Simple Life Writings: 2016

March 15, 2016

Early American by Design

Gail Lettick is a highly respected dealer and collector, her fine eye and taste honed by a love for early Americana and deep knowledge of Italian Renaissance furnishings. She's updated her 1775 Connecticut home with exquisite décor, as it serves as her living quarters and her Pantry & Hearth shop. My several interviews with Gail were consistently enjoyable as I learned much as she cheerfully elaborated on her wonderful collection of rare antiques.

Spring 2016

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February 12, 2016

Humble Feedsacks to Pretty Dresses

Printing farm feedsacks with bright designs suitable for making into dresses and aprons was one of the most innovative ideas in the history of American textiles. For this article I traced the origins and development of feedsack cloth and found photos showing how these bright designs brought joy to the often hard lives of Depression-era farm families.

Summer 2016

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What's this Blog?

Here are several articles I've written for A Simple Life magazine. This blog is not affiliated with A Simple Life or its publisher, Homestead Publishing, Inc. The articles I've posted remain the property of A Simple Life and are posted here with permission of the publisher.

To read the articles, just click on the link below the photo and brief text. Some of these also appear in the Portfolio section of my main website along with other samples of my historical writings.

Feel free to leave comments on these posts. Thank you for visiting, and I hope you enjoy these articles!

What's this Magazine?

A Simple Life magazine ceased publication in December, 2020. For more than a decade, people fond of the simpler aspects of our homes and heritage savored this quarterly magazine. In every issue, it offered features about homes, antiques, recipes, gardening, and a dash of history thrown in.

Jill Peterson is an extraordinary photographer and writer whose earlier books ~ "Homestead," "Settlement" and "Homecoming," among others ~ found a receptive and dedicated audience that expanded greatly with her magazine. A main reason for its popularity was summed up in Jill's mission statement: "Getting an issue of A Simple Life in your mailbox is like getting a letter from an old friend."

Writing for A Simple Life appealed to me because the content was down-to-earth and without pretense. I consider myself fortunate to be counted among the fine group of people who helped this magazine along.