michel G. Malti he solved an important problem in dynamo research. MI. Fritz was also known for his involvement in undergraduate education. I am sure that Helen was very involved with this interest. Michigan State University’s Herzog Prize competition honors Fritz, who “devoted significant efforts at undergraduate education and helped successfully prepare students of the Putnam exam” according to a June 2010 MSU press release. Fritz and Helen appear in the 1945 East Lansing, MI City Directory. The 1984 Directory show they lived at 1532 Cahill Dr, East Lansing.

http://www.math.msu.edu/Department/Herzog/ photo source

In 1969 Fritz was awarded the Past Distinguished Faculty award in Natural Science.

Helen passed on July 25, 1988. Fritz died of prostate cancer on November 21, 2001. Helen’s diary from 1919 ended up in a South Lansing, MI flea market shop.

Helen with her niece in 1957

Sadly, Helen's one pregnancy was unsuccessful. Her great-niece told me the family adored Helen and her husband. They were fun and loving.

*

The Helen Korngold Quilt

I created the Helen Korngold Quilt using scanned diary pages, St. Louis postcard images, embellished, and hand quilted. The quilt appeared in a show at the Michigan Woman's Historical Museum in East Lansing. When Helen's sister's granddaughter contacted me I sent the quilt and the original diary to her to share with her mother.

The Helen Korngold Quilt by Nancy A. Bekofske
Scanned diary pages and historic postcards
embellished, hand quilted

More about Fritz's career:

Fritz Herzog (6 December 1902 to 21 November 2001) was an American mathematician, known for his work in complex analysis and power series. He was born in Germany and studied at the University of Berlin until 1934 when he moved to USA. He received his Ph.D. degree at Columbia University on a thesis entitled Systems of Algebraic Mixed Difference Equations advised by Joseph Ritt (1934). Herzog was an electrical engineering research associate at Cornell University (1938-43), working with Michel G. Malti on dynamo research. Together they solved an important electric power problem on balancing dynamos, which had remained open since the days of Michael Faraday a century before. Most of his career was spent at Michigan State University (1943-73), and the Fritz Herzog Prize Endowment Fund was established in his honor. Herzog died at East Lansing of prostate cancer. He had a wife named Helen Herzog. ( Wikipedia )

http://onthebanks.msu.edu/Object/1-4-7D4/front-of-the-electrical-engineering-building-1949-/
Electrical engineering building

A footnote in the May 1971 Vol. 78, No. 5 The American Mathematical Monthly states, “Fritz Herzog received his Columbia University PhD. under J.F. Ritt."

Tinkers by Paul Harding

George Crosby remembered many things as he died, but in an order he could not control. from Tinkers by Paul Harding

A new edition of Paul Harding's Tinkers celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. This edition includes a foreword by Marilynne Robinson, author of Gilead, and book club extras.

Tinkers was Harding's first novel, independently published, and a word-of-mouth success. Winning the Pulitzer was called "the most dramatic literary Cinderella story of recent memory" by the New York Times. Robinson states in the forward that "Tinkers epitomizes two of its fascinations, craft and inheritance."

George Washington Crosby began to hallucinate eight days before he died. from Tinkers by Paul Harding

Over eight days--the time a hand-wound clock winds down--George Washington Crosby, a retired teacher and repairer of antique clocks, lays dying. Flashing through his consciousness arise a patchwork of memories, telling the story of his epileptic father Howard, a traveling salesman, and Howard's father, a clergyman who struggled with a mental decline.

1830s Ogee Clock

Awful damn quiet...That was it, he realized; the clock had run down. All the clocks in the room had wound down...When he realized that the silence by which he had been confused was that of all of his clocks having been allowed to wind down, he understood that he was going to die in the bed where he lay. from Tinkers by Paul Harding

Clocks are a potent recurring image. Excerpts from a 1783 manual on clock repair are inserted. Sections tell how George carried out his clock repair and added his name to the works. There is an ogee clock on the end table, one of the many that have been allowed to wind down, his family misunderstanding that the ticking was a comfort to the dying man.

Repair signature on 1830s Ogee Clock

George's father Howard traveled into the back roads of Maine, selling his wares from his cart. Howard's observation of nature on his long days on the road make for glorious reading.

Tinker, tinker. Tin, tin, tin. Tintinnabulation. There was the ring of pots and buckets. There was also the ring in Howard Crosby's ears... from Tinkers by Paul Harding

George's family struggled with health issues that had dire consequences for their family. George's father Howard left after a disastrous epileptic fit caused his wife to consider institutionalizing him. Howard's minister father spent his days scribbling our sermons that made no sense; his mental instability caused him to abandon his family.

circa 1830s rosewood ogee clock with reverse painting on glass

The Crosby men are not the only characters with inflictions. Howard visits a hermit every spring, a man who had known Nataniel Hawthorne at college, now a silent vagrant who exchanges crude carvings for a pipeful of tobacco. One spring Howard pulls the man's infected tooth and is given a signed edition of The Scarlet Letter.

The writing is gorgeous and poetic, although some sections are challenging to stick with. This is a book best read in a long sitting. These simple Maine men won't be forgotten.

Harding studied under Marilynne Robinson and readers who enjoy her books will want to read Tinkers.

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Tinkers, 10th Anniversary Edition
by Paul Harding, with an introduction by Marilynne Robinson
Bellevue Literary Press
Publication: January 8, 2019
ISBN 9781942658597, 1942658591
Hardcover $26.99 USD

“A powerful celebration of life in which a New England father and son, through suffering and joy, transcend their imprisoning lives and offer new ways of perceiving the world and mortality.” —Pulitzer Prize citation 

My Year in Reading

According to Goodreads, I have read almost 200 books this year! I had meant to read fewer books than last year--bit ended up reading more!

Here is a breakdown of my reading, not presented in any particular order except category. You can find my reviews by typing the book title in the search bar on the right side of the blog homepage. Some of the books I read in 2018 will be published in 2019. I have marked them with a *.

My reading was still heavy on current political and social issues, represented by nonfiction and fiction choices.

American History & Politics
My choices favored my interest in Revolutionary War, WWI and WWII eras, and the 1960s. 
Rush by Stephen Fried
The First Ladies of the Republic by Jeanne E. Abrams
Frank & Al by Terry Golway
In the Hurricane's Eye by Nathaniel Philbrick
LBJ's 1968 by Kyle Longley
The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy by Tim Tate
The Hidden White House by Robert Klara
The Man Who Walked Backwards by Ben Montgomery
Wasn't That a Time by Jesse Jarnow
A Force So Swift by Kevin Peraino

American Inventors and Business
The great creative thinkers and the influence of business and industry on society
Tesla Inventor of the Modern by Richard Munson
Atom Bomb to Santa Claus by Trevor Homer
Wanamaker's Temple by Nicole C. Kirk
American Advertising Cookbooks by Christina Ward
Janesville by Amy Goldstein
Voices From the Rust Belt by Anne Trubeck

True Adventure
The girl in me loves a story of survival against the odds
Adrift by Brian Murphy
White Darkness by David Grann
To the Edges of the Earth by Edward J. Larson

Books on the Current Political Climate
Some pretty scary stuff!
Fire and Fury by Michael Wolfe
Fear by Bob Woodward
How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky
The Splintering of the American Mind by William Eggerton
Identity by Frances Fukuyama

Books on Inclusion and Justice
Immigration, Civil Rights for all, economic parity
Lighting the Fires of Freedom by Janet Dewart Bell
A Bigger Table by John Pavlovitch
The Opposite of Hate by Sally Kohn
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
Patriot Number One in Chinatown by Lauren Hilgers\
Give People Money by Anne Lowry
Journeys An American Story by Andrew Tisch

British History
Queen Victoria by Lucy Worsley

Memoirs & Autobiographies
Inspiring stories!
The Sun Does Shine by Ray Hinton
Song in a Weary Throat by Pauli Murray
Together at the Table by Karen Oliveto
Tomorrow Will Be Different by Sarah McBride
Surrendering My Ordination by J. Philip Wogaman
The Right to Be Cold by Sheila Watt-Cloutier
My Dead Parents by Anya Yurchyshyn
Call Me American by Abdi Nohr Ifrin
Calypso by David Sedaris
Becoming by Michelle Obama

Environmentalism
The Poisoned City by Anna Clark
Overrun by Andrew Reeves*
The Water Will Come by Jeff Goodell

LGBT Themed Fiction
Southernmost by Silas House
Tin Man by Sarah Winman
A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne
Sugar Run by Mesha Maren*

Multicultural Fiction
Many are historical fiction. All offer insight into the human experience.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
I Have Lost My Way by Gaye Foreman
Gateway to the Moon by Mary Morris
Waking Lions by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
The Mercy Seat by Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop
The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
The House of Rougeaux by Jenny Jaeckel
Half Gods by Akil Kumarasamy
There There by Tommy Orange
We Hope for Better Things by Erin Bartels
All the Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy
The Tyre by C. J. Dubois
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Historical Fiction About Women
The eternal and timeless experience of being female.
Learning to See* by Elsie Hooper
The Falconer* by Dana Czapnik
The Last Year of the War* by Susan Meissner
The Only Woman in the Room* by Marie Benedict
Marlena by Julie Buntin
The Latecomers by Helen Klein Ross
Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris
A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl by Jean Thompson
Transcription by Kate Atkinson
A View of the Empire by Sunset by Caryl Phillips
Invitation to a Bonfire by Adrienne Celt
The Only Story by Julian Barnes
The River by Starlight by Ellen Notbohm
The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg
Island of Sea Women* by Lisa See

Historical Fiction
Vividly bringing the past to life through fiction.
The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason
So Much Life Left Over by Louis de Bernieres
The Wreckage of Eden by Norman Lock (a story about Emily Dickinson)
A Long Island Story by Rick Gekoski (set in the McCarthy era)
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
The Italian Party by Christina Lynch
Dust by Mark Thompson
I Will Send Rain by Rae Meadows
West by Carys Davies
The Perilous Adventures of the Cowboy King by Jerome Charyn* (A novel about Teddy Roosevelt)
Sea Chase by John Braddock (Young readers fiction about John Quincy Adams)
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Historical Fiction with Fantasy Elements
The Cassandra* by Sharma Shields
The Bird King* by G. Willow Wilson
Ahab's Return by Jeffrey Ford
A Boy in His Winter by Norman Lock
Farewell Summer by Ray Bradbury
Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

Fantasy
Circe by Madeline Miller
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

Science Fiction
Unholy Land by Tidhar Lavie
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keys

Mysteries and Suspense
The Garden of Blue Roses by Michael Barsa
An Anonymous Girl* by Greer Henricks and Sarah Pekkanen
Bring Me Back by A. B. Paris
Jack Was Here by Christopher Bardsley
The Ancient Nine by Ian Smith
Siracusa by Delia Ephron
The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne
Truly, Madly Guilty by Lianne Moriarity
Feared by Lisa Scottoline
After Anna by Lisa Scottoline
Dead Bomb Bingo Ray by Jeff Johnson
Death in Paris by Emelia Bernhard
Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon
Marne by Winston Graham

Literary Fiction
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Tinkers* by Paul Harding
Nothing But the Night* by John Williams
Laurentian Divide by Sarah Stonich
Vacationland by Sarah Stonich
Virgil Wander by Leif Enger
Florence Gordon by Brian Morton
Ohio by Stephen Markey
A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash
The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay
Meet Me At the Museum by Anne Youngson
A Collar for Cerebus by Matt Stanley
All We Ever Wanted by Ellen Giffin
The Red Thread by Ann Hood
How to Walk Away by Katherine Center
Hard Cider by Barbara Stark-Nemon
The Family Tabor by Cherie Wolas
Clock Dance by Anne Tyler
The Dependents by Katherine Dion
The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachman
Laura and Emma by Kate Greathead
Maria on the Moon by Louise Beech
Stoner by John Williams
The Promise Between Us by Barbara Claypool White
The Mystery by Matthew Mackintosh

Retellings of Classics
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
Mary B by Katherine B. Chen

Humorous Novels
Limelight by Amy Poepple
#HockeyStrong by Erika Roebuck
High Noon in Hollywood by Warren Adler
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny
The Norma Conquest by Warren Adler

Short Stories
You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld
Collected Stories by Susan Sontag
We Are Gathered by Jamie Weisman
A Beautiful Place to Die by Sam Bigglesworth

Humor
Lessons From Lucy by Dave Barry
I See Life Through Rose Colored Glasses by Lisa Scottoline

Nonfiction Inspiration
The Dark Interval by Rainer Maria Rilke
A Glad Obedience* by Walter Brueggemann

Poetry
The Flame by Leonard Cohen

Books About Books and Writers and Artists
Meg Jo Beth Amy by Anne Rioux Boyd
J. D. Salinger and the Nazis by Eberhard Alsen
Whistler's Mother by Daniel Southerland
The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve by Stephen Greenblatt
Louisa At the Front Lines* by Samantha Seiple
Jane Austen for Kids* by Nancy Sanders
Guilty Thing by Frances Wilson
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
Simply Austen by Joan Klingel Ray
The Man Who Wrote the Perfect Novel by Charles J. Shields
The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve by Stephen Greenblatt


Books About Quilts
Pattern books and quilt histories
An American Quilt by Rachel May
Southern Quilts by Mary Kerr
Landscape Quilts by Ann Loveless
Oh Scrap by Lissa Alexander
Tilda Sewing by Heart
Pin Pals by Carrie Nelson
Quilt Big by Jemima Fiendt
My First Book of Sewing
Whimsical Wool Applique by Kim Schaefer
Creating Art Quilts with Panels by Joyce Hughes
Paint By Number Quilts by Kerry Foster
A Splendid Sampler 2 by Pat Sloan
Pat Sloan's Teach Me to Machine Quilt
Intuitive Color and Design
Allie Aller's Stained Glass Quilts
Stitches from the Yuletide by Kathy Schmitz
Patchwork Loves Embroidery Too
Red and White Quilts
Antique Needlework Tools by Dawn Cook Ronnigen
Art Quilts Unfolding

Genealogy
The Researchers Guide to American Genealogy

Art
Charlie Harper's Birds and Words
The Refrain of Thomas Cole*

Books I did not finish
Sight by Jesse Greengrass
Boomer 1 by Daniel Torday
Princess: The Early Life of Queen Elizabeth II
by Jane Dismore
Imagining Shakespeare's Wife: The Afterlife of Anne Hathaway by Katherine West Scheil
The King's Favorite by John Vance

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

The Winter of the Witch is Katherine Arden's third book in the Winternight Trilogy. I reviewed the first books The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower here. 

I was quite taken by the 14th c Rus' setting, the Russian fairy-tale-inspired characters, and the female heroine journey. Arden studied Russian in Moscow, so reading the books the reader is immersed in Russian history and traditional culture. 

The series, in essence, is about a young girl growing up, discovering her abilities and place in the world, at odds with societal expectations. Historical Russia becomes a fairy-tale kingdom where both men and devils must fight to survive.

The Bear and the Nightingale 

In 14th c Russia, Vasya, who can talk to horses and hear the household spirits, dares to claim the right to make her own fate. Against her family's desires and the demands of society and church, she resists the life laid out for her. Even the pagan gods, whose power is slowly fading, try to harness her for their good but she will not be chattel to anyone. She fights the evil spirits that threaten her family, protected by the Winter King Morozko. When the spirit of Death in the form of a monstrous bear attacks their community, Vasya is blamed and labeled a witch by the priest Konstantin. Her choices limited to marry, enter a convent, or be killed as a witch, Vasya dresses as a boy and goes out into the world with a horse from Morozko, the unworldly stead Solovey, or Nightingale.

The Girl in the Tower

In the cruel winter, dressed as a boy, Vasya flees her home where she was driven out as a witch. After battling a Tartar army she finds refuge in a city where she is reunited with her brother Sasha, the valiant monk-warrior and childhood friend of the ruling prince. Her exploits impress the prince and she leads his band to track down the Tartar marauders. Vasya accompanies the retinue to Moscow and is reunited with her sister. Also in Moscow is the tormented Konstintine, the priest whose misguided faith drove him to persecute Vasya in her hometown. The story includes a twisted plot of false identities, a heritage of women who can communicate with the spirit world, and a riveting epic battle.

The Winter of the Witch

This installment brings the epic story to an exciting climax as the Rus kingdoms are threatened by the Mongol Golden Horde, and the chyerti fight for survival as they are forgotten as Christianity spreads. 

Vasya learns she is descended from a line of witches and pledges to help the chyerti coexist with humanity. Central to the continuing story is Vasya's monk-warrior brother Sasha, their sister Olga and her daughter, the nascent witch Marya, the Rus' Prince, and the misguided Christian priest, Konstantin, whose lust for power overrides his faith. 

Vasya's demon mentor Morozko The Winter King, a god of death, and his brother Medved, the Bear, god of chaos, have been enemies. To protect her Rus' kinfolk, Vasya's task is to bridge their gap and make them ally with humans.

In the Author's Note, Arden states that from the start she planned to end the trilogy at the 1380 Battle of Kulikovo on the Don River between the Grand Prince Dmitrii Ivanovich and the Tatar temnik Mamai. There was a historical warrior-monk who battled a Tartar warrior as in the novel, and the Grand Prince did trade places with a boyar so he could fight incognito.

I sped through The Winter of the Witch, a compelling read. There are two epic battles. As I noted in earlier reviews, the myth of the female hero continues as Vasya receives help and magical helpers. I noted repetition in the story, stock images or phrases, in the style of Epic poetry. 

The series would appeal to readers who like strong female characters battling for freedom and those with an interest in fairy tales, Russian folklore, and fantasy. 

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

The Winter of the Witch: A Novel
by Katherine Arden
Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine/Del Rey
Pub Date 08 Jan 2019 
ISBN: 9781101885994
PRICE: $28.00 (USD)