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The setup

The Whittaker Saga: the setup

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 I  was vastly inspired when reading the decades challenge, and as a history teacher, I could not stop myself from giving it a try. Of course, true to my nature or refusing to do things by the book, the first thing I did was break the rules. How? By creating as my protagonist a single, working woman living on her own! Gasp! Why? Partly because a story popped into my head, but also, partly, to honor the many women who - by choice or necessity - actually worked, and worked hard for their living in the 1890s. We tend to forget them, but the working women were there - from the hard working farmers that we often downgrade by calling wives, as if they weren't an essential part of the economy of the farm, to the working class women working as domestic help or in the factories where they were only payed half of a man's wages.  So with that, I introduce Abigail Spencer, a single, working, middle class woman in 1890s Willow Creek:  As middle class there is only a few jobs avai...
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1960s: Burglars, death and a birth

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The very next day the worlds stands still as the news spread that John F Kennedy has been shot in Dallas. Around the country people are watching in horror as the footage is shown over and over again. In the Pinnacles, the three women sit stunned while staring at the TV, and in Strangerville and Oasis Springs, the same is true. Regardless of whether they voted for him or not, everyone is horrified at the news. For all of them, the world feels a bit less safe than it did yesterday. For Thomas and Betty their feeling of safety is not approved when a burglar hit their home just a few nights after. Winston, asleep in the living room wakes up, and then wakes them up, but old as he is does nothing to chase the burglar away but instead runs in and hides with Betty. Thomas, however, confronts the thief while Betty, frightened, calls the police. As the burglar takes off, Thomas hugs Betty close. "He was in our bedroom!" she says, visibly shaken. Thomas, on his end, wants to know why so...
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1960s: Pregnant, and now what?

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Even though they have been away from home most of the summer, and really would prefer to just stay at home on the last day of vacation, Thomas and Betty still make the trip to Strangerville to see Arthur and Audie's new baby. Betty and Audie dotes on the baby in the bedroom, an adorable little girl, while the men talk in the living room. The kids are a lot less interested in a useless little baby. Michael and Carl play on the junglegym, and the three girls play hopscotch outside on the sidewalk. For Susan it's a bit unusual, but great fun, to have girls to play with - even if they are a bit younger than her. Before heading home, they eat in the garden while the children can't decide whether they want to eat or play. It's a good day, even if the Thomas and the family are all very tired when they return home. Barbara, however, is having a less fantastic day. Ever since the pill was approved by the FDA, she's been trying to stay on it, with only temporary success. The ...
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