Anita Mae Draper - Writing/Author Blog

Giveaway on Sleigh Bells Post

12/5/2019

Lady in cutter, Calgary, Alberta, ca 1910. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives

I love the sound of sleigh bells and their modern jingle bell cousins, and that's why I'm featuring them on my December 5th post at Heroes, Heroines, and History blog.

Did you know that driving a sleigh without bells is still a law in some areas? I even found a video showing different sleigh bells and how the sound changes according to weight and size.

If you do get a moment to visit my post on the HHH blog today, enter for a chance at my giveaway.

Hope to see you there.

Tale of a Tiny Discarded Tree at the Inkwell

11/19/2019

Draper's Acres, Christmas 2007

This is the true tale of a tiny tree we dug out of a discard pile back in 1994. After 17 years of healthy hibernation, the tree was still under two feet tall. Then, in the summer of 2011, it began to grow.

Check out my post at the Inkwell for the story and photographs of our favourite tree and how it's played a prominent role at Draper's Acres, our family farm..

Camouflage That Dazzles

11/5/2019

HMT Olympic in dazzle camouflage at Pier 2 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, painted by Arthur Lismer. Public Domain wikipedia

With Remembrance Day on November 11, my post, Dazzle Camouflage, on Heroes, Heroines, and History shows the dazzle paint scheme made to camouflage direction, number and movements of ships from enemy U-boats during the First World War.The post includes images of the Olympic and her sister ships Titanic and Britannic, as well as the USS Mahomet.

The dazzle paint scheme was brought to my attention after reading letters sent home during WW1 from my husband's grandfather, Noah C Draper, a member of the Royal Canadian Naval Voluntary Reserve (RCNVR). His letters mention that for some reason, the Olympic was still in harbor but would be leaving any day. That led me on a search for the reason, and why Noah, who was in Halifax waiting to be shipped overseas, would mention a ship as if everyone knew it. You can read the actual letters and my findings here:
- www.anitamaedraper.com/author-memories/ww1-letters-home-dec-19-1916
- www.anitamaedraper.com/author-memories/ww1-letters-home-dec-13-1916

Historical Pumpkin Pics

10/5/2019

It's October 5th and that means it's my day to blog at the Heroes, Heroines and History blog. Stereograph, glass lantern slide, greeting card, magazine cover, and photographs from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Simple images to show that not much has changed when it comes to growing and showing those treasures of autumn, the lowly and fantastic pumpkin.

POW Uses Water Wings to Escape

9/5/2019

And here I thought water wings was a modern invention. Nope. Try 100 yrs ago.

Join me today at Heroes, Heroines and History as I delve into the origin of those colorful swim aids we call water wings.

Fiction Finder Post at ICFW

8/22/2019

ACFW Fiction Finder at fictionfinder.com

As a Featured Author Interviewer of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), I'm delighted to be posting on the International Christian Fiction Writers (ICFW) blog today about the F iction Finder website.

Fiction Finder is a site for readers looking for Christian fiction and authors supplying information about their books. Drop in for a visit as I share more information about this great place to find Christian fiction.

Blogging on Perception

8/21/2019

Nelson and Jessica sharing a tender moment, 1992, Vermilion Bay, Ontario

I'm blogging over at Inkwell Inspirations with Perception, a post about perceiving what we see without knowing all the facts.

Drop by if you have a chance.

Early LifeSaver Equipment

8/5/2019

Wallis Sands Life-Saving crew, New Hampshire wearing "storm suits" with cork life vests, undated. Public Domain

The life vests worn in the image above were filled with cork and covered in canvas. Buoyant, yes. Comfortable, not so much.

Join me at Heroes, Heroines and History as I show Life Saver Equipment of the early 1900s.

The Tale of the Bluebird Tree

7/17/2019

Do you like bluebirds? Today at the Inkwell, I'm posting Tale of the Bluebird Tree, a true story with pics and video of Mountain Bluebirds. Check it out and then read it to the young ones in your life for a taste of adventure in a bluebird's life.

Tale of the Bluebird Tree is also posted on the Draper's Acres blog.

Female Lifesavers Fashion Photos

7/5/2019

Women's Life Savings Corps in Action. All heave together. Miss Alice Goodman and her sturdy Red Cross Life Savers of the San Francisco, Y.W.C.A. 1920. LOC Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C., Public Domain

Following my last HHH post featuring the fashion of male life savers at the turn of the century, this month we're looking at female life saver fashion and its progress over a few short years. That is, once the 20th century came about and people put the practicality of saving lives above the modesty required in the passing Victorian age.

So join me over at the Heroes, Heroines and History blog for Early Life Saver Fashion Part 2 and let me know what you think.