In just four days I'll be headed to the midwest, deep into the wilds of Iowa, in search of the history and landscape of two families--my own, and that of Emily Gillespie.
My sister and I will spend the holiday weekend searching out the historical location of one half of our family. We've found the cemetery in Nebraska where our grandparents (and several other more distant relatives) are buried. We have the address of the house where our mother was born in Des Moines. And who knows what else we may find there?
And then there is Emily's history. Iowa is where she spent her entire adult life, first at her uncle's inn on Old Stagecoach road in what used to be Coffin's Grove (which is now on the Historic Registry), then on a farm outside Manchester. I've even found her grave in Oakland cemetery in Manchester.
The locations of her life are just waiting for me to find them.
I've been blessed by the fact that one of my project committee members (Andrea Modarres) worked as a graduate student with the amazing and generous woman--Dr. Judy Temple--whose work with Emily's diary was in a very large part the inspiration for my own. Ever since Andrea's email introduction put me in contact with Dr. Temple, I have gleaned masses of "insider" information from her--information about the diary which led to questions and ideas that have come to form the backbone of my book project, along with places to go and people to talk to--and just this last weekend, the name of the man who still lives in Emily's house! With a little bit of internet sleuthing, I found a street address, a phone number and the email address of someone who turned out to be this man's grandson!
Not ten minutes ago I received a very positive reply to the email I sent yesterday asking if this gentleman would be willing to see me and let me take a look around Emily's house and farm. His grandson--Kyle--will be approaching him with my request tonight, but he assured me that his grandpa loves to talk about the history of his house--and that he was quite sure that "he would love to make some time to show you around" (working around the Delaware county fair that is also happening that week)!
Everything is coming together so beautifully for this trip. The archives in Iowa City know I'm coming to see the diary (although I do plan to call and remind them on Wednesday!), and all of the arrangements have been confirmed.
The trip will be brief, but I know the book project Emily's diary has inspired will be so much the richer for it.
Iowa, here I come!
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