Stonework from original bridge on Old Military road that crossed Kitty Creek near Langworthy.
Located on Elenore Jacobs property.
I told someone again this week, my mind is filled with the stories I came across as I prepared for my walk retracing Lyman Dillon and Old Military road here in Eastern Iowa. It will be 3 years this month that I took a week off and retraced that route…still no book in print. Here’s one of my problems. The book that is sloshing around in my mind is more than just a book about Lyman Dillon. It is a book, highlighting several people who lived along Old Military Road from 1839- as late as the 1850′s. I’ve written the intro, and first chapter to the book several times, keep getting mixed feedback on the structure/ flow of the book and my mind is in a grid lock. who do I listen to? etc. etc.
I have probably a dozen different character sketches I would like to include (including Dillon and his family), in addition, I came across a whole shoebox of original research by Gus Norlin that I would like to devote a separate chapter to.. Gus was the local president of the Jones County Historical society several years ago, had been working on his own research. After he passed away, his daughter Pam loaned me all of the material, I copy/scanned all of it…personal letters between Gus and a great grand daughter of Dillon, very old newspaper articles others had shared with him, etc. etc. See what I mean? There is a wealth of information, just begging to see the light of day…
So here’s where you come in… give me your suggestions on how I might organize this material. If this winter is slow, work wise I would love to get the book organized and ready to be proof read.
Sept 3, 2011 Douglas Monk
