Simple Life Writings

May 30, 2012

Christmas During the Civil War

Winter, 2011

No war ravaged Americans as much as our Civil War, and no war was harder on Christmas, yet there were extraordinarily touching incidents and compassion shown by troops North and South. This is a holiday article that lays out some harsh reality as well as the beauty of the human soul.

CLICK HERE TO READ IT.

May 16, 2012

An Eye for Antiques

Winter, 2010

The world of American antiques has been in flux for several years, and I've had several questions about what's next and what would a beginning collector do today. So when ASL editor Jill Peterson offered the opportunity to talk with one of New England's leading dealers and collectors ~ Stephen Corrigan of Rockingham, Vermont ~ I jumped at the chance. Here's what Stephen says, along with comments about his collection and wonderful 1770 house.

CLICK HERE TO READ IT.

May 1, 2012

Candles in Early America

Summer, 2010

Candles were a mainstay of everyone's existence for America's first two hundred years. They also evolved greatly during those two centuries, steadily improving as colonists found new ways to make wax that burned brighter and stood straighter even on summer nights or when close to the hearth. Here's a brief history of the American candle before the discovery of whale oil became a major source of light.

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April 1, 2012

Mary Frost House

Summer, 2012

During the 1980s, Mary Frost went through a conversion from the formal Colonial look she'd perfected in her western Florida home. She stripped the walls of their Williamsburg wallpapers, sold off some of her treasured furniture and chose instead a simpler setting with more battered and worn country furniture. This fascinated me because it's a shift in taste and attitude I still see a lot of people going through today.

CLICK HERE TO READ IT.

March 15, 2012

Dogs in the New Land

Fall, 2010

Dog-lovers will love this article. I found a number of extraordinary instances where man's best friend played pivotal roles in American history. I truly believe what I wrote: "Surely, European immigrants could have settled America without dogs, but it's difficult to imagine how." A Simple Life publisher Jill Peterson arranged for the exceptional animal artist Joseph Sulkowski to provide several of his beautiful paintings to illustrate the article.

CLICK HERE TO READ IT.

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.

You're welcome to visit my personal website at www.gregorylefever.com to learn more about my writing career, which has included journalism, advertising, corporate communications, and a novel over the years.

I've been blessed with the opportunity to write about many wonderful people, win some awards, collect some fine clients, and enjoy a really satisfying career ~ a rare thing indeed.

Plus, for several years I was a contributing editor to Early American Life magazine. Several of my articles from that magazine are on my blog Early American Writings.