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"It’s the stories of all of us together that make the story of America. Our nation’s story is so much more than a timeline in a history book."
This statement is so true. I hated history in school, but as I began learning with our children, a whole new world opened up. Our children each have a passion for history and various eras that has turned into a life-long learning adventure.
Join guest, Gail Masinda of History Heights as she shares her love of stories, true stories of real American families. History Heights takes a deep dive into remarkable stories of United States History in a way that is engaging and fun for the students while providing convenience and value for parents. |
Whether dealing with a well-known historical person or event or exploring a forgotten gem, all of the stories have surprises and plot twists like fiction, but these are 100% true! With engaging text, colorful graphics, “Fun Facts,” and lots of primary source materials, History Heights eBooks are a great way to learn something new, and have fun while you are doing it.
The Love of a Good Story
I love a good story and I bet you do, too. To me, a good story is the kind of tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat, or eager to turn to the next page, or makes you lean forward in wide-eyed anticipation of “what happens next.” Triumph, tragedy, success, and failure can all be important parts of the story. The very best stories contain some pearl of wisdom that can inspire or enrich our lives today.
All Families Have Stories
Whether or not we are familiar with those stories is a different issue altogether. As a young child, I spent the days of the Christmas school holiday with my maternal grandparents while my mom and dad were at work. One day, as we were seated at her kitchen table enjoying milk and cookies, GrandMa told me the story of when her mother came to America. The story was amazing, tragic, and highly memorable. Not long after that, my grandmother died. I came home from the funeral with the harsh realization I would never hear that story again. I went straight to my room and wrote down every detail I could remember. I still have that paper. That was in 1968, and is how my interest in family stories began.
A Presentation of World War I
A few years later, as part of a high school American history class, my assignment was to prepare a presentation about World War I. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit it now, but I was not particularly interested in the topic. However, as the only student in that particular class who had a living World War I veteran in the family, I decided that interviewing my paternal grandparents would at least make that part of the research fun. My grandfather began the interview by telling me he fibbed about his age so he could enlist. [photo of Frank Masinda] Now that got my attention and as he continued his story, I hung on his every word. He told of his time in trenches in France, the horrors of mustard gas, and the friends he watched die. My grandmother, a few years younger, talked of the activity on the Homefront, and about her older brother who was also in active service. Her family received a letter from the Red Cross in an envelope edged in black, a symbol that the letter contained news of a death. As she told the decades old story, her eyes showed the heartache as if it had just happened. [photo of Harry Hatmaker] She paused, brightened, and went on to say it turned out there was a mistake. Her brother was not killed in action. Sadness returned to her eyes as she explained the letter was for another family of a soldier of a similar name. Her relief that her brother was alive was tempered with the first-hand understanding of the deep anguish that another family was about to experience.
A Passion for History
Since then, my passion for connecting personal stories with American history has been unwavering. I now have dozens of notebooks filled with precious photos, documents, correspondence, artifacts, all supported by family trees, family sheets and other organizational tools. To help other families begin organizing their own stories, I have a course called My Family In History.
It’s the stories of all of us together that make the story of America. Our nation’s story is so much more than a timeline in a history book. It is the combined stories of millions of families over hundreds of years and thousands of miles. Some of the topics I write about in the History Heights eBooks are inspired by stories I have heard or read about in my own family. Others come from events or items I find intriguing, sometimes while in pursuit of something else entirely. Sometimes, it’s a combination of both. While researching my grandmother’s brother, Harry, I found he was transported to France aboard the USS Mongolia. Until I began this research I had no idea of the incredibly important role that vessel played in World War I. It was front page news in its day, but I had never heard of it before. The story of the USS Mongolia became an entire eBook.
And that, my friends, is the beauty of history. All of the pieces fit together like a jigsaw puzzle to tell the amazing story that belongs to each and every one of us.
It’s the stories of all of us together that make the story of America. Our nation’s story is so much more than a timeline in a history book. It is the combined stories of millions of families over hundreds of years and thousands of miles. Some of the topics I write about in the History Heights eBooks are inspired by stories I have heard or read about in my own family. Others come from events or items I find intriguing, sometimes while in pursuit of something else entirely. Sometimes, it’s a combination of both. While researching my grandmother’s brother, Harry, I found he was transported to France aboard the USS Mongolia. Until I began this research I had no idea of the incredibly important role that vessel played in World War I. It was front page news in its day, but I had never heard of it before. The story of the USS Mongolia became an entire eBook.
And that, my friends, is the beauty of history. All of the pieces fit together like a jigsaw puzzle to tell the amazing story that belongs to each and every one of us.
Gail Masinda's passion for history grew from discovering the heritage stories of my family. She has been an organist all her life, holding two parallel careers. In secular music, she's been a concert artist, writer and teacher, with fifteen years as staff writer for Sheet Music Magazine. In sacred music, she is a Certified Church Musician with PC (USA) and served in full time music ministry for over 20 years. Her articles and interviews have appeared in over a dozen other periodicals and journals as well, including music instruction books, a song book, and a biography. Combining her love of history and love of writing led to History Heights, true and often neglected stories from United States history. She has the great joy of helping her daughter with the homeschooling of her children, ages 9 and 11, since their preschool years.
You can also find Gail's History Heights Resources on Facebook.
You can also find Gail's History Heights Resources on Facebook.
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