Book Written by One of Our Own - Me

Many of you have gotten to know me over the two years that I have been on the hubpages. What many of you may not know is that I have authored a book called, Hitches and Ditches on the Erie Canal by Hannah Stuart.

No, Hannah Stuart is not my real name. It is in fact my mother’s name. I chose it to honor her. She was still with us in the world when I chose her name as my pen name and she was in fact quite honored. I will always hold that memory dear to me the day I handed her the book with her name as the author.

The book is about a family in the early 1800’s, who like many families were farmers and struggled financially. They worked hard but often their diligence was not rewarded. The book takes the reader into the heart of the main character, Luke, and his struggles into manhood. Luke ends up having to grow up rather quickly in order to help his family. He goes out into the world to help to make money by doing back-breaking work as he helps with the construction of the Erie Canal. Luke encounters deep friendships and learns about betrayal as well.

If you have ever been interested in the Westward Expansion of the United States, you will enjoy this book. I often complete pretests before I read the book to my students and posttests after I read the book and it is amazing even to me that a work of literature in the form of a historical fiction can have such an impact on the knowledge base of students. Of course that is what I intended but it has opened my eyes to the practical use of historical fiction novels in my classroom.

The book took almost two years to complete, as I researched, wrote and rewrote more times that I care to remember. I submitted my book to professors and others knowledgeable about the Erie Canal in order to ensure that I was historically correct. I have edited and edited and edited and …well you get the picture. I suppose there will still be a few errors in the book in regards to punctuation even though I have scrutinized it at nauseam. Still, I have found errors after I order yet another version of the book.

I have a new respect for authors and the process of editing as well. The writing of the book has given me compassion for my students as they hand me their writing to review. A person’s heart and soul goes into the writing of a book. There were moments when I read what I wrote and I literally cried for my experiences as Luke, as I truly became him at moments, especially when he was forced to help him mother and truly become a man to overcome his fears. My heart ached for him as he realized how very complicated relationships are.

My book is self-published and it is available at Lulu.com and on Amazon.com. I hope that others will become inspired to write the book that we all have inside of us.

The Erie Canal had been a vision of many in the past. However, it took Governor DeWitt Clinton to make it a reality. Times were clearly different as he was able to convince folks that he could get the job done even though they did not yet have the advanced technology to do do. Still, they began the job determined that the engineers of the day would be able to figure it out as they went along. Could you even imagine such a concept today? I could deviate here and go off on a tangent and say that yes, believe it or not, it could and does happen today. For example, the evaluations of New York State teachers and that whole catastrophe that was implemented without a plan. However, I'll save that ranting and raving for another hub.

The truth is though that to spend money on the construction of such enormity as the Erie Canal without knowing how it would be accomplished, it is doubtful that it could happen in today's world. Although, those of you who know the in's and out's of the process of construction in relationship to the government might have a different perspective to share. I do have a hard time trusting the decisions of men/women who represent us presently, as I am certain you are detecting. I digress again.

Governor Clinton was called many names for contending that such a feat was possible. Clinton's contention that he could get boats to go across New York State with its massive elevation structure boggled the minds of even some great and mighty men. Thomas Jefferson was among them.

The "Clinton's Ditch" as it was called began in Utica, New York due to the fact that it was the flattest land and the easiest to dig. Keep in mind that there were no back hoes or advanced equipment to accomplish the difficult tasks of digging, moving rocks, cutting trees or pulling stumps. Most of the ingenuity of equipment to support the job came out of need and the desperation of the men doing the hard work to assist them in their tasks.

I hope I have wet your appetite to learn more about the Erie Canal. There are numerous nonfiction books as well as other historical fictions to read and learn about this interesting time in history.