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Neil Sagebiel's avatar

Beautifully written. I love the way you blend history, relationships, tragedy, emotion and so much more with the circus life.

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Lori Olson White's avatar

Thanks, Neil. It was a challenging piece to write as there was a lot of complexity and history to weave together - but super fun!

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Jodi Kiffmeyer's avatar

There's a cemetery in Eau Claire where I like to walk sometimes. I usually pass by a plot with a row of something like 7 or 8 gravestones lined up to mark the lives children from just one family who died before they were school aged. It's a good reminder that the modern world has its great benefits as well as its struggles.

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Lori Olson White's avatar

Those markers are especially heartbreaking to think about, aren't they. I am always a little broken when I come across parents who have repeatedly lost children in my research, whether they're my ancestors or people like Blanche and Joseph.

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Jill Swenson's avatar

Five sets of twins. Wow. What a life story.

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Mary Rolf's avatar

Yikes!! Ten children in 10 years, all boys. And while traveling with the circus. I guess I’m too soft for that life.

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Lori Olson White's avatar

Pretty incredible, isn’t it?

This was a tough write for me. I’ve come across a number of ancestors who had a lot of children and buried most of them, but this story really forced me to sit with what that meant - in the context of time and available resources , understanding and just the emotional and physical trauma that comes with that kind of massive, repetitive loss. 💔

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