Monday, January 26, 2015



I grew up hearing a legend about my great-great-grandfather burying treasure so his brother wouldn’t find it. Long story, but that’s what we heard. He was one of two men who ran the Old Red Light District in Los Angeles, California. 


Several years later, when I was working on family history, I found out that it wasn’t just a family legend, but it was a story that had made the rounds in Old Los Angeles. After his death, the family tried to find it in the early 1900s. Nothing.

He and his legend inspired A Well-Kept Family Secret - A Sandi Webster Mystery. Although this story took place today, it involved the 1800s. There was a lot of research to be done. I discovered an old newspaper article about the treasure while researching. As late as the 1940s, people were still searching for it. Interesting?

I read an article in the newspaper back in the 1990s about an archaeological project in Los Angeles, and it involved the area where my great-great-grandfather did business. Fascinated, I contacted the archaeologist in charge. He sent me a great amount of information which included so much more than I’d expected. He has no idea how thankful I am.

I included a buried treasure in Awkward Moments - A Bogey Man Mystery, too. Interestingly, not long after this book was released, there was an article in the newspaper about a couple taking a stroll around their property, and lo and behold, they found a buried treasure. I think I mentioned this in an earlier post.

Wow! Reality mimicking fiction? It happens.

Recently I found another interesting article in the newspaper. In the remote mountains of eastern Nevada, someone discovered an old Winchester rifle resting against a juniper tree during an archaeological survey. The serial number was still visible on the gun and it was determined it was manufactured in 1882. It’s possible the rifle has rested against that tree since the late 1800s.

Herbert Houze is the former curator of what became known as the Cody Firearms Museum in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, which is located in Cody, Wyoming. After looking at photos of the gun he said it blended in so well with its surroundings that it wasn’t surprising no one had found it until now. Someone on the project apparently just happened to look at the tree in just the right light, at just the right moment.

The wooden stock on the rifle is cracked but still intact. The barrel is rusted. I can’t help but wish I’d been the one to find it.

One would have to wonder who left the gun leaning against the tree, and why they never went back for it. Did he get lost? Was there a bear attack? Was he injured in an accident? This is a mystery that may never be solved, but please, someone take the idea and run with it. Write a mystery revolving around the rifle. It would be a book I’d like to read.

I went on a trek with a few other people a few years ago. We were accompanying a gentleman creating an archaeological map for a new area about to be studied. We found all kinds of Indian artifacts (which we left onsite), and it amazed me when I realized we were seeing things no one had laid eyes on in hundreds, or quite possibly, a thousand years. Exciting stuff!


When you least expect it, you might find an article in the newspaper that grabs hold of you and won’t let go. Legends can grab you, too. So can a simple walk down a trail.

I know some people don’t care much about history, but I do and these articles put a hem in my skirt. Well, I generally wear jeans, but you get the idea.

Until next time, if you’ve ever made a discovery, please share it with us. You could stir up someone’s imagination and a good book might be born.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website
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COMING SOON: How Now Purple Cow – A Bogey Man Mystery. What could purple cows and elderly spies possibly have to do with each other? Ask the Bogey Man.

18 comments:

  1. I thoroughly enjoyed this post, Marja. Most newspaper stories that tickle my fancy are about weird people and crimes. When I wrote historicals, though, I found lots of old newpaper stories that got my imagination going.

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    1. Thank you, Marilyn. Some of the oddest stories appear in the newspaper and they almost always grab my attention. There really are some odd people and crimes, though. Thank you so much for commenting!

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  2. Interesting information as background for your books. We often use items in the news in our mysteries. They add an air of realism to the story.

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    1. They really get our minds working, Lorna. A touch of realism really keeps a story and the reader going. Thank you so much for commenting!

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  3. Great post, Marja! When I was young, my family used to visit my great-grandparents in their home in a rural Oklahoma community. My great-grandfather used to tell tales of his family that intrigued me, especially how our family name became Chancey instead of Chauncy. In other words there used to be feuds equaling the Hatfields and the McCoys but I have no idea why. A great many things have been lost through the years and there are few that I or my remaining cousins remember. As for getting ideas from newspapers, I seldom do that. A lot of my ideas come from the people I meet in my life's journey.

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    1. Thank you, Pat. One of our family names was McFerrin, but it was changed to McFearin simply because there were spelling issues within the family. They spelled it the way they heard it. I think your story is much more exciting. I wish you knew the details. Life really does throw some interesting people in our path. Thank you so much for commenting!

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  4. Great post, Marja!
    I think that history, especially family history, is exciting. I've gotten so many ideas to use in my mystery series from stories my grandparents told me. We even have a skeleton in the family closet on my father's side of the family. I'm not going to reveal the story though because it's something I just might use in a future book. :)

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    1. Thank you, Patricia. I can't wait to find out what the skeleton is all about. And I wonder how many authors actually base fiction on stories from their family. Interesting. We'll never know. Thank you so much for commenting!

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  5. I enjoyed your Well Kept Family Secret novel, Marja, as well as your other books. As a former news reporter, I know the value of researching newspaper morgues for unusual stories. When I ws young and foollish, I spent two years at a microfilm machine reading 100 years' worth of old newspapers to write a centennial history book that eventually became a college textbook. (My eyes have never been the same.) : )

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    1. Thank you, Jean. One only has to read your historical book to know how much research you've done. Congratulations on your book becoming a textbook. That would be music to my ears. Thank you so much for commenting!

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  6. Awesome to have such an interesting ancestral figure!

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    1. I'm afraid he wasn't a very nice person, Morgan, although that isn't surprising. I saw a man in a Mexican restaurant that made me feel like I was watching him. He was my model for the character in the book. Thank you so much for commenting!

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  7. Enjoyed the read, Marja. Stories of lost treasure always stir the imagination. I'm surprised more writers haven't realized what a great source of story idea abound in old (and new) newspapers. I do a history column for two local newspapers and the old microfilmed ones are my main resource.

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    1. Thank you, John. When researching family history, I recall finding a horrendous story about a murder (not family related). We forget that ugly things happened in the "old days", too. It sound like you do an interesting and absorbing column. Thank you so much for commenting!

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  8. Excellent post, as always, Marja. Newspapers are a great source of ideas for novels or short stories. A 94,000 word book I have coming out either late 2015 or early 2016 came from a three paragraph story in the L.A. Times.

    Of course, old family tales offer another great source. Sounds like you are tapping into both of these. Thanks for an interesting post.

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    1. Thank you, Jim. It's amazing that a three paragraph story could lead to a bestseller (thinking positive). Best wishes with the new book. Thank you so much for commenting!

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  9. Marja, I'm fascinated by history, artifacts, and legends. A few years ago, I visited the tiny town of Hico, TX. Their legend is that, contrary to accepted history, Billy the Kid died in Hico in 1950 at the age of 90 instead of at the age of 21 at the end of Pat Garrett's gun. I worked that into a short story involving a modern day bounty hunter traveling to Hico to find a bail jumper named Billy. Legend and fact collided in "Where Billy Died." I'm quite proud of that story, especially since it brought home a Derringer Award. Legends are unmined treasures of storytelling. Earl Staggs

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    1. I am, too, Earl. I've read your short story and I was fascinated by it. There are so many legends to draw from, and you did a wonderful job with this one. Thank you for entertaining me, and thank you for commenting!

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