Publication date: April 21st, 2024
Synopsis:
"Where Eagles Nest chronicles a young couple, Alex and Julianna Lampert, as they immigrate from Lichtenstein, in search of land where they can raise a family and participate in the American dream. The young newlyweds eventually settle in the rugged hills and pasturelands above the Sandy River in Oregon, where they forge a life of love and pursue their quest for prosperity in spite of the struggle in the wild terrain of the Pacific Northwest in the 1880s." --Sharon Nesbit, writer and historian, author of It Could've Been Carpdale.
"You will laugh, grieve, and rejoice with [Alex and Julianna] and their neighbors. Helen Wand's brilliant research breathes life into the slice of local history that will stay with you long after the last page is turned." --Alice Lynn, author of Wrenn: Egypt House, Volunteers for Glory, and Scattered Pieces
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Excerpt
JULY 4, 1885
The fourth of July dawned sunny, promising a warm day. The wind came from the east, drying everything in its path. Julianna chose her prettiest blue church dress, a gingham with puffed sleeves. Might as well get some wear out of this, she thought, it'll be awhile before we go to church again.
She watched Alex button his clean white shirt. "You look so handsome," she said, kissing his newly shaven cheek. "I like you without whiskers."
"No whiskers," he said rubbing his face. "Don't you want me to look like a mountain man?"
"No, I like you to look like you did when I met you, with just a bit of a rakish mustache." The families walked down the path to Taylors.
"I wish you'd waited for us to help you hook up the horses," Alex said to the old man.
"No, no today is my treat," Taylor said. "You young fellers help me all the time."
It's true, Julianna thought, Alex and Franz helped Taylor as much as he helped them.
The hot easy wind dried the road enough to harden the mud, but not enough to be dusty, making the trip pleasant. Julianna noticed Taylor smiling as he listened to them chatter.
The horses strained as they plodded up the steep winding trail. There was a spring almost at the top of the hill where they stopped to water the horses and everyone got out and stretched their legs. Then one more short pull to the top where they hit the Wire Trail and turned east.
"In the summer, the east wind is hot and dry. By tomorrow it will be in the 90s, mark my words and that's fire season," Taylor chatted as they drove. "I encourage you young folks to cut timber down around your houses as a fire break and keep the dry grass down. Get a goat if nothing else to keep foliage under control."
It was close to noon when they arrived at the city park in Latourell. Tables, already collecting huge platters of food, were set up under the shade trees. People were arriving from all directions. Musicians were busy setting up their chairs and stands in the pavilion.
Julianna couldn't believe her eyes. Here in the middle of the wilderness were people eager to dance and celebrate their independence.
"There must be a hundred people here," Alex said.
"You bet. Everyone comes to this. It's the biggest event of the year. It's in the summer so people can get to it." Taylor stopped the team so the group could disembark. He smiled and nodded to an older balding gentleman and his gray-haired companion. "That's Fred Hicklin and his wife Sarah."
"Must be where Hicklin Bottoms on the Sandy River got its name," Alex said.
"Yup, they're the ones. Been there before I came to this country and I came in '66," Taylor said as he climbed back up in the driver's seat.
All the while, she pursued her love of history, joining local historical societies and documenting early Oregon stories. Helen published her first historical novel, Where Eagles Nest, The Second Wave of Pioneers in 2013. Echoes of Forgotten Places continues the Lampert family saga in the early 1900s as they struggle to save their land and maintain their homestead in the wild, rugged terrain high above the Columbia River.
Now retired, Helen resides in Gresham, Oregon, where she gardens, writes, and volunteers at the Troutdale Historical Society, the Crown Point Country Historical Society, and the Northeast Multnomah County Pioneer Association.
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