This summer, I worked with a small group of homeschool kids in a weekly writing class. We explored fiction writing including story elements and the hero’s journey. The goal was to develop a protagonist and antagonist, outline a story line including setting, characters, plot, and problem and resolution. The students then learned about the “hero’s journey”, a narrative that dominates most fiction, and structured their tale around that format. Each student chose one part of their story to stretch out using sensory details to make it more interesting. The writers were of all different abilities and had varying experience with fiction writing. Each student was immensely proud of his story! The following is written by Jacob.

1,000 Miles Away

by Jacob

Chapter 1

A Big Happy Family

Hi, I’m King the dog. I live on the shore of Florida state. I love it here. I have everything I could ever ask for: food, family, clean water. But, one day, this all changed. I remember the day. I was in the play room with baby Lucy. We were playing with building blocks, until I started to hear a ringing. I thought nothing of it at first but then dad and mom started panicking when they saw their phones. In an instant they grabbed Lucy and ran out the door. I was quite confused so I followed them to make sure everything was ok. By the time we were done running, we had made it in the car and we were in a lot of traffic. I mean if mom and dad weren’t so worried this would be chasing heaven! Then after a few minutes we made it up to a man at a stand, but he didn’t let us go. Next thing I knew, they kicked me out of the car. I thought maybe they wanted me to take a piddle or maybe go for a walk. But no, they just drove off. Then the man that told me to leave shooed me away, and there I was. Alone, scared, and completely clueless.

Chapter 2

It Happened In A Flash

I sat there, completely dumbfounded at what just happened. Then I heard a man’s voice. It sounded something like “Evacuate! Hurricane warning!” I never understood human very good but when I heard “warning!” I knew something was wrong. I wanted to know where my family was going, or when I was going to see them again. So, I decided to ask some people running in the streets. No matter how much I barked, they all ran in fear. I didn’t know what to do at this point. So I went home and hid in my special place where only me and baby Lucy could fit. Then it hit me… Would I ever see baby Lucy again? I sat there and whimpered, waiting for dad or mom to come try to offer me food, but nobody came. It was suddenly so silent. Too silent. Then, CRASH! A massive boom filled the entire house. I heard water roaring outside, the sound of bricks threatening to snap, the door creaking and bulging with water pressure. I looked out the front window and watched as our neighbors houses got destroyed like plastic. It smelled of salt and seaweed. I felt as the bottom boards of my hiding place wettened and became softer. I felt water drops falling from the ceiling. I was terrified for my life. Suddenly, the walls started to cave in. Then the back door burst open. In a flash, water filled the whole house. Then I sat in my special spot, waiting for this living hell to be over. Then I laid down on my back, waiting for the inevitable, but then I found myself drifting off to sleep from the pure trauma, the adrenaline starting to wear off. And I closed my eyes. And waited…

Chapter 3

It Takes Courage

Suddenly, I’m in the living room again with baby Lucy. But this time, there are no sirens, no noise. Just pure happiness. I am truly at peace. Then a noise woke me up. It was a group of men calling out something. It sounded like, “Is anybody there! We’re here to save you!” I knew I needed to go check it out. Maybe they could help me find my family. Maybe that dream I had could be true. I couldn’t jump down from my special place because the whole house was still flooded. So I did what a dog does best; I barked my heart out. I knew this maybe was my only chance to see my family again. But they just passed by. Even due to my efforts, I was left there. But one thing was for certain; I was not giving up here. So I jumped into the water and swam. At this point the current was gone, so it was easy to stay above water. But there was one problem: I can’t swim. But then I thought of my dream and the possibility that it could be true one day. Then, to my brain’s dismay my legs started paddling. And then I started moving forward! When I got outside the water was low enough so I could stand. Then the water started to fall. Now that the currents were gone the water flow was weak and small. So after only a couple minutes all the water was gone. And I was left with a really REALLY moist town.

Chapter 4

Get Up Small Fry

I realized I couldn’t hide away until my family came back because I was getting very hungry. So I decided to go to the shop with some amazing beef jerky that Mom and Dad use to take me to. I thought maybe I could go there. I walked over there and sure enough it was destroyed just like my house, but I could still get in through a hole in the rubble. I took a few of those beef jerky sticks and on my way out of the rubble I opened the packaging on a sharp piece on the wall. I then decided to take a break and sit down in the alleyway next to the store. After I was done resting I went to go find my family. I didn’t know how long it was going to take, or even if I would make it, but I knew I couldn’t give up. Not now, not yet. 

ONE DAY LATER 

I had been walking forever. I started to get dizzy, and I was extremely thirsty. But I didn’t stop. I knew I couldn’t, so I kept going… and going, and going. Then. Black. 

I woke up in an alleyway with a plastic cup of water in front of me. Before I could even process what was happening I instantly went for the water. It was so sweet. It felt like the best water I had ever tasted. Then a shadow cast over me. I turned around to find a massive german shepherd staring me down. “You’re finally awake,” said the massive dog.

“Uh, hi, uh, I’ll be leaving now, don’t you mind me,” I said.

“No you don’t. You don’t get it.” Out of plain fear I fell over. “Get up. I was the dog who brought you here.” I realized that it was quite strange that last I knew, I was walking into the city. But now I was just there. I slowly started to get up until I fell right back down after I saw two other massive dogs coming up behind the german shepherd. It was a massive, and very scary-looking, pitbull boxer. He had multiple scars, and his glare alone scared the living daylights out of me. The second dog was an extremely fluffy newfoundland. Though he didn’t have big muscles like the pitbull, he was big and overwhelming. And I found myself cowering at his massive size. 

“He giving you any trouble?” the pitbull said. 

“No, no. I just got here, I mean I didn’t do anything. Trust me, I’m innocent. Please don’t hurt me,” I replied quickly. 

“He’s fine. I found him out on the borders of the city. He was extremely dehydrated so I got him some water,” said the german shepherd in my defense. 

“Oh my dog! You know how hard it is to get water around here! And you just had to waste it on this small fry,” said the pitbull. 

“Yeah, what he said! Since when did you become such a softy, boss?” said the newfoundland. 

“I am not a softy, and you will end your blabbering now! You hear me? THAT’S AN ORDER,” said the german shepherd. The pitbull and the newfoundland both quickly shook their heads “yes” in agreement. The german shepherd sighed. “Hey you, kid. Come take a walk with me,” the german shepherd said. I was still so scared, I couldn’t get up until I heard a boom. “WELL WHAT YOU WAITING FOR? C’MON!” In a hurry, I got up and ran to catch up to the german shepherd. I didn’t know what was gonna happen next, but I knew I didn’t want to be on these dogs’ bad side.

To be continued…

This summer, I worked with a small group of homeschool kids in a weekly writing class. We explored fiction writing including story elements and the hero’s journey. The goal was to develop a protagonist and antagonist, outline a story line including setting, characters, plot, and problem and resolution. The students then learned about the “hero’s journey”, a narrative that dominates most fiction, and structured their tale around that format. Each student chose one part of their story to stretch out using sensory details to make it more interesting. The writers were of all different abilities and had varying experience with fiction writing. Each student was immensely proud of his story! The following is written by Lucas.

Doggon

by Lucas

Doggon is a happy dog.  He has normal dog hobbies like chasing squirrels and eating treats.  You know, normal dog stuff. Overall, Doggon is a good boy, which is a good thing because his biggest fear is being called a “bad boy”.  But then he heard on the news that someone named Kat was turning everyone into kittens. Why would Kat do this?? Because she wanted to be the Supreme Ruler of the World.

As soon as Doggon heard this horrific news he tried to ignore it, but then when his owner Joe came home he said Doggon could do it. Doggon refused but then he thought that if he didn’t it might mean no more Joe! So then he ran through his doggy door filled with courage and began looking for this Kat hideout.  After hours of seeing what felt like the same exact buildings and the same exact pavement, his paws were hurting more than ever. He was tired. He held the urge to raid a corner store. Then he finally found some useful information. Also, some delicious dog food but that’s for another story! Kat lived on Nowhere Street in the basement of her grandmother’s house.  Interestingly, this was only one street over from Doggon’s house.

Doggon saw SO much smoke and gas. Then he attempted to go into Kat’s hideout head first, hoping that charging in would be enough of a surprise to work.  Sadly, within the first few seconds, Doggon was kicked out by the guards Kat had stationed around her headquarters.

But Doggon was not a goner yet! He was thinking for hours that night and came up with a plan. First, he would sneak in past the guards by going in through a backyard window which, surprisingly, was open.  Then he found the key to Kat’s hideout in the basement and burst through the door.

Now he stood face to face with Kat’s cat and fought as hard as he could and not surprisingly, lost.

But he was not done yet. He trained for days and finally brought up the hope to try again.

He snuck in once again and fought and fought as hard as he could. Somehow the training paid off. So Doggon headed home about 20 minutes later. Joe came home. Doggon was a hero!

3 Years later

Doggon was so popular, he had fans across the globe in New York, Tokyo, and Seattle. It was amazing! But there were some downsides. About two and a bit years ago Doggon defeated Kat. She was pretty tough, but he handled it. But after everything changed, Kat’s grandma just so happened to see Doggon just beat her granddaughter so she got pretty mad. She called Kat’s dad and he just so happens to be guardian of space so Doggon had to beat him now, which was not easy. Somehow Doggon found Kat’s father’s wife and she was mean too so now it was two gods vs one dog. Things weren’t in Doggon’s favor but somehow he remembered that for his 5th birthday, Joe had given him a laser pointer. I think you know what’s next. He used it and made them fly into the sun.       

:)THE END:)

Or is it??

Mason

5/28/19

Activism in Photography

Introduction

Photojournalism has been used throughout history to spread the news, but I want to shed new light on what it has to offer. A photojournalist isn’t just a photographer, a photojournalist is also an activist. In my opinion, photojournalism is in fact, one of the most important forms of activism there is. Photos have the power to change people’s minds and wake people up to things they aren’t aware of or are ignoring. They can make people feel a certain way, or just care a whole lot more depending on what they are used for. Photography is a really important tool. What is a photojournalist? According to the dictionary a photojournalist “a journalist who communicates news with photographs.” In my opinion, anyone can be a photojournalist if they want to.

Photography in History

Photography has no doubt played a major role in history. We have seen how photographs have the power to influence people like no other kind media. In addition, with photographs, people are able to see places that they have never seen whereas sometimes it’s hard to picture a place you’ve never been from just words. Photographers who were brave enough to document hard truths have woken people up. Photographs have so much power. In the past photojournalists and just regular people have made history by pressing a button. From exposing the injustices that the civil rights movement was trying to change to showing people the horrible things that were going on during the Vietnam war, pictures have been used to affect change. Many people read magazines like LIFE. In fact, at one point it was selling “13.5 million copies a week”(The New York Times “Race, Civil Rights and Photography” New York Times). This means that millions of people were seeing these photos. Charles Moore, a photojournalist who covered the civil rights movement once said; “my camera is my tool, and I would rather have that be my weapon than my fists any day.” I think that this quote sums up what photojournalism means. I agree with Charles Moore because I believe that a picture can change peoples minds and wake them up to the truth more than anything else.

Photography Today

I believe that the most important invention in the history of photojournalism is the digital camera. Now, you might be thinking “of course,” or “that’s so obvious!” but I have some reasons that you might not have thought of. I believe that the digital camera represents a turning point in the history of photography.

One reason that digital cameras are so important to photojournalism is that you can take many more pictures in a much shorter time. This allows photographers to shoot more shots, which makes the chances of getting a great shot much higher. Also, shots on digital cameras don’t take time to develop which means that photographs can get published for the public to see much quicker than photos taken on film. My last reason why digital cameras are important to photojournalism is that, while cameras are becoming capable of higher quality images, people are able to relate to them more. When I look at an image taken by a digital camera next to an image taken by a film camera, I am more connected to the image taken by the digital camera. This is because higher quality images seem more real, and therefore are easier to connect to. I think that many people experience this phenomenon.

Now with more advanced cameras photographers are able to capture scenes with better and better quality. I believe that photojournalism contributes so much to how we receive information. As our technology is becoming more and more advanced photography is becoming an increasingly helpful tool.

The role of photography today is a little different than the role of photojournalism in the past. One main difference is that anyone can be a photojournalist. Now that so many people have a camera whether it be a smartphone or a higher quality camera, anyone can document what’s going on in the world right now. Also, with social media campaigns like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube seeing literally billions of users worldwide. Your picture could spread around the web in mere hours, educating hundreds of thousands of people. Anyone who wants to change the world can start with photography.

Maybe because photojournalism is so powerful, we’re seeing people want to restrict the freedom of the press. I think that if the press didn’t have as much freedom as it has now, we would run into a lot of problems. To understand the importance of the freedom of the press, you have to understand the role of the press in society today. We rely on the press to give us the news, and to tell us everything that’s going on. If the press didn’t have the right to cover everything, it would defeat the whole point of having it in the first place. Also, restricting the freedom of the press would create a lot of loopholes for people in power to take advantage of. For instance, it might become easier for people in power to cover up and hide what is going on by restricting press coverage. Allowing freedom of the press is one of the best things about our society. It is important that people know what is happening in the world so they can make decisions based on their knowledge. Also, a lot of people will get angry if the freedom of the press is restricted. Humans inherently like to be informed, and the press plays a big role in that.

So I guess what can be taken away by this is that pictures have tremendous power and I urge you to use them if you have the opportunity to affect positive change. Today photojournalists are covering an extremely wide variety of stories.

Paul Schutzer

Many U.S. citizens opposed America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. There were huge protests that took place in the U.S. to try to get the government to withdraw U.S. troops from the war. I believe that photographers like Paul Schutzer had a huge influence on U.S. citizens who weren’t aware of what was going on in Vietnam, and even if people did know what was happening, these pictures provided another level of understanding.

Paul Schutzer was born on July 11, 1930, in Brooklyn, New York. Although he died very young at the age of only 36, he helped many people through his photojournalism. When Paul Schutzer was ten years old he found his first camera. He found it in a wastebasket, taped it up, and started taking pictures. After trying other occupations, Paul Schutzer realized that what he wanted to do was be a photojournalist. So, in 1957, Paul Schutzer became the youngest LIFE Magazine photographer. Over the decade during which he took pictures for LIFE magazine, he took covered all different different issues around the world including; “The Berlin Wall, the earthquake in Iran, the Algerian War, Nixon in South America, Kennedy through his campaign onto his funeral, Cuba and Castro, Lebanon, and Vietnam” (“Paul Schutzer | Biography” klotz gallery). Over the course of his career with LIFE magazine, Paul Schutzer photographed for 491 articles. “Schutzer’s daughter Dena explains, ‘He focused on the people in power and the powerless, the people who were responsible for the events and those who were affected by them’” (Alice Gabriner, “The Six-Day War and the LIFE Photographer Killed in Action” Time).

US Corps-man runs with a wounded Vietnamese baby after the child’s mother found herself and her child in a combat zone. -Paul Schutzer

A young US. soldier guards Vietnamese captives. This soldier later died in the war. -Paul Schutzer

Therese Frare

The AIDS crisis was being widely ignored despite it becoming an increasingly big problem for the U.S. and especially the LGBTQ community. Maybe the reason that AIDS wasn’t being talked about or addressed was that it wasn’t affecting the people in power as much as LGBTQ people. When photographers like Therese Frare started documenting people dying of AIDS many people found it much harder to ignore. This image by Therese Frare became famous and probably saved many lives because after

people started to care that elected officials were addressing the issue. To give you some the perspective, in the United States alone “an estimated 692,790 Americans have died of HIV-related illnesses since the start of the epidemic in 1982” (Mark Cichocki  “How Many People Have Died of HIV/AIDS?” Very Well Health). This estimate was made by the World Health Organization, and these numbers are as of 2018.

Unlike Paul Schutzer and Charles Moore, Therese Frare wasn’t a professional photographer when she took the picture that made her famous and, more importantly, showed people up to how serious AIDS was. Therese Frare was a grad student at Ohio University and a passionate AIDS activist. She decided to cover AIDS for a school photography project, but she found out that most people living with AIDS were unwilling to be photographed. She ended up finding a new gender fluid, Native American, HIV positive, friend. Peta was living at the Pater Noster House, a hospice for people living with HIV and AIDS. Peta was great friends with another patient at the Pater Noster House: David Kirby. David Curby was a gay activist who had been estranged from his family. When Therese Frare met David Curby he told her that it was fine for her to take pictures of him, as long as they weren’t used for profit. Therese Frare and David Curby became friendly with one another through Therese Frare’s visits to the Pater Noster House. On the day that David Curby died, Therese was visiting Peta. David Curby had called his family earlier and they had welcomed him back into the family. His family was visiting him for the very last time when she was asked by David Curby’s family to take photos of David Curby’s last moments. Therese Frare used this photo to show how serious and sad AIDS is

The famous image of David Kirby who had AIDS in 1990 -Therese Frare

Charles Moore

The civil rights movement was fighting for equal rights for people of color during the 1950s and 1960s. In my opinion, was greatly helped by photographers like Charles Moore. These photographers weren’t afraid to show the kind of injustice that was occurring in the US. People who were not aware of how badly people of color were being treated were being woken up by photojournalists like Charles Moore.

Charles Moore Lived from 1931 to 2010, and during his life, he took pictures that have affected tons of positive change. A writer for the New York Times once said; “Mr. Moore was probably the most influential of a battalion of still photographers who swept across the South to capture, with compelling clarity, the dramatic collision of massive and passive resistance, black and white, right and wrong” (Hank Klibanoff “What the Still Photo Still Does Best.” The New York Times). He grew up in Alabama. His father was a Baptist minister who talked about racism a fair amount. So Charles Moore grew up caring a fair amount about racism. After spending some time photographing for Montgomery newspapers in Alabama he started photographing for LIFE magazine.

Over the course of his career, he achieved many accomplishments including writing his book, “Powerful Days: The Civil Rights Photography of Charles Moore”, winning the Kodak Crystal Eagle Award from the National Press Photographers Association, and of course, taking some of the most amazing pictures of all time to fight for the rights of people of color. He wasn’t afraid to get close up to the action and he documented many hard truths. His photography revealed the glaring injustices that people of color were facing, and what was going on to stop them. He revealed how the police were responding to the civil rights movement. Over the course of his life, Charles Moore revealed a lot of these injustices and got people to care about what was going on. At one point Charles Moore said, “I don’t wanna fight with my fists, I wanna fight with my camera.” And that is exactly what he did. I believe that Charles Moore’s photos played a major role in ending a lot of the prejudice and racism in America.

The fire department uses fire hoses against civil rights protesters.-Charles Moore

Policemen turn dogs on civil rights protesters -Charles Moore

Conclusion

For anyone who cares about an issue and sees the consequences of it in their life, photojournalism is one of the most effective ways to create change. Almost everyone has seen an image that impacts them emotionally in some way, and makes them care about a certain person, thing, or idea. But when you imagine the kind of person who might take a photo like this, you might think of a professional behind a huge fancy camera. But that is not necessarily how meaningful photos are created, as you have learned in the case of Therese Frare. You could be that photographer. Anyone who has a way to take a picture whether it be a smart phone camera, cheap point and shoot, or DSLR, has the capacity to affect change through photography. Now with social media platforms seeing billions of users, images you post can be more widely viewed in an even shorter amount of time. You don’t have to get your photograph published through a magazine or official publication. In order for someone to see your photography in a publication, typically they need to have a subscription whereas social media is usually free and therefore gives you access to more people from all different backgrounds. Posting your pictures on social media can affect more people. If you care about an issue, but don’t know how to start working to fix it, photojournalism might be an amazing way for you to create change.

Works Cited

Mark Speltz. “Black Lives Matter: What Role Do Photographs Play?” Time, Time, time.com/4429096/black-lives-matter-civil-rights-photography/.

“Charles Moore.” International Center of Photography, 27 Apr. 2019, www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/charles-moore?all/all/all/all/0.

Cichocki, Mark. “How Many People Have Died of HIV/AIDS?” Verywell Health, Verywellhealth, 26 Feb. 2019, www.verywellhealth.com/how-many-people-have-died-of-aids-48721.

“David Kirby (Activist).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kirby_(activist).

Dunlap, David W. “Charles Moore Dies; Depicted Rights Battles.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Mar. 2010, lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/parting-5/.

Durham, Michael S., and Charles Moore. Powerful Days: The Civil Rights Photography of Charles Moore. University Alabama Press, 2007.

Editors, History.com. “Civil Rights Movement.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement.

Gabriner, Alice. “The Six-Day War and the LIFE Photographer Killed in Action.” Time, Time, time.com/4783803/paul-schutzer-six-day-war-remembrance/.

“History of HIV and AIDS Overview.” AVERT, 26 Nov. 2018, www.avert.org/professionals/history-hiv-aids/overview.

Kaplan, and John. “The Life Magazine Civil Rights Photography of Charles Moore 1958-1965.” Journalism History, Journalism History, 1 Jan. 2000, www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-56322666/the-life-magazine-civil-rights-photography-of-charles.

Klibanoff, Hank. “What the Still Photo Still Does Best.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 Mar. 2010, www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/weekinreview/21klibanoff.html.

“Legendary Civil Rights Photographer Charles Moore, 79.” NPPA, 4 Oct. 2012, nppa.org/news/557.

O’Neill, Claire. “Charles Moore, Photographer Of The Civil Rights Movement, Dies At 79.” NPR, NPR, 16 Mar. 2010, www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2010/03/charles_moore.html.

“Paul Schutzer | Biography.” KLOTZGALLERY.COM, www.klotzgallery.com/paul-schutzer-bio.

Ben Cosgrove. “Paul Schutzer: A Great Photographer’s Final Pictures.” Time, Time, time.com/21616/paul-schutzer-a-great-photographers-last-pictures/.

Reeves, Jay. “Charles Moore, Photographer Who Covered Civil Rights Movement, Dies.” DeseretNews.com, Deseret News, 16 Mar. 2010, www.deseretnews.com/article/700016861/Charles-Moore-photographer-who-covered-civil-rights-movement-dies.html.

The New York Times. “Race, Civil Rights and Photography.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Jan. 2016, lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/01/18/race-civil-rights-and-photography/.

“The Vietnam War: The Pictures That Moved That Most.” Time, Time, time.com/vietnam-photos/.

“Therese Frare: Gone Too Soon | About the Hero.” Lowell Milken Center, 13 July 2018, www.lowellmilkencenter.org/programs/projects/view/gone-too-soon/hero.

The World of Nellie Bly

The 1800’s were a time of invention and creativity. In the next 150 years America would have hundreds of breakthroughs in computer science, railroad technology, factories, space and air transportation, farming and goods production technology. Fashion was an interest to people in the 1800’s as a way of expressing style and wealth. Food and goods production were becoming more of an interest to the world. In the following century,  people would be sent into space for the first time and two world wars would be stirring up chaos and destruction to the whole world. The world in the 1800’s was about to start on the road to new advancements in technology, new discoveries and and new ideas of class and social structure that would lead to where we are today.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania was still the capital of its state (the capital would soon be Harrisburg). The population in Lancaster shot up from 4,200 to 17,000 in just 60 years.

The Industrial Revolution had a large impact on Pennsylvania. Railroads and steam mills were up and working by 1834. In 1852 Pennsylvania saw the construction of both the Fulton Hall Theater or the Fulton Opera House and North Prince Street. Telephone service was introduced to Pennsylvania in 1886. People’s fashion tastes changed as well, becoming more sophisticated and simpler. Their clothes changed from extremely elaborate and intricate to simple and plain. Children had to wear simple clothes they could run and play in. Girls wore blouses and simple dresses and boys wore trousers and boots. Men wore simple, workable clothes designed for working outdoors or sitting in an office for long periods of time. Woman wore tight dresses with lots of ruffles and bows when they went out in public. Corsets and blouses were also garments women were expected to wear to town. In their homes woman wore looser gowns and aprons.   

Woman in the 1800’s were expected to be housewives. They were expected to cook and clean their houses while their husbands went and earned a living working at farms or offices. Most women did not have jobs and if they did they could be paid less than $3 dollars a week. In this time women had to do as they were told. Most women agreed to this as this was how they were raised. Most women cooked and cleaned for their families and stayed home as housewives. And then there was Nellie Bly.         

The Beginning  

Nellie Bly was born as Elizabeth Cochran on May 5, 1864 in Cochran’s Mill, Pennsylvania. The town was founded by her father, Michael Chrochan, who was a judge and a landowner. Nellie grew up with 14 siblings, eight of whom were her half siblings. When Nellie was six her father died unexpectedly. Because her father did not have the time to write a will before he died, the money he owned could not go to his widowed wife, Mary Jane Cochran, or his 14 children. And so Nellie and her family were left to fend for themselves in the town her own father had founded. A few years later, the family scrounge up enough money to move to Indiana and send Nellie off to attend the Indiana Normal School. Nellie studied hard at her new college to become a teacher. But the family was running out of money and they needed her to come home and help. So Nellie dropped out of college and moved to Pittsburgh with her mother where they ran a small inn for for some time.Then, in the early 1880’s, when Nellie was just 18, she submitted a response to a report in the Pittsburgh Dispatch. The report had been written by a man by the name of Erasmus Wilson who, in his report, stated that women who worked outside their homes were ‘a monstrosity’ and that women should not be allowed to work and earn a living on their own. Nellie had always had a talent with words and it took her just a day to write a strong, sensible response. She told Mr. Wilson that he was wrong and that woman were just as capable as men were. She signed her report using the pen name ‘Lonely Orphan Girl.’  Her earnestness response caught the attention of the chief editor of the Pittsburgh Dispatch, George Madden, who offered her a position immediately. Nellie accepted the job offer.

Not Your Usual Woman

“Could I last a week in the insane asylum?

I said I could. And I did.” -Nellie Bly

Nellie wanted to become a journalist to educate people and move people to change. She was afraid she could not excel in this career because she was a woman yet she was determined to fulfill this ambition and she started with the things she was most passionate about. Nellie was working as a journalist and undercover investigator for a newspaper. She went undercover as a sweatshop worker to reveal poor working conditions faced by women. In her reports she drew attention to the importance of women’s rights, something most journalists avoided in their writing. She earned $5 a week and was still living with her mother in Pittsburg. Elizabeth Cochran was going by the pen name Nellie Bly after a song. Nellie Bly was gaining fame and money for herself and her family. But then the newspaper she worked for moved her to the ‘woman’s page.’ Enraged by this setback, Nellie began researching a better paper that would treat her more fairly and pay her a larger salary. In 1887 Nellie moved to New York where she started to work for the New York World Newspaper. One of Nellie’s most famous investigative cases happened in this time. Her paper decided to give her an undercover assignment. Nellie was to go undercover as a mental patient at a mental institution. She lived as a mental patient there for 10 days and when she released herself wrote a book and a report on the terrible living conditions for patients in the asylum. The result of Nellie’s hard work was a major investigation of the asylum and several changes to the New York Department of Public Charities and Corrections. These included more funding for mentally ill patients, exams, and staff training at mental facilities. Nellie had become an investigative journalist. She had educated hundreds of people on hard working conditions, she had revealed the horrible conditions the patients of the asylum were living in, and she had written about women’s rights; something nobody did. And now she was going to be the first to sail around the world in under 100 days.

Nellie Bly’s Trip Around the World

“I was too impatient to work at the usual duties assigned to woman on newspapers.”

-Nellie Bly

Nellie did several more undercover and investigative reports which included; treatment of people in jails/factories, corruptions in the legislate, and several reports on famous people including Susan B. Anthony and Emma Goldman. In early 1889 Nellie was inspired by a famous book she read when she was little (Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne) and decided to set off on an 80 day journey around the world. She wanted it to be challenging so she made it a competition. Another newspaper would have a man set sail on the same day, going on a different route and whoever got back to New York first was the winner. Nellie set sail in November 1889. She traveled all over the world; first by boat, then by horse, then by rickshaw, and finally by car. Nellie completed her journey in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes, and 14 seconds, breaking records and winning the competition. When Nellie arrived home, a crowd of people awaited her, cheering her on until she stepped off the ship and returned home after 72 days away. Nellie Bly married the billionaire Robert Seaman. They moved back to Nellie’s home town together. Nellie’s husband died just a few years later. She took over his manufacturing company later that year. She supported fitness gyms and libraries and new inventions as the times progressed. Nellie kept working on her papers and books throughout the last years of her life. Nellie Bly died on January 27, 1922 from pneumonia. She was 57. Nellie’s legacy still thrives today. She is an inspiration to all who hear of her. At age 18 she became one of the first woman authors in newspapers and went on to become one of the most well known and most accomplished women in the world. She went from an innkeeper in Pittsburg to a investigative journalist who sailed around the world. She went from the Lonely Orphan Girl to the legend of Nellie Bly. Nellie Bly wrote her own story, one to remember and learn from.

“I have never written a word

that did not come from my heart.”  

-Nellie Bly    

Appendix

Appendix I.

Her Family

Nellie Bly had four brothers, two sisters, and eight other half siblings from both of her parents’ former marriages. She grew up in a household with 14 other children and her father and mother. Nellie’s father was a wealthy landowner in Pennsylvania. He founded the town Nellie and her siblings grew up in, Cochran’s Mills, Pennsylvania. He married twice, first to a woman who died after having six children, and then to Nellie’s mother, Mary Jane Cochran (maiden name Mary Jane Kennedy). She had four children with her second husband, including Nellie Bly. Mary Jane died of old age in 1921. Mildred Cochran Mclaughlin was Nellie’s oldest sibling, she was born June 5, 1851 in Cochran’s Mills Pennsylvania. She went on to marry a man by the last name of Mclaughlin and had several children. William Worth Cochran was born April 11, 1848 in the Mills. His mother, Catherine Murphy, died when he was younger and his father’s second wife, Nellie’s mother, took him in. Harry Cummings Cochran was born March 15, 1870 in Pennsylvania. He was one of Nellie’s four full brothers and named after a distant relative. Albert Paul Cochran was born on Halloween in Pennsylvania. He went on to marry and have several children of his own. Robert Scot Cochran was Nellie’s half sibling. Angela K. Cochran, John Michael Cochran, Julianna McGrahm, and Mary Ann Sanchez were all Nellie’s half siblings as well. Thomas Jefferson Cochran and George Washington Cochran were named after former presidents of the United States and Isabella Davis was the youngest sibling of the 14. Nellie had her hands full.

Appendix II.

My Thoughts on her Writing

Nellie had an amazing writing voice; it was powerful, strong and to the point. She had a large vocabulary and used big words to emphasise her ideas, yet kept things short when they were not as important. Nellie was a very funny person.She was kind and tried to help people whenever she could and I think people liked her because of it. At one point in her book Around the World in Seventy Two Days, Nellie is late for a boat and the man bringing her to the port asks her if she can run. She says “yes”, and together they run all the way through the town to the boat. Nellie says they laughed the whole way and the man thanked her afterwards for giving him such a wonderful time. I think Nellie tried to make a statement with her writing. She didn’t want it to be about her, she wanted it to be about the writing and the point she was trying to make. Nellie was strong-willed and did not like to be told what to do or how to do things. She was eager to learn and teach and she was not to be deterred from her dreams. Nellie didn’t care what people thought of her and in that way she was very different from most women of her time. It is clear that a lot of the people she spent her time with had some sexist ideas. At one point in one of her books a man was writing up her passport when he asked everyone else in the room to leave. He made Nellie swear to tell the truth before asking her how old she was and how much she weighed. Nellie laughed at the man and told him willingly her age and weight, not caring who knew. Over and over again in her books, Nellie displays unique skills and a strong mind. She wanted to educate people about the hardships for not only women of the time, but also the average citizen. She wanted to help and she was prepared to do anything to achieve her dreams.  

Appendix III.

Excerpts From Her Book

“Gather up all the real smart girls, pull them out of the mire, give them a shove up the ladder of life, and be amply repaid both by their success and unforgetfulness of those that held out the helping hand.” Nellie Bly said this in a report in early 1885. She was 18. This report got her a job at her first newspaper, a boost of confidence, and the greatest shove up the ladder of life anyone could get. Nellie signed this report as the “Lonely Orphan Girl”. A lot of people have looked at this name and thought about why she would call herself this. She was not an orphan; her mother was still well. She was not lonely; she had more than enough siblings. But at the same time she was an orphan. She was alone. Most of her siblings had moved out, gone along to find their own shoves up the ladder. Nellie had been left to fend for herself and her elderly mother. I think Nellie felt like she was alone. She was a girl in a steadily progressing world where if she didn’t become something more than an innkeeper and a daughter she would be forgotten and pushed aside in the race to get to the top. Here is the beginning of her first report:

What shall we do with our girls?

Not our Madame Neilisons; nor our Mary Anderson’s; not our Bessie Brambles nor our Maggie Mitchells; not our beaty or our heiress; not any of these, but those without talent, without beaty, without money. What shall we do with them? The anxious father still wants to know what to do with his five daughters. Well indeed may he wonder. Girls, since the existence of Eve, have been a worriement, to themselves as well as to their parents, as to what shall be done with them. They cannot, or will not, as in the case may be, all marry. Few, very few, posses the mighty pen of the late Jane Grey Swisshelm, and even writers, lecturers, doctors, preachers, and edits must have money  as well as ability to fit them to be such. What is to be done with the poor ones? The schools are overrun with teachers, the stores with clerks, the factories with employees. There are more cooks, chamber maids, and washerwoman than can find employment. In fact all places that are filled with women are overrun, and still there are idle girls, some with elderly parents depending on them. We cannot let them starve. They can that have full and plenty of this world’s goods, realize what it is to be a poor working woman, abiding in one or two bare rooms, without fire enough to keep warm, while her threadbare clothes refuse to protect her from the wind and cold, and denying herself necessary food that her little ones may not go hungry; fearing the landlords frown and threat to cast her out and sell what little she has, begging for employment of any kind that may earn enough to pay for the bare rooms she calls home, no one to speak kindly to encourage her, nothing to make life worth the living? If sin in the form of man comes forward with a wily smile and says ‘fear no more, your debts shall be repaid,’ she can not let her children freeze or starve, and so falls. Well, who shall blame her. Will it be you that have a comfortable home and a loving husband, sturdy, healthy children, fond friends – shall you cast the first stone? It must be so; assuredly it would not be cast by one similar situated. Not only the widow, but the poor maiden needs employment. Perhaps father is dead and mother is helpless, or just the reverse; or maybe both are dependant on her extensions, or an orphan entirely, as the case maybe.     

In this small page of words we see that Nellie was not going to sit and watch people mistreat girls that had nothing. Nellie paints a picture of what it was like for girls like her to live at the time. She makes a point to call out the wealthy’s flaws and clearly states that girls are just as worthy of she push up the ladder as anyone. Nellie would not stand by and watch as girls like her starved and ran out of money. She was going to make a difference no matter what. And she gave herself the first push up the ladder to doing that with this paper.

Nellie continued to write amazing reports and papers over her lifetime. When she went around the world in under 80 days she kept journals and notebooks and filled them with stories. When she returned, she pieced them together into a book of adventures. Here’s one of her stories:

CHAPTER I – A PROPOSAL TO GIRDLE THE EARTH.

WHAT gave me the idea?

It is sometimes difficult to tell exactly what gives birth to an idea. Ideas are the chief stock in trade of newspaper writers and generally they are the scarcest stock in market, but they do come occasionally,

This idea came to me one Sunday. I had spent a greater part of the day and half the night vainly trying to fasten on some idea for a newspaper article. It was my custom to think up ideas on Sunday and lay them before my editor for his approval or disapproval on Monday. But ideas did not come that day and three o’clock in the morning found me weary and with an aching head tossing about in my bed. At last tired and provoked at my slowness in finding a subject, something for the week’s work, I thought fretfully:

“I wish I was at the other end of the earth!”

“And why not?” the thought came: “I need a vacation; why not take a trip around the world?”

It is easy to see how one thought followed another. The idea of a trip around the world pleased me and I added: “If I could do it as quickly as Phileas Fogg did, I should go.”

Then I wondered if it were possible to do the trip eighty days and afterwards I went easily off to sleep with the determination to know before I saw my bed again if Phileas Fogg’s record could be broken.

Nellie Bly was one of the most influential people of her time. She was a smart, personable woman who knew who she wanted to be and how to change the world. Her writings are still important today.

Bibliography  

Bly, Nellie. Around the World in 72 Days. Pictorial Weeklies, 1890.

Bly, Nellie. Corrigan, Maureen. Lutes, Jean. Around the World in 72 Days and Other Writings. Penguin Classics, 2014.   

Bradner, Leisly. “Nellie Bly: Crusading Troublemaker.” History Net, February 2018, https://www.historynet.com/nellie-bly-troublemaker.htm  

Fessenden, Marissa. “Nellie Bly’s Record Breaking Trip Around the World Was, to her Surprise, a Race.” Smart News, January 25, 2016, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nellie-blys-record-breaking-trip-around-world-was-to-her-surprise-race-180957910/  

“Nellie Bly Biography.” Biography.com, January 21, 2019, https://www.biography.com/people/nellie-bly-9216680

“Nellie Bly.” Encyclopedia Britannica, January 23, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nellie-Bly  

Norwood, Arlisha. “Nellie Bly.”  National Women’s History Museum, 2017, https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/nellie-bly                   

“Pioneer Settlement in Indiana.” The History Museum, https://historymuseumsb.org/pioneer-settlement-in-indiana-1790-1849/     

Wills, Mathew. “Nellie Bly, Girl Reporter.” Daily, November 14, 2014, https://daily.jstor.org/nellie-bly-girl-reporter/