Author Archives: nancyleek

Mrs. Likins, the Bancroft book agent, took pride and comfort in her membership in the Rebekah order of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and she mentions this several times in her memoir. The Odd Fellows were founded in the … Continue reading →

Amy Likins (or as she preferred, Mrs. J. W. Likins) was soon selling books as well as engravings. She usually took two or three new titles in her basket. Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad came out in 1869 and was … Continue reading →

You never know what will fascinate people, especially 150 years later. I have read lots of accounts of women on the trail and in mining camps, and I enjoy those, but I especially liked this story of Six Years Experience … Continue reading →

How did a lady book agent go about her business? To start, Mrs. J. W. Likins (Amy) was given an engraving of “Grant and His Family” and told to go out and get subscriptions. If she could be successful with … Continue reading →

If you were a respectable married woman in 1868 in San Francisco, and you needed to find work, what could you do? Most women who had to work ran boardinghouses and cooked and cleaned for a living. Many women worked … Continue reading →

A couple of years ago I wrote about So-Wil-Len-No Avenue in Chico, which was named by Annie Bidwell in honor of her friend, Maggie LaFonso, whose Mechoopda name was So-Wil-Len-No. Rian Farley sent me this clipping from the Chico Record, … Continue reading →

On to Greenville! After leaving Susanville on Hwy. 36, we turned south on Hwy. 147 and drove along the east shore of Lake Almanor, then east on 89 to Greenville. In Greenville a left turn on Main St. (there’s a … Continue reading →

No visit to Susanville on the trail of Peter Lassen is complete without a visit to Lassen’s grave. He is buried in a small Masonic cemetery about 5 miles south of Susanville. The cemetery has a charming little turnstile gate … Continue reading →

I am working on a picture book biography of Peter Lassen, the old Danish pioneer whose name is all over Northern California. I have written about his mysterious death previously on this blog. Today I went to Susanville to find … Continue reading →

File this under “You learn something new everyday.” Whenever I am looking for an article in an old newspaper (in the California Digital Newspaper Collection — a wonderful resource), my eye always strays to the advertisements. They are frequently entertaining … Continue reading →