It has been very hectic since August, so I have not posted since then. I am taking courses from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock this semester, and have been focusing on my week to week structure. However, my classes are online, which means I have a lot of flexibility and can still travel and speak. I have done several events lately, but unfortunately did not get many pictures.

On October 9, the Greene County Historical and Genealogical Society had me speak before their meeting. I enjoyed the evening immensely. Thank you Kaye Holmes and everyone at the Historical Society for your kindness.

On October 18, I did a rather informal presentation, and played the fife and drum, at a Music Festival on the square in downtown Pocahontas, my hometown. It was very relaxing to take my nose out of the books that afternoon! Thanks to all of the the librarians in Pocahontas who invited and hosted me.

I am standing on the sidewalk of the Randolph County Library in historic downtown Pocahontas. Below, a young boy is trying his hand at the drum.

On October 21, the Shaver Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans had me speak before their monthly meeting. It is always a pleasure to meet with this good group of Southern gentlemen. My thanks goes to Danny Honnoll and Ray Jones for their true Southern hospitality!

On November 7, I traveled to Riverdale Public School in Germantown and spoke for their "I Love America" celebration. The kids did an excellent job singing and performing in this celebration, and it was great to see so many people coming out to honor Veterans Day. After the speeches, etc., the students gathered in front of the school for a picnic, and I was honored to play several tunes on my fife and drum. Also, the kids had a great time trying their hand at the drum, and many of them were quite good! My appreciation is extended to all of the staff at Riverdale, especially Debbie McCoy for asking me to come. I hope to soon have some pictures posted for this event.

My brother and I stand outside the window at the Randolph County Library.

It has been a busy couple of weeks. On Friday, the 15th, I joined with author Christine Lynxwiler in a book signing at The Bread of Life Bookstore in Melbourne. It was a pleasure to finally meet Christine and talk with her about her publishing experiences. (Unfortunately, I did not get any photos of that event). I would like to thank all those at the bookstore, especially the owner, Phyllis Cowan, for their hard-work.

On the 2nd, I was at my hometown Randolph County Library in Pocahontas, which has almost become my home away from home in downtown Pocahontas. It was great to be there with all of our outstanding librarians. Thanks to Jackie Salyards, Diane Evans, Phyllis Davis, and all of the wonderful ladies at the library, who helped organize this signing, and whose effort has made our library very special.

(Below is pictured one of our unique sites at the library: a soldier blaring away on a fife.)

We had a great time at the Bartlett Senior Citizens Center Wednesday, July 23. It was a real treat to share with the audience about the drummer boy and our War for Southern Indpendence. Rick Cohen (below), who had joined me at the Germantown Genealogy Center earlier this year, spoke about the life of a soldier during the war.

My thanks goes to Tina Sansone, the Southeast Director of the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors, and Holly Eggenberger (below), the Activities Coordinator of the Senior Citizens Center, for their hard work organizing and hosting this event.

I look forward to seeing you all on August 2 (10 am - 11:30 am), at my hometown library in Pocahontas. Hope you can make it. Punch and cookies will be available, so stop by hungry!

Lookout Mountain

Above: A view from Lookout Mountain into Chattanooga.


Over the weekend of July 4, we traveled to the Chattanooga area and visited Lookout Mountain. Here are a few pictures from what we saw.

Chris Davidson, a living history interpreter, was dressed in his butternut uniform and told us about the battle of Lookout Mountain.

Ranger Anton Heinlein took us on a tour of the battlesite and described what took place during the Battle of Lookout Mountain and siege of Chattanooga.

This rock is where Generals Bragg and Longstreet stood to overlook the valley in preparation of their strategy.

Part of the battle was fought near Cravens House, which was at different times a headquarters to both a Confederate and Union general.


The dining room at Cravens House appears to be ready for guests.

CHEF Conference

Tuesday and Wednesday I was in St. Louis for the 24th Annual Homeschool CHEF Conference. It was very enjoyable meeting with old and new friends. Above is a picture of Micah Stull playing the drum with me on the fife. Micah is an excellent drummer, and we had a blast entertaining the conference goers with historical tunes. I included a sound byte of our playing.

Our good friends, the Billings, spoke at the conference on ordinary parents raising extraordinary children and again on grieving, which they know about all too well after losing their son, Michael in November. We grew up with Mikey since we were about four years old. Jamie helped proof read The Orphan and the Beaten Drum for several months over the turn of the year and the Billings have been extremely supportive of this endeavor. At the conference, they let me use their table to sell my books, and introduced me after their talk.

The Orphan and the Beaten Drum just arrived in the mail on Wednesday morning for the conference after a stressful few days of tracking the package from Hodgkins, IL, past Pocahontas to Little Rock, and back up again. It's exciting to finally offer it to the public after many years of hard work. Find out more at http://www.southerncadencepress.com/ under Current Books.

I must not end this post without saying thank you to the Bickel family who was very generous in adopting me into their family for a couple days and allowing me to spend the night with them at the hotel there. Also, I want to thank the two boys, Micah Stull and Noah Coad (below in white shirt), who were a big help with promoting my book at the conference, and the many others who showed me many kindnessess also have my endearing gratitude.

Below is a sound byte of Micah and I playing the old Revolutionary tune, Chester.

Words and After Words

If you run out of books . . . just sign the table!



Actually, it's a tradition. This table was signed by other authors who held signings here. Among them were Christine Lynxwiler and Steve Whistnant who are authors local to Arkansas. Words and After Words is an awesome environment to experience. Not only is it nestled just off the quaint Main Street of Hardy, Arkansas, but it is a place where things are happening. You can nestle down and read a book, or head to the back to enjoy a meal or cold frappucino. Often, you can catch a band playing in the corner of the cafe.

My thanks goes to Greg Bess (left), Clayton Orr (right), and all of them at Words who made me feel welcome and simply at home.

Parker's Crossroads and Brownsville

Parker's Crossroads was a blast last weekend, despite the sweltering heat. My friend Alex and I drove over on Saturday morning and stayed till Sunday afternoon. During the daytime, our tent was like a greenhouse, but in the evening it turned very cold. It was only a small taste of the hardships our ancestors had to endure.

We took part in three battles Saturday and one on Sunday. I was also able to share about the drummer boy's life and sign some books. Unfortunately, we did not take any pictures at Parker's. However, the Lexington Progress caught me on the fife. View it here: Lexington Progress.

On Sunday evening, we stayed with my grandmother in Arlington then hit the trail again to Brownsville, Tennessee where I demonstrated the drummer boy's life at the Elma Ross Public Library (pictured below). Alex did a great job sharing how to load the musket and cap and ball pistol. Thank you to all the librarians who did an excellent job at organizing this event.






Pictured below is Alex, me, Katherine Horn of the library, and two young history enthusiasts.

In Brownsville we stopped by the monument to the Confederate dead, located in front of the courthouse. In our uniforms, we paused by the monument to play a few songs on the fife and honor our soldiers.

This is my grandmother and me when we stayed at her home.