White Wool and Yellow Gold

In the early 1900s, newlyweds Mary and John Marcus, settle in a remote mining town in Idaho’s Owyhee Mountains. Mary soon figures out that John’s single-minded pursuit of gold takes precedence over the practicalities of providing for his growing family. Mary steps into that role with her homesteading capabilities and independent nature, knowing the survival of her family is at stake. However, their divergent paths soon threaten their marriage and even their survival. The author’s firsthand experience of time and place allows the reader to smell the dust of the new town of Caldwell; feel the isolation of winters in Wagontown; and hear the rumbling of the DeLamar Mine. It was a time of freighters, steam locomotion, and foot travel; kerosene lanterns and home births; when survival depended on constant, arduous work and the inter-dependency of families and community. White Wool and Yellow Gold was published posthumously by the author’s granddaughter. While the story is fictional, it is a remarkable account of life in the early 1900s.