Is the story about Keil berating a man for not having enough faith to heal based on an actual account? What about his other somewhat strange views?
Keil did berate a Willapa family member back in Bethel for his lack of faith, and it had dire consequences, as mentioned in this story. Keil also tried to move the colony toward celibacy, though the reason for that is uncertain. And he felt worship was something that could be integrated into everyday life and thus did not need the prominence of liturgy and structure. He also held women in less regard than men, from what I can determine. More than one descendant claimed that Keil “took advantage of women” in the sense that he had them work hard and discouraged marriage; and perhaps in other ways, too, given the absolute power he could wield. Yet other descendants today tell the story of his great egalitarianism and say that women in the colony had opportunities to interact in the outside world in ways others might not have. Women’s roles in activities such as participating in the agricultural fairs, building the hotel, dealing with railroad passengers, and so on suggest that Keil’s theology eventually slipped beneath his economic interests … but that’s for the rest of the story.
Did everyone get along as hoped for in a utopian world?
There is strong evidence of dissention among the colonists, though what they presented to the outside world was a group of loving, supportive people. That’s not unlike most families (or even faith communities) where what we show to others is not always what we reveal to our closest friends. As Patrick Harris, curator at ACHS once noted, perhaps the colonists lived their ideals by what they showed to the outside community through their generosity and their art.
Were there really agricultural shows and competitions that early in the West?
Yes! And the colonists are remembered for their many talents in quilt making, furniture building, cooking, music composition and playing, and basket making, among a variety of colony endeavors. (Many of these artifacts can be seen at the museum.) Festivals at Aurora and Bethel continue to celebrate their talents. Keil did win a ribbon in 1861 for his “strongly medicinal” wine. Painting classes were offered by Nancy Thornton. Despite the image of our ancestors working hard and long, they also apparently played often; the colony band was asked to perform for events in Butteville, Oregon City, Portland, and points farther away, though only men were permitted to play in the colony bands. They ate well!
How accurate is the tension you show between Emma’s in-laws and the raising of her sons?
We do not know if the colony had a tradition of children being raised by uncles or grandparents upon the death of a father. But even children of prominent families from back East were often raised by uncles, even when their mothers remarried. Meriwether Lewis of the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition was raised by an uncle despite his mother’s remarriage. The ledger information in Aurora and census records, as well as Emma’s letter, suggests that sons were not always raised by their widowed mothers, and the records related to Emma and her two sons suggest conflicts over parental control.
On what information did you base Louisa Keil’s point of view?
I wanted very much to show what was happening at Aurora while Emma was dealing with her own trials in Willapa. So I introduced Louisa. I’d actually given her a role in the first book, but after editorial discussions, took her out. But she remained a strong character for me and allowed a way for me to keep the tension between the two sites alive. There were no letters or diaries left by Louisa Keil. This is often the case with historical women. Articles about their husbands’ building a bridge or even earning an award at an agricultural fair might be part of the historical record, but much of what women did is not. It was common for German Americans to order the almanacs and for women to make notations of how many eggs were collected on a certain day or how much rain might have fallen. Often these served as diaries. Upon their deaths, these almanac records of women’s lives were seldom saved—a great loss, in my opinion. I based the everyday life of Louisa on other colony letters, some interviews in the historical record, and remembrances of descendants. But I believe Louisa Keil and Emma Giesy, both wives of prominent colony men, had more in common than they might have at first realized. I hope Louisa’s point of view offers a glimpse into not only Dr. Keil and the development of the colony that we would otherwise not have had, but also another way that a woman might have lived with a distinctive man. Helena Giesy’s entry into the story did occur about the time as I’ve portrayed. She was Christian’s sister and carried considerable weight within the Aurora colony and is remembered today as “a saint.” But saints are real people first, and I believed Helena acts as an antagonist for both Louisa and Emma, while creating vulnerability for these women as they seek to discover who they really are.
Who was Big Jack Giesy?
I wish I knew for certain! There is a Jacob Giesy living next door to Emma at Willapa in the 1860 census. Christian had a brother named Jacob, but he was not the right age to be Emma’s “Big Jack” as she calls him in her letter. Jack was often the nickname for John, and there are many John Giesys, but none can be isolated as being Emma’s husband. Speculation then moves in where facts cannot be captured.
Could Emma have remained and run the oyster operation or even gone to Olympia and lived on her own with her four children?
The choices a woman had in the 1860s were limited, but she did have choices, the most important being clear about what mattered to her and having the courage to act on that. Some women did operate in the oyster beds, but with children, they needed help from family members or friends. Emma would have had to accept the help of others, left her children with someone. She might have sold her farm to use the money to hire help, but she was correct in knowing it would have been difficult to find a buyer, especially considering the economic uncertainty that coexisted with the war. Selling the property to other family members would likely not have gained her cash, but a ledger credit available to her only if she remained in the colony. Emma found herself dependent on the Willapa and Aurora colonies in ways she had not planned for. Whether she acted from grief, guilt, or stubbornness, or from courage, independence, or her Sehnsucht—her longing to be known while doing the best she could for her family—is the reader’s decision. Being strong enough to accept help from others is a challenge for our own age of self-reliance. Finding community continues to be an important landscape of our souls. I hope Emma’s journey of discovery offers insight into readers’ journeys. I thank them for continuing to read about Emma and her story.
Join Jane for monthly memo updates on her writing life at www.jkbooks.com and learn when the third book in the series will be released and where she’s speaking and signing. Jane is also available for speakerphone book-group presentations. Visit her Web site for additional information.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
C. S. Lewis once wrote of the German word Sehnsucht, referring to the longing or yearning of the human spirit. My German friends tell me the word carries weight, that such longing is almost an addiction, a compulsion. For me, A Tendering in the Storm is an interweaving of the Sehnsucht of one Emma Wagner Giesy, who lived in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and our own contemporary longings—to be known, to be loved, to find meaning despite life’s trials. Through exploration of our longings, we are freed to live full, community-integrated lives and to discover how fortunate we are to have gifts enough to give away.
A great many people provided gifts to me in the researching and writing of this second book in the Change and Cherish Historical Series. Dr. David and Pat Wagner, descendants of Emma, provided access to family letters and photographs and artifacts, as well as the generosity of their home and a private tour of relevant Northwest-area sites. As with the first book, they willingly let me speculate about their ancestor and offered ideas of what might have motivated Emma’s actions. Their discovery of a letter in Emma’s hand was a delight to all of us, and her words turned us in a direction we might otherwise not have gone. David also read an early
manuscript, and I am grateful for his suggestions and his encouragement of my telling this story.
The family of Dr. Jerry Giesy, descendants of one of Christian’s brothers, shared copies of several colonists’ “calling cards.” It was a delight to discover Emma’s card there, surrounded by pink flowers. The Bruce Giesy family donated a quilt of Emma’s to the Society. Seeing her work helped inform her character. The Giesy’s enthusiasm for my storytelling is greatly appreciated.
A great-granddaughter of Emma’s, Louise Hankeson, and great-grandson M. L. Truman provided information about the circumstances of Christian’s death and the impact of that day on Emma throughout her life. I am grateful for their sharing.
Irene Westwood, a volunteer at the Aurora Colony Historical Society (ACHS), in Aurora, Oregon, became a valued ally and exemplarly researcher. The information she located helped explain Emma’s comments in her letter, clarified the family story, and set the stage for the decisions Emma later made. Irene is steadfast and asked the kinds of questions that make a novelist smile. There is no way to thank her enough.
Patrick Harris, curator at the ACHS, could not have been more helpful. He answered obscure questions (Did the bridge across the Pudding River wash out in the 1861–62 floods?), went through ledger books with me from the Keil and Company Store, tracked legal and land documents, and even gave me a walking tour of the Aurora National Historic District. He has a wonderful memory for colony names and descendants and like me, I think, finds great joy in discovery of some detail that will turn the story. He always greeted me with enthusiasm, as did all the staff and volunteers throughout the facilities of the colony. I am grateful to Patrick along with board members Norm Bauer and James Kopp, who read advance copies of the book, gave me insights about Aurora, took me on tours, and made helpful suggestions. Alan Guggenheim, former director of the Aurora Society, provided me with copies of architectural information and the news of Emma’s interest in having a home of her own with the colony. John Holley, current executive director, continued to set the tone of access to the archives and the support of these stories, for which I’m grateful. The cadre of volunteers at the society is a gift not only to visitors but to my own research as well.
In Pacific County, Karla and Peter Nelson of Time Enough Books put me in touch with Dobby Wiegardt, a longtime oysterman who showed me a native Willapa oyster shell and talked about the oystering life, lending authenticity to this story. They also introduced me to Truman and Donna Rew, who offered their guesthouse (overlooking the Columbia River where it meets the Pacific) while I was in the area researching. Their generosity is greatly appreciated. The Nelsons also hosted a grand launch at the Ilwaco Heritage Museum in Ilwaco, Washington, for the first book in the series, A Clearing in the Wild, and they’ve welcomed my husband and me and our wirehaired pointing griffon into their store with warmth. Their support, their reading of advance manuscripts, and their good humor could not have been more welcome. I thank them.
Bruce Weilepp, former director of the Pacific County Historical Society, and Sue Pattillo, board member, provided information and thoughtful speculation about how things were accomplished in the 1850–60s of this rain forest–like part of Washington State. Nancy Lloyd of Oysterville gave countless hours of creative research and speculation, offering a variety of suggestions, all of them valued. Board member Ken Karch sent me a CD of all the Pacific County Historical Society’s journals, and it was in that search I discovered Christian had been a justice of the peace and a legislator. I am grateful!
Pacific County resident Marlene Martin and her daughter Joni Blake, and a cousin, Cameron Baker, descendants of another Giesy line, offered assistance to visit the Willapa cemetery and their ideas about what happened when. To all of these people I extend appreciation.
The Douthit family of western Oregon provided details about their ancestors (the Wagonblasts), and Oregonian Bernie Blum provided fascinating land-transaction information that provided insights about Emma’s life. He included documents that gave me Emma’s sister’s nickname as well. A number of Keil descendants provided family stories that helped enrich Emma’s journey.
The Oregon Historical Society and Oregon State Archives again provided valued documents.
Erhard and Elfi Gross provided valued reference on German words and usage but even more, made us at home with wonderful German cooking that Elfi is known for and that provided authenticity for Emma’s interest in preparing fine German dishes.
Several descendants from Bethel contacted me after the release of the first book, including Lucille Bower, who continues to live in Bethel. Along with those from the Aurora colony and Willapa, and descendants from earlier colonies spread throughout the country, their stories became important threads in the weaving of this story.
I am especially grateful to the help of my editors: to Erin Healy and to Dudley Delffs of WaterBrook Press, a division of Random House, and to the team who supports me there in all departments, and to my agent, Joyce Hart, in Pittsburgh. I couldn’t do this without them all.
My prayer team of Carol, Judy, Gabby, Susan, and Marilyn (posthumously), as well as many others who I know hold both Jerry and me in their hearts, make this storytelling seem like praying and thus a joy. Thank you. My friends Blair, Sandy, Kay, Barbie, the Carols, Susan, and my writing friends form my “colony,” without whom I’d be as isolated as Emma was. Thanks for keeping me in your loop.
My family (extended and selected) and especially Jerry, have come to understand my quirks and timing, offered help in countless ways, and taught me to be a better recipient of God’s good gifts. Thank you for knowing me and loving me anyway.
For whatever is authentic about this story, I give credit to the above people and others too numerous to mention; whatever errors exist are mine.
And finally, to readers who continue to honor me with your time, thank you. You make these men and women come alive to me through your letters and visits to my Web site, and through your kind words at signings and events. I hope you’ll look for a continuation of Emma’s story and the colony’s journey in book three.
With gratitude,
Jane Kirkpatrick
Please visit Jane’s Web site at www.jkbooks.com and enjoy her Monthly Memos of Encouragement. Write to her at 99997 Starvation Lane, Moro, Oregon, 97039.
SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Allen, Douglas. Shoalwater Willapa. South Bend, WA: Snoose Peak Publishing, 2004.
Arndt, Karl J. R. George Rapp’s Harmony Society 1785–1847, rev. ed. Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses, 1972.
Aurora Colony Historical Museum. Oregon Music Project, Publication and Performance of Previously Lost Original Music Written by Members of the Aurora Colony Bands, Ensembles and Choral Groups between 1856 and 1883. Unpublished manuscript, Aurora, OR: Aurora Colony Historical Museum, 2006.
———. Emma Wakefield Memorial Herb Garden. Aurora, OR: Old Aurora Colony Museum, n.d.
Barthel, Diane L. Amana, From Pietist Sect to American Community. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1982.
Bek, William G. “The Community at Bethel, Missouri, and Its Offspring at Aurora, Oregon,” pt. 1. German-American Annals, vol. 7, 1909.
———. “A German Communistic Society in Missouri.” Missouri Historical Review. October 1908.
Blankenship, Russell. And There Were Men. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1942.
Buell, Hulda May Giesy. “The Giesy Family.” Pacific County Rural Library District, memoir. Raymond, WA, 1953.
———. “The Giesy Family Cemetery.” The Sou’wester. Pacific County Historical Society, vol. 21, no. 2, 1986.
Bush, L.L. “Oystering on Willapa Bay.” Willapa Harbor Pilot. South Bend, WA, 1906.
Cross, Mary Bywater. Treasures in the Trunk: Memories, Dreams, and Accomplishments of the Pioneer Women Who Traveled the Oregon Trail. Nashville: Rutledge Hill Press, 1993.
Curtis, Joan, Alice Watson, and Bette Bradley, eds. Town on the Sound, Stories of Steilacoom. Ste
ilacoom, WA: Steilacoom Historical Museum Association, 1988.
De Lespinasse, Cobie. Second Eden. A Novel Based upon the Early Settlement of Oregon. Boston. The Christopher Publishing House, 1951.
Dietrich, William. Natural Grace: The Charm, Wonder and Lessons of Pacific Northwest Animals and Plants. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2003.
Dole, Philip. “Aurora Colony Architecture: Building in a Nineteenth-Century Cooperative Society.” Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 92, no. 4, 1992.
Dole, Philip, and Judith Reese. “Aurora Colony Historic Resources Inventory.” Unpublished manuscript funded by Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, in private collection at Aurora Colony Historical Museum.
Duke, David Nelson. “A Profile of Religion in the Bethel-Aurora Colonies.” Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 92, no. 4, 1992.
Ficken, Robert E. Washington Territory. Pullman, WA: Washington State University Press, 2002.
Gordon, David G., Nancy Blanton, and Terry Nosho. Heaven on the Half Shell, The Story of the Northwest’s Love Affair with the Oyster. Portland, OR: Washington Sea Grant Program and WestWinds Press, 2001.
Hendricks, Robert J. Bethel and Aurora: An Experiment in Communism as Practical Christianity. New York: The Press of the Pioneers, 1933.