ANNE now available @ Amazon & Barnes & Noble

Sarah Ann Campbell is the feisty red-haired, spoiled yet fun filled daughter of Perry and Serena Campbell born in 1869 Ellsworth, Kansas.        

Her life will be filled with Cowboys, Indians, Barn Dances and the rough weather Kansas is famous for of arid summers and frigid winters with up to six feet of snow drifting in western Kansas to twice that height.

           This book begins when Serena is in labor with the child who will usurp Ann's hold on her mother's attention.  She soon learns to follow her Pa and the male family members to find the mental challenges her mind demands.  Though her Ma reads, most of the time she is physically involved in insuring the house, kitchen garden and children are cared for, while the men plan, direct and brew whiskey to make the money which holds them to the land.  To Ann, the men have the commanding roles and she finds them more compelling than her female counterparts...that is until she sees Lon Boston the first time.  At her thirteenth birthday celebration Lon makes an appearance with her favorite Uncle and wins her admiration and affection.  Indeed,Falling in love with the Cowboy Lon Boston gives Ann the impetus to continue in the rough and tumble Kansas where just surviving can pull the beauty from a rose in less than a day.  His quiet gentleness, impeccable demeanor and respect from his peers won him to her heart even before she noticed how handsome he was.  Lon, 6’4”, with black wavy hair, pale blue eyes and sweeping handlebar moustache rode a horse as though born on one.  His quiet commanding voice was the antithesis to her too quick fits of temper. He found the sprightly Ann, at 5’ 6" tall, fiery green eyes, a tangle of bright curly crimson hair and the challenge he was eager to tangle up with….for the rest of his life.

Renown British Author Reviews: PIONEERS WITH PURPOSE ~

A Review of PIONEERS WITH PURPOSE :  

PIONEERS WITH PURPOSE is an epic story, based on an actual family history, which has been skilfully brought to life by the talented author Kathleen Boston McCune. The chief protagonists, Serena and Perry Campbell have been aiding escaped slaves flee from the oppression of the South at the advent of the Civil War. Now fearing retribution from southern, pro slavery, sympathizers, they set out to make a new life in Kansas.

                    

R.L. Bartram

 This book is written with such exquisite detail, deftly creating a “spirit of place”, that I was instantly transported back in time to the world of the pioneer. The descriptions of what they ate, how they dressed, what they thought and the hardships they endured are so realistically   portrayed that I felt I was making the journey with them. I was particularly taken with Serena Campbell, whose stoic outlook and cheerful nature, even after the tragic loss of three children, bound the story together. Her devotion to her husband, family neighbours and friends, despite the many hardships of the trail is both heart warming and inspirational.  As seen through the eyes of the pioneer families this book covers one of the most significant periods of American history, in essence, the birth of a nation, from the gradual dispossession of the native people, the destruction of the buffalo herds, to the coming of the railway and the building of frontier towns to great cities.

PIONEERS WITH PURPOSE is an engrossing read, whilst being both educational and entertaining. As an author of historical fiction based on fact, I can truly appreciate the fine detail that makes this book stand out from the crowd. I am normally a fast reader, but I took my time with this one because there was so much to absorb and it was well worth it. 

I can thoroughly   recommend PIONEERS WITH PURPOSE, not only to devotees of history, but to anyone who enjoys a well written family saga. If this isn’t already on your “Must Read” list, then add it now.

R.L.Bartram. Author.    

Found also on Amazon under Kathleen Boston McCune, author.

THE COWBOY & ELLSWORTH

Last Thursday I met The Cowboy, AKA Jim Gray.  We met in Ellsworth which was a trip I would recommend to anyone who would like to see the Flint Hills in their autumn glory.  The grasses are all in shades of rust and deep violet, interspersed with carved rocks revealing their layers of Kaibab Limestone, Hermit Shale, Bright Angel Shale and ending with Tapeats Sandstone.  The kaleidoscope of shades competes with the grasses now growing naturally in these flint hills which are trying to come back to their original beauty.  When we finally reached the little town remaining in Ellsworth we found the Government Buildings to be in generally good shape but every other store front downtown seemed empty and screaming for recognition earned by the forefathers and foremothers known in the 1860s as America’s Pioneers.  As the railroads and other landholders have had their way with many towns not garnering what they consider to be enough “Bottom Line”, the few families related to the original Pioneers and others testing living in a small town are clinging to a rope that seems greased and guarantying eventual death of not only ideals but a frontier washed in the history and frontier morals now mostly ignored by those who could insure these monuments to our past are honored with the survival such as the windmills pushing up to the heavens by GE and VESTA are attempting.

            Jim and I exchanged books, signing our names and wishes to one another as my husband and mother gathered up information provided for the few tourists and we all enjoyed a delicious lunch at Padens where we couldn’t talk quickly enough to share our historical finds which lace both our books. 

            We definitely will return to spend more time checking the gravesites and family Homesteads and hope that our next trip finds the area more populated and growing rather than in such decline.