The story of a small town, Marquette, Michigan, from its founding in 1849-1897.
When iron ore is discovered in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in the 1840s, newlyweds Gerald Henning and his beautiful socialite wife Clara travel from Boston to the little village of Marquette on the shores of Lake Superior. They and their companions, Irish and German immigrants, French Canadians, and fellow New Englanders face blizzards and near starvation, devastating fires and financial hardships. Yet these iron pioneers persevere until their wilderness village becomes integral to the Union cause in the Civil War and then a prosperous modern city. Meticulously researched, warmly written, and spanning half a century, Iron Pioneers is a testament to the spirit that forged America.
Excerpt
Back in Boston, the thought of settling in a new land had seemed a romantic adventure to share with her new husband. Now, despite the lush green trees, and the sandy golden beaches, she began to fear what wild animals or unfriendly Indians might lurk in those woods, and she sensed the loneliness to come of being so far from her family.
Tralee, Ireland. September 1948.
An arrogant, and highly agitated, priest arrives home after 40 years.
Days later he's dead. Suicide? Or did his past catch up with him?
Based on the memoirs of a Pearl Harbor survivor. Letters from two pen pals take the reader on a journey into the past, a past where nightmares came true, and when hatred reigned.
Tralee, Ireland. September 1948.
An arrogant, and highly agitated, priest arrives home after 40 years.
Days later he's dead. Suicide? Or did his past catch up with him?
