21 February 2025

Published February 19, 2025 by rochellewisoff

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

CLICK TO JOIN

If this photo prompt looks familiar to you, it’s because it’s a rerun from Aptil 2016. I’m sort of rerunning my story from that week although it needed tweaking. 😉

Genre: Fact and Fiction
Word Count: 100

SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE

At a critique group I shared an excerpt from my historical novel set in 1904.

“‘…The taller officer, an imposing presence with dark skin, fascinated Havah. Although she had read about them in Professor Dietrich’s books about Africa and American history, she had never met a Negro face to face.’”

“I hate to burst your bubble,” said another writer with self-assured conviction. “I doubt there would’ve been a black officer back then.”

Returning her smug smile, I opened my Kansas City history book to a photo of Lafayette Tillman on horseback. “Second one on the KC force.”

.

.

CLICK TO CHECK OUT MY HISTORICAL SERIES

14 February 2025

Published February 12, 2025 by rochellewisoff

Like us on Facebook

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © David Stewart

CLICK TO JOIN THE FF TEAM!

A bit of a note here. WordPress is getting more and more challenging. There were a few posts I tried to comment on the last go around and was notified that I wasn’t allowed to comment. But with a second try it worked. Athough there was one in particular that wouldn’t let me comment at all. Very frustrating.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

THE BEST BASEBALL PLAYER YOU NEVER HEARD OF

Arms folded across her chest; Mama’s dark eyes blazed.

“Marcenia, where you been?”

There was no sense in lying. “Playing baseball.”

“And playing hooky?”

Brushing mud from her trousers, Marcenia nodded. “Yes, Ma’am.”

Mama shook her head. “Toni Tomboy they calls you. Why can’t you be more like your sisters?”

The ten-year-old grinned. She liked the nickname so much that she went on to make history competing with men in the Negro leagues as Toni Stone.

She later told reporters, “Women got as much right as men to dream. When the roll is called up yonder, I wanna play baseball.”

8 November 2024

Published November 6, 2024 by rochellewisoff

Like us on Facebook

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

CLICK to jump in

Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

O MERMAID BOLD

Holding up a typical swim dress, Charlotte glared at the all-male committee of the Amateur Athletic Leage “One lap in this meshuggeneh getup and a girl will sink like a stone.”
One of the men studied her proposed swimsuit on the table. “Are you suggesting women be allowed to compete? In this skimpy thing?”
“Indeed, I am, sir.”
Charlotte never wavered and in 1915 one-piece swimsuits for women were sanctioned and pools were open to both genders.
Affectionately known as Eppy, Charlotte Epstein is remembered as the Mother of Women’s Swimming in America. Nu? Who doesn’t appreciate a Jewish mother?

CLICK to learn more about this amazing woman. One of her proteges happened to be Gertrude Ederle. 😉

1 November 2024

Published October 30, 2024 by rochellewisoff

Like us on Facebook

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Lisa Fox

CLICK to jump in.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

QUEEN OF THE WAVES

Twenty-year-old Gertrude Ederle’s heart pounded as she waved to her adoring fans who thronged Manhattan’s streets shouting, “Trudy! Trudy!”
Slathered in lanolin and olive oil, she’d conquered twenty-one miles of frigid waters.
President Calvin Coolidge dubbed her America’s Best Girl.
When asked her thoughts on being the first woman to swim the English Channel, she shrugged. “I just knew it could be done, it had to be done, and I did it.”
Not only did she do it, but she did it in fourteen hours and thirty-one minutes, beating the records of the five men who swam it before her.

Of course, Trudy is one of my heroes. I’ll never go the distances she did, but I’ll forever applaud her for her role in history. For more of her story from her own mouth, friends and family CLICK HERE and HERE. (Parts 1 and 2 of a documentary.)

25 October 2024

Published October 23, 2024 by rochellewisoff

Like us on Facebook

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

PRELUDE TO A NIGHTMARE

The setting sun’s light made the waters of the sea sparkle. Aliseyu basked in its warmth. Hutash had been good to them today. A grand catch of fish would provide a feast for the village tonight.

Aliseyu’s father recounted histories with the other men who paddled their long tomol. Even though he’d heard it many times, Aliseyu never tired of hearing the story of Hutash leading her Chumash people over the rainbow bridge to their home by the ocean.

In the distance, a huge boat with white flags appeared. As it came closer, Aliseyu blinked. Perhaps it was a dream.

On our recent trip to California I learned of the Chumash people who all but perished at the hands of the Spanish. To learn a little more about them CLICK HERE.

******

18 October 2024

Published October 16, 2024 by rochellewisoff

Like us on Facebook

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Lori Wilson

CLICK HERE TO POP ON BOARD

Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

INDIANA FARM BOY

“You’ll like Orville,” George told Corrine. “He has a great personality.”

Who hadn’t heard that line before?

However, George hadn’t lied. She found Orville to be a most charming gentleman. He regaled her with stories of farm life and how he’d been the first in his family to go beyond the eighth grade.

When he told her he wanted a college degree so he’d have a name his children could be proud of, he won her heart.

One date led to another until the day he proposed to her. “Corrine Strate,” Orville Redenbacher asked. “How do you feel about popcorn?”

*******************

As you can see, Orville Redenbacher did indeed become a name his children and grandchildren could be proud of. 😀

CLICK HERE if you have 20 minutes to learn more about this amazing man.

11 October2024

Published October 9, 2024 by rochellewisoff

Like us on Facebook

he next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Mr. Binks

CLICK TO JOIN

Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

THREE STEPS AND A HOP

Ettore patted Jerry’s head. “How’s it going small fry?”

Twelve-year-old Jerry squared his shoulders, stretched to his full four-foot-three-inches, glaring up at his six-foot-tall eighteen-year-old brother. “Who you calling ‘small fry’?”

The youngest of eleven siblings, he’d always be the shortest.

Over the years his lack of height served him well as an actor and a stuntman. His hand and footprints appear in front of the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Puffing on his cigar, eighty-year-old Jerry Maren reminisced about his part in The Wizard of Oz. “Great times. That mangy mutt made better money than us Munchkins did.”

27 September 2024

Published September 25, 2024 by rochellewisoff

Like us on Facebook

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

CLICK to Hop Aboard

Genre: Histrionic Fiction
Word Coutnt: 100

TWIXT WOOD AND LAUGHTER

Mae West said I was all wood and a yard long. Don’t remember her? Use your little fingers and do a Google search. That is, if you’re smart enough to use a computer.

(And they call me the dummy).

I don’t say much these days. I just watch the passersby at the Smithsonian Institution. I miss my buddy, Edgar who passed away in 1978. He treated me like a son. Some say he treated me better than his own daughter. To be fair, he only included one of us in his will. I’d be upset, too, if I were her.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Edgar Bergen

13 September 2024

Published September 11, 2024 by rochellewisoff

Please, please, sign your comments! Most of your names are coming through but there were at least five last week that were marked “Anonymous.” I really like to know to whom I’m replying. 😀 Thank you for your participation and reciprocation. Shalom, Rochelle

Like us on Facebook

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

CLICK TO JOIN

THE BOX HEARD ‘ROUND THE WORLD

Dale folded a blanket and laid it in a box of linens. “I hate moving.”

Rochelle taped the top of another box and labeled it Bedroom with a marker. “Ever wonder who invented them?”

“Invented what?”

“Cardboard boxes.”

“No.”

“Robert Gair, who came to the United States in 1853 from Scotland on a ship by himself. He was only fourteen at the time. Can you imagine what that must’ve been like? Later he fought in the Civil War and after that, he worked in a paper factory.”

“So how did he invent the box?”

“Sorry, I’m fresh out of words.”

CLICK for a lot more about Robert Gair

**********************

It’s still summer! 😉

6 September 2024

Published September 4, 2024 by rochellewisoff

Like us on Facebook

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

CLICK TO HOP ABOARD

Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

AND THEN ALONG COMES MARY*

“Papa, where’s Baby Abigail?” asked four-year old George.

Despite his success in business, Colonel Zadock Pratt had little success in marriage.

After a few months, his first love, Beda had succombed to consumption. He’d then found solace in the arms of her sister Esther, only to lose her two years later.

Zadock sat his son and two-year-old daughter Julia on his lap.

Seven years with their mother (Abigail Sr.) had not been long enough. She had passed away three months before, ten days after giving birth.

Heaving a tearful sigh, Zadock whispered, “Baby Abigail’s gone to heaven to be with your Mama.”

*Note: A year later he married Abigail’s sister Mary. 😉

There’s so much out there about Zadock Pratt’s life that boiling any part of it down to only one hundred words was quite the challenge. CLICK HERE for more.