Small Wonders--the book

On the recommendation of a visual artist I know, I applied for and received a kind of fellowship to be a writer-in-residence at a National Park, this one on land that belonged to the very first recipient of the National Homesteading Act in 1863, a park just outside of Beatrice, Nebraska. They put me up for two weeks, during which time my only responsibility was to hold down some space in the welcome center, be busy developing my work, and, if asked, answer questions when visitors dropped by.

I loved it. Any application for the fellowship had to include a plan for what I'd produce at the place. I'd thought about it some, then decided to try to complete a range of short vignettes that captured some segments of area history. In the obligatory introductory trip around the monument grounds, the park ranger showed me the library and told me I was welcome to borrow any books at any time. 

Just a couple hours later, I found a blessing from above, a book of vignettes from white folks who'd settled the Nebraska frontier. It was--and is--priceless.

Here's one of the first stories I wrote. Listen. "Music of the Spheres.

I did a dozen or so during of those little historical sketches during those two weeks. When I got home, I decided to write KWIT, Siouxland Public Media, the NPR people in Sioux City, and tell them what I'd done, ask them if they'd like to have a look, and let them know I'd be glad to send them a bunch.

Yup, they said, and from then on it's been a go. I've haven't counted how many "Small Wonder(s)" I've submitted, but it's got to be over 100. 

So the writer in me thought I'd put a bunch together into a book. How? Well, one of the most amazing stories I'd heard in the last few years is the discovery of an ancient river trail through the bluffs along the Missouri near the confluence of the Big Sioux. As if there still is a trail there, a trail once trod only by Yanktons and Omahas, I decided to choose stories that follow Old Muddy, America's longest river, and collect the tales that sprouted from its ever-changing banks. 

Thus, Small Wonders: A Museum of Missouri River Stories, available now from Amazon. Just click right there.

Fred Manfred once told me that once he'd finished milking one night, he sat out on the back step and told himself there had to be more to the story of this land. History didn't simply begin with his family's living on an acreage just outside of Doon. There had to be a story there.

I live in a region with a glorious past that's often more than a little inglorious. This is Manifest Destiny country. When my great-grandparents came to this land, it never dawned on them that someone else had lived here, and lived and loved here richly. This land was simply ours--the white man's--to claim and use. That conflict, as much as any, creates unending stories. 

Like this one, just now available on KWIT, the pioneer story of a the first Native American woman to graduate from medical school and practice medicine here. She was Omaha. 

Her story is from Small Wonders (the radio broadcast) and in Small Wonders (the book). I made the book, created it, cover to cover, and, resultingly, it's still got more than its share of goofs, needs an editor other than its author.

But it's been a ball to do--and the stories keep coming, lots of them. They're all around, just waiting for old crows like me to swoop down and devour. They're wonders, all of them, small wonders that really aren't small at all. 

Confluence of the Little Sioux and Missouri Rivers