Saturday, September 17, 2016

My Boss Is Driving Me Crazy...

by Chloe Ellefson

of the Chloe Ellefson Historic Sites Mysteries

by Kathleen Ernst







I'm not a complete idiot. But my boss seems to think I am. Has that ever happened to you? Frankly, it's maddening.

I work as a curator at Old World Wisconsin, a large historic site where over fifty historic structures have been restored and brought back to life by interpreters in period clothing. It's a wonderful place.


The Kvaale Farm, home to Norwegian immigrants.
The site is busy every day, but we occasionally have special events too. When my colleague Byron asked me to help plan and pull off the site's first Civil War reenactment, I was happy to agree. Byron and I were excited about the chance to focus on homefront activities.

The Sanford Farm, in the Yankee area.
We have three farms that have been restored to the Civil War era, and a Crossroads Village---perfect for talking about things like recruitment, women's relief activities, and the draft.

The Four Mile Inn--perfect for a recruitment rally.
We were making plans when Ralph Petty, site director, announced he wanted to do a battle reenactment instead. Now, I love a good battle reenactment as much as anyone. But we have a rare opportunity to focus on social themes. Why not take advantage of it?  So Byron and I are forging ahead despite Petty's threats of dismissal if our program is not an unequivocal (i.e., financial) success.

Byron and I are committed to the event. But plans got derailed when an unidentified reenactor was found dead at the 1860 German farm.

The Schulz Farm, where the poor man died.
Now I'm trying to help the cops, trying to make plans for the reenactment, trying to supervise my new hyper-shy intern, trying to complete the make-work project Petty dumped on me as punishment for not agreeing with his perspective, and hoping I can get through the event without getting fired or finding any more dead reenactors.

*****

GIVEAWAY!  Leave a comment below and you'll be in the running to win a signed and personalized copy of A Memory of Muskets.  The giveaway ends at midnight on September 19th.  Please include your email (ex., Jane.Doe -at- JaneDoe.com) so I can contact the winner.

A Memory of Muskets, the 7th Chloe Ellefson Mystery, will launch on October 8.

To learn more about this award-winning series, visit Kathleen Ernst's website.






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173 comments:

  1. Karen KSeptember 17, 2016 at 12:08 AM

    I can't wait to read this! Thanks for the chance.
    karen(dot)kenyon(at)rogers(dot)com

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    Replies
    1. Kathleen ErnstSeptember 17, 2016 at 10:56 PM

      Thanks, Karen! You're entered.

      Delete
  • Donna ESeptember 17, 2016 at 11:26 AM

    Oh this should be a great read. When young, hubby was part of a civil war calvary group. Don't know that they did battle reenactments, but they held bivouacs, dressed in authentic costumes, carried sabers, rode, and trained.
    donna (dot) durnell (at) sbcglobal (dot) net

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    Replies
    1. Kathleen ErnstSeptember 17, 2016 at 11:03 PM

      Donna, as you know, it can be an engrossing hobby. I was active for about a decade, and had some amazing experiences. Like any other hobby group, there's a lot of diversity, which can provide great fodder for a mystery writer! ;>)

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