Comments on: Literary Pilgrimages– The Limberlost http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/literary-pilgrimages-the-limberlost/ Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:47:47 +0000 hourly 1 By: Cathy Shouse http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/literary-pilgrimages-the-limberlost/comment-page-1/#comment-2514 Cathy Shouse Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:20:14 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4768#comment-2514 Wendy, I love your stories about the Limberlost trip since I'm a Hoosier and have a fascination with Gene Stratton Porter. I kind of did an author trip in reverse. I became a fan of an author after visiting their home. Years ago, my husband and I took a trip to the Biltmore. On our way home, we stumbled onto a sign that pointed to Carl Sandburg's home in Flat Rock, North Carolina and decided to stop in. Being in the home and on the property of he and his wife was so inspirational. His home had many windows overlooking a country view with the goats she grew (as I remember). There were books everywhere, filling bookshelves, stacked on tables, on the floor. It was wonderful to walk among all those books and it wasn't a museum but felt like things had been left the way he had used them and he would return any minute. Wendy,

I love your stories about the Limberlost trip since I’m a Hoosier and have a fascination with Gene Stratton Porter.

I kind of did an author trip in reverse. I became a fan of an author after visiting their home. Years ago, my husband and I took a trip to the Biltmore. On our way home, we stumbled onto a sign that pointed to Carl Sandburg’s home in Flat Rock, North Carolina and decided to stop in.

Being in the home and on the property of he and his wife was so inspirational. His home had many windows overlooking a country view with the goats she grew (as I remember). There were books everywhere, filling bookshelves, stacked on tables, on the floor. It was wonderful to walk among all those books and it wasn’t a museum but felt like things had been left the way he had used them and he would return any minute.

]]> By: Crystal Laine Miller http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/literary-pilgrimages-the-limberlost/comment-page-1/#comment-2486 Crystal Laine Miller Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:28:09 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4768#comment-2486 I loved this post because it brings all sorts of good memories to mind--my mom (who also loved Gene Stratton Porter and introduced her books to me,) stomping around in the Hoosier wetlands in my own backyard, memories of visiting Limberlost with great people! :) I loved seeing what inspired GSP because these things inspire me, too. Everything she writes about is familiar to me. I would love to see PEI and the place that inspired the Anne of Green Gables stories, too. She paints such wonderful pictures in my mind, I know going there would be like deja vu. I loved this post because it brings all sorts of good memories to mind–my mom (who also loved Gene Stratton Porter and introduced her books to me,) stomping around in the Hoosier wetlands in my own backyard, memories of visiting Limberlost with great people! :)

I loved seeing what inspired GSP because these things inspire me, too. Everything she writes about is familiar to me.

I would love to see PEI and the place that inspired the Anne of Green Gables stories, too. She paints such wonderful pictures in my mind, I know going there would be like deja vu.

]]> By: Wendy Lawton http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/literary-pilgrimages-the-limberlost/comment-page-1/#comment-2480 Wendy Lawton Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:26:18 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4768#comment-2480 Debbie, Blue Willow was a favorite of mine as well. So few readers know this treasure. Don't you think (especially these times) it's a must read? Debbie, Blue Willow was a favorite of mine as well. So few readers know this treasure. Don’t you think (especially these times) it’s a must read?

]]> By: Debbie Fuller Thomas http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/literary-pilgrimages-the-limberlost/comment-page-1/#comment-2477 Debbie Fuller Thomas Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:43:53 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4768#comment-2477 I must admit that the Lord of the Rings is my choice. After I found them in the 70's, I read them through, over the course of several years, six times. Then I began the Fellowship of the Ring again every September for awhile, just to recapture the autumn flavor of the fellowship starting out again. Some characters you never want to let go. But when I was a child, I fell in love with Blue Willow by Doris Gates. I was pleasantly surprised as an adult when I found myself living in the setting of the book. It was so unique to me, having grown up on the east coast. It was just how I'd imagined it. I must admit that the Lord of the Rings is my choice. After I found them in the 70′s, I read them through, over the course of several years, six times. Then I began the Fellowship of the Ring again every September for awhile, just to recapture the autumn flavor of the fellowship starting out again. Some characters you never want to let go.
But when I was a child, I fell in love with Blue Willow by Doris Gates. I was pleasantly surprised as an adult when I found myself living in the setting of the book. It was so unique to me, having grown up on the east coast. It was just how I’d imagined it.

]]> By: Wendy Lawton http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/literary-pilgrimages-the-limberlost/comment-page-1/#comment-2472 Wendy Lawton Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:17:15 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4768#comment-2472 Brian, I love your story. I too have connected deeply with some who had died even before I was born. Confession: I always secretly believed that G. K. Chesterton was an uncle of sorts. He made me laugh and I always thought we would have had such great family gatherings. Heaven will be such fun when we can connect outside of the constraints of time and place. Brian, I love your story. I too have connected deeply with some who had died even before I was born.

Confession: I always secretly believed that G. K. Chesterton was an uncle of sorts. He made me laugh and I always thought we would have had such great family gatherings.

Heaven will be such fun when we can connect outside of the constraints of time and place.

]]> By: Brian T. Carroll http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/literary-pilgrimages-the-limberlost/comment-page-1/#comment-2471 Brian T. Carroll Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:08:52 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4768#comment-2471 One of my favorite genres is missionary diaries and memoir, the more obscure and remote the better. I guess we each escape to our own Neverlands. One of my favorites is the diary of Samuel Pollard, an Englishman who served in Yunnan, China, 1880s to 1914. He saw 4,000 Miao (Hmong) come to Christ. I visited China in 2004 and asked some Chinese friends to accompany me to Zhaotong, Pollard's outpost. They complained that it held nothing of interest to tourists, but we went. Local officials gave us a tour of the hospital, school, church, and seminary founded by Pollard, all still vibrant after half a century of communism. Then they gave me a copy of Pollard's translation of the New Testament, now rendered obsolete by a new alphabet. I was not allowed into the adobe building where Pollard had lived and worked, but only because they feared the building was close to collapse. A few hours after we left, a major earthquake left 120,000 homeless in Zhaotong. I may have visited Pollard's headquarters on the last day it stood. Or seen another way, God may have left the building upright just long enough for me to stand beside it and picture the events in Pollard's diary. Once I'd seen it, God let it return to the dust from which it had come. One of my favorite genres is missionary diaries and memoir, the more obscure and remote the better. I guess we each escape to our own Neverlands. One of my favorites is the diary of Samuel Pollard, an Englishman who served in Yunnan, China, 1880s to 1914. He saw 4,000 Miao (Hmong) come to Christ. I visited China in 2004 and asked some Chinese friends to accompany me to Zhaotong, Pollard’s outpost. They complained that it held nothing of interest to tourists, but we went. Local officials gave us a tour of the hospital, school, church, and seminary founded by Pollard, all still vibrant after half a century of communism. Then they gave me a copy of Pollard’s translation of the New Testament, now rendered obsolete by a new alphabet. I was not allowed into the adobe building where Pollard had lived and worked, but only because they feared the building was close to collapse. A few hours after we left, a major earthquake left 120,000 homeless in Zhaotong. I may have visited Pollard’s headquarters on the last day it stood. Or seen another way, God may have left the building upright just long enough for me to stand beside it and picture the events in Pollard’s diary. Once I’d seen it, God let it return to the dust from which it had come.

]]> By: Lynn Dean http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/literary-pilgrimages-the-limberlost/comment-page-1/#comment-2470 Lynn Dean Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:57:33 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4768#comment-2470 This may not answer the day's question, exactly, but while my husband was stationed in Germany, we lived about 3 miles from the ruins of the castle that inspired the story of Rapunzel. It's in a tiny village called Bruch. I was enchanted every time I drove by it, and my daughter, who was about 3 at the time, was inspired to grow her hair "as long as 'Punzel's." I'm sure that fairytale became real for all of us once we saw the actual setting. This may not answer the day’s question, exactly, but while my husband was stationed in Germany, we lived about 3 miles from the ruins of the castle that inspired the story of Rapunzel. It’s in a tiny village called Bruch. I was enchanted every time I drove by it, and my daughter, who was about 3 at the time, was inspired to grow her hair “as long as ‘Punzel’s.”

I’m sure that fairytale became real for all of us once we saw the actual setting.

]]> By: Lisa Harman http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/literary-pilgrimages-the-limberlost/comment-page-1/#comment-2467 Lisa Harman Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:03:53 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4768#comment-2467 What a beautiful story! I'm so happy to hear that you visited and enjoyed Limberlost. Isn't it so much fun to share those experiences with friends and family? My husband took me to the Gene Stratton Porter cabin on Sylan Lake on one of our first dates. Fifteen years later we still try to visit as least once each summer, sharing it with our three children. What a beautiful story! I’m so happy to hear that you visited and enjoyed Limberlost. Isn’t it so much fun to share those experiences with friends and family? My husband took me to the Gene Stratton Porter cabin on Sylan Lake on one of our first dates. Fifteen years later we still try to visit as least once each summer, sharing it with our three children.

]]> By: LeAnne Hardy http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/literary-pilgrimages-the-limberlost/comment-page-1/#comment-2466 LeAnne Hardy Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:56:55 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4768#comment-2466 Thank you, Wendy. My mom loved Girl of the Limberlost, too. She is with the Lord now or I would be planning a pilgrimage with her. Thank you, Wendy. My mom loved Girl of the Limberlost, too. She is with the Lord now or I would be planning a pilgrimage with her.

]]> By: Bill Giovannetti http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/literary-pilgrimages-the-limberlost/comment-page-1/#comment-2465 Bill Giovannetti Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:32:57 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4768#comment-2465 P.S. If you don't have the budget to visit C.S. Lewis', Dorothy Sayers', and JRR Tolkein's stomping grounds in England, you can visit Wheaton College in suburban Chicago. They have duplicated Lewis' home, and it houses a collection of Inklings memorabilia, including: the wardrobe that inspired The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and the desk on which Tolkein penned the Lord of the Rings. You can actually sit at the desk and write! You'll also find the personal ephemera of the various authors (letters, collectibles, rare books). Imagine reading handwritten letters by Lewis or Sayers! Last time I went, it was free. The collection is called the Marion Wade collection. It used to be housed in the college library. Now, it's in its own building. Here's the website: http://www.wheaton.edu/wadecenter/ P.S.
If you don’t have the budget to visit C.S. Lewis’, Dorothy Sayers’, and JRR Tolkein’s stomping grounds in England, you can visit Wheaton College in suburban Chicago.

They have duplicated Lewis’ home, and it houses a collection of Inklings memorabilia, including: the wardrobe that inspired The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and the desk on which Tolkein penned the Lord of the Rings. You can actually sit at the desk and write! You’ll also find the personal ephemera of the various authors (letters, collectibles, rare books). Imagine reading handwritten letters by Lewis or Sayers!

Last time I went, it was free. The collection is called the Marion Wade collection. It used to be housed in the college library. Now, it’s in its own building.

Here’s the website:
http://www.wheaton.edu/wadecenter/

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