Books published by publisher Crosshill Creek Publications

In a prologue the author explains how her fact-fiction book is based on her great-great grandfather's 1849 Gold Rush letters.Against his parents' wishes, Eugene Chase makes plans with boyhood friend Leal to leave Vermont and seek their fortunes in California. Eugene's sister Hortense understands her oldest brother's desire; and she makes him promise to write letters home, addressed to her.In March 1849, at nineteen, Eugene leave home for New York City. Leal is to meet him in St. Louis. Eugene's Uncle Lucien, who left Derby Line eight years earlier, lends his nephew the money for his adventure. "The fruits of your journey will reveal themselves in time," he tells Eugene.From beginning to end, Eugene's journey is long and hard: a journey to a new land and adulthood. Throughout constant difficulties, Eugene shows courage and endurance. This is not true of Leal, who is a burden to all in their Pioneer Line company, which includes Judd, an older doctor. Eventually, Judd asks Eugene to join him for the final 200 miles to California. At the Carson River, after crossing forty miles of treacherous desert, the two men leave the company, then later mine gold together. But the travel West and gold mining leave Judd in weakened health. He leaves for the East, and Eugene heads farther north for richer gold fields.In a epilogue, the author recounts that her great-great grandfather earned enough money to pay his passage home by sea, to net a clear one thousand dollars, and to build a fine house in Derby Line, Vermont.

Whatever is incredible in this story is true. The tale I have to tell will seem strange to those who know little of the social life of the West at the beginning of this century. These sharp contrasts of corn-shuckings and camp-meetings, of wild revels followed by wild revivals; these contacts of highwayman and preacher; scenes of picturesque simplicity, grotesque humor and savage ferocity, of abandoned wickedness and austere piety, can hardly seem real to those who know the country now. But the books of biography and reminiscence which preserve the memory of that time more than justify what is marvelous in these pages.Living, in early boyhood, on the very ground where my grandfather—brave old Indian-fighter!—had defended his family in a block-house built in a wilderness by his own hands, I grew up familiar with this strange wild life. At the age when other children hear fables and fairy stories, my childish fancy was filled with traditions of battles with Indians and highwaymen.In a true picture of this life neither the Indian nor the hunter is the center-piece, but the circuit-rider. More than any one else, the early circuit preachers brought order out of this chaos. In no other class was the real heroic element so finely displayed. How do I remember the forms and weather-beaten visages of the old preachers, whose constitutions had conquered starvation and exposure—who had survived swamps, alligators, Indians, highway robbers and bilious fevers! How was my boyish soul tickled with their anecdotes of rude experience—how was my imagination wrought upon by the recital of their hair-breadth escapes! How was my heart set afire by their contagious religious enthusiasm, so that at eighteen years of age I bestrode the saddle-bags myself and laid upon a feeble frame the heavy burden of emulating their toils! Surely I have a right to celebrate them, since they came so near being the death of me.Doubtless I shall hopelessly damage myself with some good people by confessing in the start that, from the first chapter to the last, this is a love-story. But it is not my fault. It is God who made love so universal that no picture of human life can be complete where love is left out.

Wanda and Winky were two elephants who came together in 1999 and lived at the Detroit Zoo. Captured as babies, Wanda was a former circus performer and Winky had spent her life as an attraction at a variety of zoos. In 2005, the Detroit Zoo executive director voluntarily sent Wanda and Winky to live at the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) Ark 2000 Sanctuary in California. They were given their freedom because of arthritis and foot problems due to the cold living conditions in the northern state of Michigan. They lived out their lives with their new pachyderm friends, roaming and enjoying the acres of open space that was available to them. This book takes the reader on a poetic journey of their lives and also provides background information that aids in the understanding of the plight of this endangered and often mistreated beautiful animal.

Have you listened to how we use the phrase from here to there in one way or another? Most everything in life is about from here to there. When a "life passage" is particularly challenging, we can benefit from the experiences of other travelers on the road of life. We have hope that we can gain some light for our own from here to there decision making. From Here To There is that kind of story; a story of Chris' quest to gain some perspective dealing with his dad's death and his own struggle with cancer. While dotted with faith language (because our main character was a person of faith), no attempt is made to define faith for the reader. Instead, you'll find a book that offers validity for your questions about life's journey, affirmation of every feeling that surfaces, and possibilities for creative expression yearning to emerge from within. Look for the question marks that appear throughout the artwork. For now friend, buckle your seatbelt and enjoy your life's roller coaster ride From Here To There.

Between the gray twilight of the Great Depression and the perilous dawn of World War II, from 1936 to 1942, a heartwarming story of extraordinary loyalty quietly unfolded along the Great Northern Railroad in the remote little prairie town of historic Fort Benton, the birthplace of Montana. A story of faithfulness so unbelievable it warmed the world's heart as it was recorded in the pages of Ripley's Believe It Or Not. This is the story of Shep, the once vagrant mongrel who became America's most legendary dog. Strong principles and simple virtues, taught by a long-departed master, were exemplified by the life of his loyal dog while keeping a five-year lonely vigil for the master's return. Shep's amazing story now belongs to the ages, a classic piece of American history told and retold throughout the years by the Associated Press, UPI, Reader's Digest, Paul Harvey, and other major publications. A story of a noble dog, a soul; forever faithful; and an undying love for his master that endured the hardships of mortal existence and never wavered. A story told through the eyes of a young family struggling against personal misfortune, and the adversity of hard times in an unfamiliar town, a town of a last frontier.

Rev. Egerton Ryerson Young and his estimable wife have told the story, with illustrations, of their suffering, their toils and their triumphs, for the cause of Christ in the extreme north-west part of the American Continent, substantially as they are presented here, to vast audiences in the Dominion of Canada, and in the United States. Tens of thousands of people have listened, with delight that scarcely knew bounds, to these narratives at the great gatherings of the International Missionary Union at Thousand Island Park; and at the Ocean Grove Camp Ground, and at the Chautauqua Assembly. These will be gratified that Mr. Young has put them in this more enduring form. During the past two winters Mr. Young has retold these stories in the towns and cities of Great Britain, and riveted the attention, and thrilled with enthusiasm, vast audiences in Exeter Hall. The secret of this surpassing and sustained interest in this "oft-told tale" is not far to seek. The story told over and over retains a freshness like that of the breeze in the tops of the fir-balsams of this far north land, not only from facts themselves, but because Mr. Young's simple and artless eloquence savors of that of the native American himself; and one listens, as children at hearthstones listen to folk-lore.

At nineteen, Roxy Thompson has a past she's secreted a way in a forgotten corner of her mind, remembered only in nightmares that haunt her. When love walks into her life in the form of the handsome Raul Martinez, that past, those memories explode into the light of day. In this searing yet uplifting story, Roxy must face the nightmare of her childhood in order to a build a future filled with love.

Think Like a Goat? is told from an 8 year old boy's point of view. The youngster, a somewhat reluctant visitor to the farm of his veterinarian aunt who raises goats and sheep, is told when he acts up - trying out karate kicks too close to a Boer buck's nose, among other misdemeanors - that he'd better learn to think like a goat if he wants to cope on the farm without injuring himself or the animals. Eventually, after a series of incidents, including the appearance of a coyote, the boy learns to observe the body language of a number of animals, which will undoubtedly stand him in good stead in his encounters with human beings as well.

Allow us to introduce you to one of our grieving friends: a young lady who dealt with and continues to deal with loneliness. She lost her "big sister" when she was only nine and was very lonely when our paths crossed. In listening to her, I felt her loneliness and, as I continued to listen, I observed a rainbow of hope. In 2005, her mother nominated Hendricks Regional Health for The Compassionate Friends' Compassionate Employer award. This poem was written honoring her insightful grief work and was first read when the hospital received the Compassionate Friends recognition. We welcome you to join with another courageous young person as you explore the world of Incredibly Lonely. In the very center of our grief, loss or transitional times is the intense feeling of loneliness! Our world is turned upside down. How will I make it through? When, if ever, will this haunting feeling disappear? If it doesn't end, what will I do? Is there hope when dealing with this dark emotion of loneliness? Who am I now?