Bio Bit: Gene Stratton-Porter

Here is my very first Bio Bit. Every week I will be writing a short bio for that week's "person of interest." This one was a trial run before my actual school starts, to try and get my mind into the researching and writing mindset. And without further adieu...

A Woman Ahead of her Time: Gene Stratton-Porter

 "What you are lies with you. If you are lazy, and accept your lot, you may live in it. If you are willing to work, you can write your name anywhere you choose, among the only ones who live beyond the grave in this world, the people who write books that help, make exquisite music, carve statues, paint pictures, and work for others. Never mind the calico dress, and the coarse shoes. Work at you books, and before long you will hear yesterday's tormentors boasting that they were once classmates of yours." - Gene Stratton-Porter, A Girl from Limberlost

indianahistory.org

Author, photographer, naturalist, entrepreneur, Gene Stratton-Porter was often referred to as a woman ahead of her times. Living a lifestyle quite in contrast to the typical house wife of the time, Porter followed her love for nature and helped ignite some of her passion in our own hearts. Born in the farming country of Wabash County in 1863, Geneva Grace Stratton was the youngest of twelve siblings. From the very beginning her father, who was a part-time preacher, taught Gene that plants and animals were gifts from God and were to be valued. In her early childhood, nature was her classroom and she had very little formal education. After her mother died her family moved to the city where Gene attended high school all the way up to the last semester before graduation; she was frustrated with the ridged public education system and dropped out. Grown up and married to Charles D. Porter and having one daughter, Gene was unlike other women in that she spent a large amount of her time out of the house, exploring the Limberlost swamp that they lived on. This swamp was described as being a “treacherous swamp and quagmire, filled with every plant, animal and human danger known — in the worst of such locations in the central states.” But Porter fell in love with the wild land. She would go out and explore often, always carrying with her a camera and a gun; the camera to shoot birds and plants with, and the gun to shoot poisonous snakes. Gene studied the plants and birds extensively, writing several scientific essays that were published in magazines. Her photography was also featured in several nature magazines. 

Gene's log cabin she designed herself in Limberlost kpcnews.com

Eventually, Porter decided to begin writing novels, all set in places very similar to the land she lived on and loved, including The Girl of Limberlost. Her novels became widely popular, and in her later years, as the swamp was drained, she moved to California and opened her own movie industry and had several of her novels made into movies. In a time when every woman was expected to stay close to home and simply tend to house making, Gene Stratton-Porter stands out as someone who chose to stay true to who she was, despite the fact that it was different from the culture’s norms, and through her bravery to pursue what she loved she has inflamed our hearts with the same love that she had for the beauty of nature through her stories and photography.

Bibliography

"Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites • Rental Information." Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Aug. 2014.

"Gene Stratton-Porter." Indiana Historical Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Aug. 2014.

A New Adventure

Self-education. Homeschooled College. Studying at home. Whatever way I put it, most people still need me to go into further explanation. It’s just that the fact that someone is going down the no college road while still studying on their own is so uncommon that it takes a while to fully register that it’s not online classes or state regulated in any way. It’s just me, a bunch of books and online resources and a desire to learn. I’ve been my own teacher since 7^th grade, so it’s not an intimidating idea for me, it’s really quite exciting. I’m calling my school Auto-Logartis College, or ALC. I figured if I had an official sounding name, people might take it more seriously. Some of the subjects I’ll be studying are photography, storytelling, screenwriting, small business and a few others. Since I was little, I pretty much knew that college wasn’t something for me. Like in so many other areas of my life, I’ve felt a need to discover my own unique path for further education rather than following the society norm. A couple people who are really inspiring to me as I am on the verge of starting this new adventure are Ray Bradbury and Steve Jobs. Ray Bradbury, because he couldn’t afford to go to college, said he instead spent 3 or 4 hours at his library every day. Steve Jobs dropped out of college and later admitted that it was probably the best thing that he’s ever done. He instead “ghosted” the classes that he wanted to (sat in on them without being officially enrolled) and didn’t have to waste his time doing any of the required elective classes. Although I know it’ll take a lot of self-discipline, I’m really looking forward to stretching myself creatively to come up with stimulating assignments and exciting ways to learn. And that brings me to this blog; as a way to get my work “out there,” since there’ll be no other students or teachers to share my work with, I’ll be posting various projects and papers that I do in ALC onto here! So in a way this blog will temporarily become my virtual classroom! But don’t worry, it won’t be boring (I don’t think) and I’ll still make some regular posts on here as well. Here’s to an exciting new school year and limitless learning!

Sunday Social

1. One Show you would love to see on Netflix that isn’t there:
Person of Interest! There's one episode that somehow escaped our DVR for the first season and although I'm still living, I can't stand to have an episode unwatched! 

2. One song you wish they would play more on the radio:
I don't listen to the radio a lot, and the song that I'd like to hear at the moment changes all the time with my mood and the atmosphere around me. I seriously can't think of just one song that I'd like to hear more of right now... I love them all!

Real Player Cloud

3. Your favorite song to sing loudly to in the car:
I don't sing loudly in the car a lot because there's always someone else present and I'm shy about singing in front of people most of the time, although I'm starting to grow out of that. So I'd say the song I like to sing loudly the most wherever I am (especially in the shower) it's Once Upon a December... yes, even in the summer.

4. What Movie/TV show do you quote the most?:
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, hands down!

wall.alphacoders.com

5. One silly thing you do daily:
After morning stretches, I hop and skip around, usually laughing with myself just for the pure joy of skipping and jumping. 

 

The Dragon in Our Story

Storms. I’ve always had a strange fascination with them. Not the storms themselves, but the drama and fear that goes before and behind them.

Every time the tornado sirens went off, chills of both fear and excitement would go up and down my spine when I was little.

I’d gather all my valuables – when I was older, that just meant that I made sure my cat Snarfy was downstairs with me – and I’d sit and excitedly watch all the flurry of activity around me.

My imagination would be filled with all the things we’d have to do if a tornado really did come and destroyed everything.

It was always a little disappointing, but still relieving, when that storm never hit.

And when the electricity would go out, that’s when my imagination would really catch fire. I’d pretend it’d stay out all month, and I’d think of all the things we’d have to do to survive.

It was always sad when the lights came back on in an hour.

For some reason I’ve always had this desire for some type of excitement to happen in my life, some sort of drama that would make my life more like a movie.

When I see disasters happen on the news, that’s when I feel the most inspiration to go and write.

But still, for all my imagination, I know the real storm wouldn’t be any fun.

It’s nothing to wish for.

Just recently, a metaphorical storm has finally ripped through the land.

And the day after, I stood in the midst of the rubble, and I went through the day in a haze; heart heavy, feeling as if I was taking in the damage from a hurricane.

The news of Older Brother having been in a car crash, but not finding out until after the fact; that wasn’t like being in a storm, that was like watching it on T.V.

But that text late at night; that was a tsunami crashing over the coast.

My coast.

That was me standing and staring the ten foot wall of water full in the face.

And I hate to admit it, but for all that I wouldn’t have wished for this to ever happen… I still got those chills of excitement down my spine when I heard the news.

Life is hard, bad things happen; but it’s like a story, it’s all mixed in with beauty as well. There’s conflict, but that’s what makes the story good… and that’s what makes the resolution so satisfying.

If there weren’t any bad things that ever happened, we wouldn’t be able to truly enjoy the good times.

And the Author of this Story is a Good Author, His ending that He’s planning… it is far better and more satisfying than we could ever imagine.

Maybe that’s why I get chills down my spine, each time something bad happens, whenever another dragon raises its head to stand against the Kingdom… because I can see the pen strokes of the Author behind it all.

Sunday Social

1. 3 Favorite songs right now

• Space Oddity by David Bowie
• Around the Clock by The Rocket Summer
• My Lighthouse by Rend Collective
  

2. 3 Favorite movies that remind you of Summer

• Napoleon Dynamite
• The Trial of Old Drum
• The Buttercream Gang 

Movie Quotes

3. 3 Favorite articles of clothing you own

• My jeans (the old pair with holes in both knees are still my favorite, but I love my new pair as well)
• A blue T-shirt that has a Lion King character on it and says "no worries"
• A bold red dress shirt (which I'm wearing right now!) 

4. 3 Items on your wish list

• A lap desk (so I can take my writings wherever I want to go)
• A phone
• A new battery for my little laptop

Life Guard Press

5. 3 Books you would recommend to someone

• The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
• The Paradise Trilogy by Ted Dekker
• The Introvert Advantage by Marti Olsen Laney 

Life is Story

"More Fun than a Coon Captured in a Can!"

The dark woods all around me are silent… too silent. As I grope around for a light, I suddenly remember those large creatures that had remained unidentified by skittering out of my friend’s lantern just minutes ago. They could be back. I realize… maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea.

How did I get myself into this situation? It started with a simple walking during my youth group’s camping trip. I accompanied a friend down to the showers so that she could get ready for bed. Back at camp, everyone had been talking about getting a night game of Capture the Flag going as dusk fell. My plan was to join them when I got back. Coming out of the shower house, My friend and I found that the evening had become at least ten times darker then when we went in. This wasn’t that big of a problem though, as my friend produced from her bag a small LED lantern. But as we came to the camp grounds, we found it eerily silent and empty. 

I had imagined that we’d play the game at our campsite. Now, however, after further thought I realize, with all the camping tools, sharp cooking equipment, a steep drop off into a dark icy lake, and not being able to see, wouldn’t have been such a good mixture. Figuring everyone else was at the meadow where we went to play sports all the time, I dropped my friend off at our tent. Before leaving, though, I looked through my things for my flashlight. But In the limited light of her lantern, I couldn’t find it. So I made the fateful decision to go back to our main campsite and look for a light source there.

So that’s how I got here now. The embers of the fire behind me are glowing with their last bit of life and the darkness falls thick over their dying breath. The breeze had died and now the air is still. Oh, so still and silent. There are not even any crickets out, filling the air with their music. I kneel on one side of the pick-nick table, feeling around the sticky green tarp that’s been used as a table cloth. My thoughts start to chide me for not thinking things through. Of course there wouldn’t be any lights out here, there hadn’t been very many the night before and what we did have is probably with the rest of the group at the meadow, or put away somewhere in a bin along with sharp kitchen knives; not sitting out on the pick-nick table. But still, I grope around with little hope of finding one. With these discouraging thoughts, and the continually sinking feeling of missing out on a good Capture the Flag game with the rest of my friends, I don’t take note of the fact that the bag of marshmallows – which we had been enjoying minutes ago around the campfire – was gone. Neither did I notice that the gram crackers were gone also. If I had taken note of these things, I would’ve only assumed that they had been put away. Just as I am about to give up, an ever so slight rustles comes from the other side of the table. That’s when the memory of those creatures emerges at the edge of my mind. I freeze as something not more than three feet away from me moves.

Against the darkness of night the silhouette of something darker slowly rises up in front of me. It’s the head of a raccoon, starting straight at me.

What frightened me in that moment was not the fact that it was a raccoon. No, it was the fact that the creature showed no signs of fear. The fact that it was staring me down with invisible eyes as if he belonged here and I didn’t – and that he wanted me to leave; plus the fact that it was a wild creature within arm’s reach in the dark of night; those are the reasons my heart stopped for a moment. And in that moment, two facts flashed through my mind. 

One; raccoons can bite. 

Two; they could possibly attack. 

Then I was off, down the gravel road and bolting towards the girl’s tent. A rustling in the bushes behind me, that my amped up imagination made into an angry coon giving chase, only made my heart race faster. “Quick, let me in! Something’s following me!” My excited, fear filled voice causes my friend to feel frightened too as I tumble into the tiny tent and try my best to quickly zip up the door with shaking, adrenaline filled veins. After breathlessly recounting about the head in the dark, my friend asks; 

“Is it a stalker!?” I laugh, realizing I forgot to mention that it was an animal; so I reassured her that it was a raccoon – not a psychopathic killer – chasing me through the forest. 

I decide, under the circumstances, that I’d better stay in the tent and miss out on the game of Capture the Flag.

Soon a flashlight moves around in the main campsite. Someone had come back. “Who’s there!?” My friend calls. The light stops moving for a second, 

“Huh?” The unidentified person asks. My friend, thinking it’s one of the guys, questionly calls out his name. Relief calms my hands, still trembling from left over adrenaline, at the thought of one of my best friends being out there, and knowing he’s a hunter makes me certain the raccoons won’t be a problem for long. But then the person identifies himself, not as my best friend, but as our youth pastor. 

Still, I’m extremely relieved, even if it’s not a coon killing eighteen-year-old out there. 

I emerge from our tent to help assess the damage the raccoons had left in their wake.

Image Credit: My Youth Pastor

Oh the Places I've Been!

What: A vacation!

Where: Colorado

Who: Part of my family; Mom, Dad, Oldest Brother, Little Sister, and me

When: July 5 - July 12, 2014

Why: To see family, mountains, go on an adventure, and just for the sake of a vacation!

Hours Spent in the Car: 40

Times Eaten Out: 7

Trip's Theme Song: Space Oddity by David Bowie

The Vacation's Soundtrack
Music that was stuck in my head during the trip, playing the background music to our activities.



Number of Dragons Spotted: 2

Number of Dinosaurs Seen: 7

Number of Castles Seen: 2

Entries from Travel Journal
Points of interest, funny things seen, heard, ect.

Day 1
The long trek there

• Picture Idea: Lemurs eating ice cream in an old fashioned  ice cream parlor
• A big Pizza ice cream cone statue
• Mom: "what's in the blanket?" Little Sister opens the blanket, with a bunch more stuffed animals to add to bags already full of them. "I've limited myself, Mom!"
• Song about a best friend leaving by Needtobreath on the CD player
• Dancing crazy with Little Sister to old sixties sounding song
• Tried to beat my best of 37 on Flappy Birds on Mom's Nook; only got 22
• A phone booth in the middle of a cornfield, along the dirt road
• Giant Casey's that doesn't feel anything at all like a Casey's store
• Sign that reads "Microtel" makes me think of the tiny compartment hotels in Japan

Amusing Planet

• Panting white dog sitting on top of a white pick-up truck
• License plate mounted to the side of a car
• A Mustang parked at a run down trailer house
• Thought: It's been a long time since I've looked upon a mountain... it's so much bigger than I expected!

Day 2
Family get-together

Day 3
Visited grandma's meadow and Cripple Creek, Co.

• Got stopped walking through a casino and was asked if anyone had checked our ID's
• Went to a candy shop and got 6 different kinds of fudge!

 

• A skeloten sitting on a bench wearing a shirt that reads "Waiting on a woman"
• Went to 10, 500 feet in elevation
• played a hunting arcade game
• at a gas station a man in camouflage was holding a deer antler
• Saw a trail of something wet and slightly lumpy leading to the men's bathroom in a bar
• saw a shirt for sale celebrating the use of recreational marijuana
• Looked at gold ore samples
• saw man come out of a gas station with a 9mm glock holstered to his belt
• 3 large spiders crawled across my room's floor at bed time

Day 4
Went to Bishop's Castle and Crested Butte, Co.

• Answer sign at a gas station
1. Yes, that's Pike's Peak
2. Go through Woodland Park to Cascades. Turn right
3. Cripple Creek lies yonder
4. Turn left at the right go 18 miles
•  Smoked rainbow trout sign
• old building built into a hill like a hobbit hole
• Oldest Brother: "I think a wolf sanctuary is around here" Little Sister: "What's a wolf sanctuary?" Oldest Brother: "It's where wolves to to pray."
• Blue ranch house buildings even a blue doghouse!
• Triangle tree house
• "There's be monkeys in Antarctica!" Talking with Little Sister about the equator turning cold and the poles turning hot
• "Slow, Cattle on road" sign
• Little Sister and I putting up our hands like we're on a roller coaster going over large hills
• "Go native, go!" Dad telling a Coloradoan car as it speeds past us
• Helicopter rides available
• Stone wall painted yellow with purple gargoyles
• Oldest Brother: "Less than a mile in the sky" sounds like a good song lyric to me
• Mural of black bears breaking out of a store
• Statue made of baseball equipment to look like a person
• Picture looking like a window that looks into an old fashioned ballroom
• The Fox Den of Antiquities
• Barn covered in solar panels
• Another drawing idea: Horses watching horse races on TV
• GPS directions "Impossible. Make a u-turn"
• Meal on the side of the road
• Chased out of the car by a bee caught inside
• Bishop's (my version; Devil's) Castle
• Flowers on shop roof
• Popcorn wet and soggy on the parking lot

 

• At 11,312 ft elevation
• Boots on top of a van
• Bicyclist made of flowers
• Metal knight fighting metal dragon
• Found the end of the rainbow!
• Saw two dragons!

Day 5
Recuperating day, went rock hunting

Day 6
Garden of the Gods

•  "Taste the sunshine!" Wendy's sign
• Boy that reminds me of Asa Butterfield
• Donation box where you can put the money in the box of the state that you're from. Minnesota was number 6 last month!
• Army guy with name of girlfriend/fiance tattooed on his left ring finger
• Toddler on a leash
• Bright yellow car
• tattoo store called Freaky's
• Fazoli's!!
• The Egg and I restaurant
• Orange bug (car)

Day 7
Denver walk, Twins game

• Buck lying dead on the sidewalk
• Bright yellow, blue and orange building
• The window that inspired me to write my very first good fictional writing!!
• Big green question mark statue
• Big light bulb statue
• Wooden bear holding a sign that reads "Oompa Luoomas at work"
• Two green dinosaurs outside gas station
• Painted elk statue
• Ratty couch sitting in the middle of an abandoned lot
• 5 parachutes of skydivers
• Glider getting towed into the sky
• An IKEA building
• License plate that says "Nemesis"
• Sandal on the side of the road
• Birds covering the top of a Denny's sign
• Diver climbed up right next to our table(Casa Bonita)!
• Fried ice cream and Sopapillas!
• Long, long line of boyscouts
• Liquor store with 777 as it's address
• Post plastered with papers
• Super high handled bicycle
• Two guys setting up for a film

 

• Google car
• Bike taxis

Day 8
The long trek home

• Long line of supper cool cars (Dad says they're Corvettes)

 

MotorTrend.com

• Black school bus
• Castle grill and pub in a castle building
• Oldest Brother: "We're going to tip the car over!" Warning us not to be playing sandwich so energetically