The Women Who Civilized the West

Author:  Juddi Morris

 

Many people now days do not think twice about the establishments that we choose to dine at.  This was not always the luxury of a westward traveler.  The notion of high quality and fine dining in the west was the product of a young man named Fred Harvey.   Only fifteen when he arrived in America from England a passion for food emerged to the young man while working in restaurants in New York and other large elegant cities.   The Harvey house revolutionized railroad dinning, an everlasting impression was placed on western civilization.  Rules for working at the Harvey house were stringent and consistent.  A sane is said about Fred Harvey, “He kept the west supplied in food and wives.”  Many Harvey girls married men in the west. They not only married but brought manors and quality of life to the towns in which the Harvey Hotels and Dining rooms became part of.  Her in New Mexico we were fortunate enough to have four houses built along our rails.  Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Gallup and Belen were the locations of these fine eating establishments.  The Alvarado transportation center was rebuilt in replication of the original Harvey house, which once graced the presence of down town.  In Belen, one can visit a living monument of a Harvey House.  The historical site has been restored and is used as a museum and education center for visitors and residents of New Mexico.

 

Juddi Morris is an amazing historical author who takes time to review and verify her facts on every subject that she writes about.  In her books for younger students she is vigilant about putting in source notes and bibliography's; which are both included in this wonderful historical book.

 

 

Judy Garland in The Harvey Girls (1946)

Little Red’s Autumn Adventure

By: 

Sarah Ferguson

The Duchess of York

Illustrated by:

Sam Williams

 

This quaint little story starts out on a windy day.  We find Little Red and Little Blue playing with fallen leaves, while the children are heading to the Great Harvest Festival.  Little Red finds herself face to face with tiny little mice.  Realizing that the mice are quite scared of her, she decides to shrink herself to their size using magic dust.  She is happy to realize that the little mice are heading to the Great Harvest Festival also.  She decides to help the little mice find the Festival.  All the while, Little Blue is looking for Little Red.  During the search for Little Red, the search party realizes that the forest is turning some splendid but unnatural colors.  They soon see a squirrel with Little Red’s sack of magic smiles.  The magic dust was spilling all over the forest. Finally, Little Blue was able to get the sack away from the squirrel and return him and Red to their normal size and the Great Harvest Festival continued with glee.   

 

 

Personally, I did not enjoy the book it was culturally to different for me.  It seemed to be all over the place without a single them.  However, the book about Little Red and her adventures are best sellers.  So don’t take my word for it try one for yourself and see if Little Red fits your taste.

This sight has a whole list of picture books including “Little Red’s Autumn Adventure".

http://www.embracingthechild.org/picturebook.html

 



Maria Martinez

by

Juddi Morris

 

Maria Martinez is a savior of the people of San Ildefonso.  As a child, Maria mimicked her mother and other village women.  She first learned to make pottery at eight years old.   Her passion for the art or necessity of pottery continued to grow throughout her life.  When she was a young woman already married, she started to sell her pottery at the museum in Santa Fe.  To compliment her amazing life many of her children and their children study and keep the tradition alive. Maria was born in 1887 and passed away in 1980.  Within her 93 year life she fell in love, sadly buried three children, and created a living legacy for her children and her Pueblo.  Her pottery sold originally for $1.75 (small pieces) to $3.00 (large pieces); now days a piece of Maria’s pottery sales from the mid-thousands to the 100-thousands.  She is famous for the Black-on-Black pottery her and her husband revived after visiting an archeological dig. 

 

Maria Martinez ... San Ildefonso Pueblo Pottery  

Tending the Fire is an amazingly historically accurate read.  Morris uses an easy read style to convey extreme concepts, while be accurate and engaging the reader to want to know more about Maria’s Life. 

This book is a great way to introduce schoolchildren to New Mexico History.  Some amazing things can be learned from the life of an amazing woman like Maria Martinez. 

    

Lesson Plans

New Mexico history and MariaMartinez