When my nephew was about four, we used to take long walks in the harbor to look at the fishing boats. He knew every one, from the Victory to the Pacific Raider. As we walked, he’d often ask me to tell him “a fishing boat story where something bad happens, but nobody dies.”
When I came across the story of the swamping of the Phyllis T about 20 years later, I knew I had a real-life adventure tale for him. With stunning illustrations by Jesse Joshua Watson, we first made a video story for the exhibit “Salmon, Seiners, and Life on the Sea.” Then, due to visitor demand, we created a beautiful little picture book now available in the Harbor History Museum Mercantile.
Fabulous cover by Futura Design.
What would you do if the ghost of a WWII bomber boy emerged from the flames demanding that you help him complete his final mission?
Based on a stash of World War II images, ephemera, and a diary discovered in the hayloft of a horse barn, this compelling novel is now available through your local bookseller (Mostly Books carries signed copies), Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.
Magazine Articles & Stories
Soundings Literary Magazine: “Ernest Oglby Punkweiler and the Fabulous Miraculous Time Intrusionator” 2012. This story became the basis for a children’s exhibit (May 2014 – April 2015) at the Washington State History Museum that featured the work of numerous children’s book illustrators such as the fabulous Mike Cressy and Richard Jesse Watson.
Bacopa Literary Magazine: “Roadmap Hands” 2011. A nonfiction story based on my mother’s struggle with memory loss.
Columbia Kids: “Collections Conundrum” series featuring an Egyptian mummy, a Mount Rainier painting by James Everett Stuart, Circus Posters, and a statue of Sleeping Ariadne.
Calliope Magazine, “What’s in a Name?” 2005. Special issue featuring the J. Paul Getty Villa and the antiquities collection.
Museum News, “Solving the History Mystery” 2002. M Notes, November-December issue.
Columbia Magazine: “Two Views, Two Voices: The Photography of Edward and Asahel Curtis.”
Museum Publications
Ernest Oglby Punkweiler and the Fabulous-Miraculous Time Intrusionator, a special edition kids’ book to accompany exhibit.
History Lab To Go!, 2001 — A Teacher’s Guide to the Concepts and Tools of Historical Inquiry
WSHM Field Guide to the Hall of Washington History, 1996 — A Teacher’s Guide and Student Activity Book
The Stephisphere 