I am in the process of working on two blogs having to do with things going on in Racine. But, they are not ready yet. I hope to have one posted next week. So, wanting to post this week, I am offering an aspect of history that most people (meaning Wisconsinites) no nothing about; the…

As a nonfiction writer I gravitate toward history and journalism. I can say, without embarrassment, that I love history. It is not only an interest of mine, but a passion. As long as I remember I have been interested in history. I remember, as a small kid, cutting images from books and pasting them together to…

The LGBT Center of SE Wisconsin, at 1456 Junction Ave, is identifiable by the rainbow “pride flag” flying over the entrance. I interviewed Barb Farrar, the Executive Director a few days ago. I wanted to find out more about the organization. The LGBT Center was initially set up as a social organization for LGBT people by Bruce Jaffe, a…

The Civil War regiment most closely associated with Racine was the 22nd Wisconsin Infantry. It was Organized at Camp Utley in Racine and mustered in on September 2, 1862. Camp Utley was named in honor of Racine resident William L. Utley. Utley was the first elected marshal of Racine, a politician, and Adjutant General of…

My Residence My place of “residence” for the Writer-in-Residence Program is “The Branch” at 1501 Washington Ave. Owned by Kristina Campbell, it is a beautiful event space and cafe. Built in 1923, the Branch is a former bank, with two floors of table space and a cafe/bar on the first floor. The original bank vault is…

A warm and hearty greetings to Racine. I want to thank ArtRoot, the Racine Literacy Council, and the Osborne & Scekic Family Foundation for allowing me the opportunity to be the Racine Writer-In-Residence from now through June 2019. Although there is a short biography of me posted on this site, I suppose I should begin…

Hi folks, It’s been a busy week in WriterLand! Set the dates of my first workshops as Writer-In-Residence about writing obituaries. For those of you not familiar with me, I am a licensed funeral director with over 15 years experience at helping families navigate the plethora of emotional foxholes that present themselves when someone dies….

It was the best of times, it was the worst…. Wait that sounds familiar! Sometimes we writers read so much that we forget what we haven’t written ourselves. With apologies to Mr. Dickens, that turn of phrase does describe my point of view though. Each of us has a story as unique as a snowflake,…