(1924 Edition) Admonitions from one hundred years ago… It seems every generation worries that their children are in harm’s way, and we need to protect them. I found it fascinating that even one hundred years ago, our great grandparents felt the same way. The poster I’ve shown here includes some of the things people worried... Continue Reading →
Pulling Together
Hazel and Charlie never had many worldly possessions. They always lived in a tiny house, even when they had four children living with them. Both Hazel and Charlie worked hard and never complained about what they were doing, no matter how long the hours nor how difficult the task. In fact, they enjoyed the careers... Continue Reading →
Getting Around
Charlie and Hazel were ordinary people, so they had mixed feelings when they found themselves suddenly in possession of a fancy Model T. It was flashy, with bright yellow wheels, and they were used to walking to church or to the store in their little suburb outside of Austin, Texas. They were also perfectly happy... Continue Reading →
The Power of Music
Music was Hazel’s passion. But she also knew that it could stir the spirits of those around her, and she could share her passion through her performances. At a basic level, she enhanced the enjoyment of the audiences who watched the silent films she accompanied. But she would have argued that she made them truly... Continue Reading →
Hazel on the Rails
When I grew up with my great-grandmother Hazel, we all lived in southern California, so I somehow assumed she had been born there. It wasn’t until I inherited all the family Bibles and began reading through the birth entries that I realized she was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and traveled to many other places before... Continue Reading →
Hazel’s Life as a Mother
Hazel is a character in Becoming Hazel and in subsequent books, but it’s important to remember that all of this is based on real events. When you come to the end of Becoming Hazel, you probably don’t think of her in terms of motherhood at all, but I’ve already told you, she’s my great-grandmother so... Continue Reading →
Hazel and Charlie as Mutt and Jeff
I’ve mentioned that Hazel was two feet shorter than Charlie, but it’s hard to get your head around what that looked like unless you see a picture. Unfortunately, Charlie apparently decided he wouldn’t stand still long enough to take one when they were first married. Or maybe he decided it wasn’t worth the money. Whatever... Continue Reading →
Hazel the Suffragist
Hazel was a well-practiced and skilled musician. In her rather short but illustrious career, she managed to do things that most women of the age could not and dared not do. She worked under her own name while married, lived independently, and fought fiercely for suffrage and social rights, all while continuing to perform. In... Continue Reading →
Hazel’s Pianos
This Steinway isn’t the first piano Hazel ever played, nor is it the last. In truth, she didn’t play this instrument at all. But when I saw it on stage during a recital a few days ago and heard the remarkably resonant sounds of composers ranging from Beethoven, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky to a rag by... Continue Reading →
More About the Real Hazel
Now that the paperback and Kindle editions of Becoming Hazel have been released on Amazon, I thought it was the perfect time to share a bit of background information about Hazel and about the series, "Inherited Treasures". Hazel is based on a real person – my great-grandmother – and Becoming Hazel describes how she got... Continue Reading →
Dorrie-Lenore Parsons 