What is known as Ashland today was historically less of a destination than a crossroads. Native Americans had passed through the valley for centuries, often establishing small villages. Farmers in search of new lands followed the Applegate Trail, bringing their wagons through the area on their way north to the fertile Willamette Valley. Gold seekers, coming and going to California, or on their way to the nearby tent town called Table Rock City (Jacksonville), came through as well. A handful of men, though, some fresh from the California goldfields, sought a more stable way of making a living and decided that outfitting those afflicted with gold fever might prove more profitable. Over time, mills, a Chautauqua, a lithia water experiment, a railroad terminal, a college, and finally an award-winning Shakespeare festival with an eight-and-a-half-month season, coupled with numerous "best places to retire" articles, have culminated in Ashland becoming a destination in itself.
Famous for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland has a deep history that goes far beyond the stage. From a 160-year-old unsolved murder to a newcomer whose "healing hands" drew people from all over the country, the town has attracted its fair share of unique characters. Vladimir Nabokov came to pursue his favorite hobby, butterfly collecting, while writing his famously controversial novel, Lolita, and an actor turned entrepreneur became one of the foremost recyclers long before it was mainstream. Discover the story behind Ashland's golf course cemetery and the gloveless baseball team of 1884. Join local historian Joe Peterson as he explores the fascinating past of this colorful town.
Lost somewhere between the Kent State shootings and the death of the light-track, this is the story of a boy, his girl, two buddies, growing up, falling in love, and that fine line which separates sanity from insanity.
In Dublin, 1918, a maternity ward at the height of the Great Flu is a small world of work, risk, death, and unlooked-for love, in "Donoghue's best novel since Room" (Kirkus Reviews). In an Ireland doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city center, where expectant mothers who have come down with the terrible new Flu are quarantined together. Into Julia's regimented world step two outsiders—Doctor Kathleen Lynn, a rumoured Rebel on the run from the police, and a young volunteer helper, Bridie Sweeney. In the darkness and intensity of this tiny ward, over three days, these women change each other's lives in unexpected ways. They lose patients to this baffling pandemic, but they also shepherd new life into a fearful world. With tireless tenderness and humanity, carers and mothers alike somehow do their impossible work. In The Pull of the Stars, Emma Donoghue once again finds the light in the darkness in this new classic of hope and survival against all odds.
Nestled between the Siskiyou and Cascade mountain ranges, Ashland, Oregon, is surrounded by an endless majestic landscape. The essence of this small town and its environment, home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Southern Oregon University, is captured here by 33 local photographers. By poring over these pages, you can explore scenic countryside, including Lithia Park, Mt. Ashland, Grizzly Peak, and Emigrant Lake. Breathtaking views of seasonal foliage and enchanting wildlife may convince you to plan a trip to this charming and bounteous destination. Visitors enjoy Ashland's trendy restaurants, quaint bookstores, and relaxing spas. Many return frequently to rekindle fond memories of its warm civic spirit and rugged beauty. It's no wonder that Ashland has been named "One of the 20 Best Small Towns in America!" by Smithsonian Magazine.
In 1837, the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad laid its iron-capped wooden rails from Richmond to Aquia Creek. There, passengers could meet a stagecoach that would transport them to the railroad-owned steamship line and cruise up the Potomac to Washington. In between their outset and destination was a boggy, overgrown area known as the Slashes, which seemed the perfect rest stop for weary travelers during the 1850s. The region was renamed Ashland, after native son Henry Clays home in Kentucky. By 1867, the Civil War had brought economic collapse and a resultant depression, and as a town that had relied on revenue from gambling, horseracing, and other leisure activities, Ashland faced serious challenges to its very existence. Randolph-Macon College, originally in Mecklenburg County, made a deal with Ashland that would save both the town and the nations oldest Methodist college by reestablishing its campus along their railroad tracks.
Caroline Lion is an exceptionally imaginative author. Her talent, diligence and discipline have produced many entertaining and illuminating books over the years and Ive enjoyed them all. Alan Rinzler (co-founder Rolling Stone Magazine) Id follow Caroline (Kitty) Lion to the edges of the Serengeti ...and farther. Tom Robbins (best selling novelist) These are the words that have been used to describe the writing of Caroline Lion: Scintillating, wild, vivid, painfully true, entertaining, conscious, real, mystical, healing, compassionate, artistic, foundational, observant, piercing, prophetic, fun, jarring, edgy, and brilliant. Ashlandia can be seen as the place where two paths meet...the study of Torah with the study of fiction; the beat/hippie New Age generations with modern midrash. Its written with respect and love for all people who know the many hurdles we face on the Ashlandia path. Caroline Lion
A bundle of four books in the Ashland series, FINDING FLYNN, FALLING FOR HUDSON, FREEING JUDE, and FIGHTING FOR JAX. FINDING FLYNN When the drama in your life is crazier than fiction, anyone would want to escape. Bookworm Ashtyn is fed up with the immature rich boys who fill her high school. Her parents' marriage is on self-destruct mode. And her sister puts on a facade of perfection. Now her mom is running away and dragging Ashtyn with her. Finding herself in the middle of nowhere right before her senior year, she has no qualms about turning anything around. A distraction is just what the doctor ordered, and he comes in a tall, dark, and tattooed rocker package. At night, Flynn slings drinks as a bartender. During the day, the success of his band is the only thing on his mind. Neither was looking for love, but they can't deny their sizzling attraction. As the summer heats up so does their relationship, but will a secret that Flynn is keeping be enough to tear them apart or is their connection strong enough to withstand anything? FALLING FOR HUDSON What would you do if you suddenly lost your parents? Becoming an orphan right before her senior year is not something Chloe had on her agenda. Neither was moving away from the only home she's ever known. Rather than dealing with her grief she drowns her sorrows in a liquor-induced haze and relies heavily on Hudson. The only person who truly has her happiness in mind. With his band starting to take off the only thing missing from Hudson's life is someone to share it with. Lost in an internal battle between being the friend Chloe needs and the boyfriend she wants his resolve soon weakens when they find themselves locked in their school's auditorium for a long weekend. When these friends decide to finally become lovers, could a misunderstanding break their already unstable foundation? Or will they persevere and be exactly what the other needs? FREEING JUDE What happens in the past never truly stays there. Abbie dreams of an Olympic gold medal came crashing to the ground as a result of a former taboo relationship with her coach. With a fresh start, her thoughts are no longer consumed by gymnastics and the future she'll never have. Recently emancipated and freed from his past, Jude is finally going after his dreams, and nothing is standing in his way. Marlowe, the pop-punk band he's in is taking off and now he's determined to get the girl. A major event will change not only their lives but the small town they live in forever. Are Abbie and Jude strong enough to make it through and be free of their demons? Or will the weight of it all be their undoing? FIGHTING FOR JAX What would you do for a second shot at true love? When she was 17, Erin made a decision that would forever change everything. With fierce determination and hard work, she's found success but at the price of her happiness. Four years later, Erin has an opportunity to right the wrongs of her past and help the one person she's never stopped loving. Jax embraces his new rock star lifestyle. Women. Booze. Drugs. When he's given an ultimatum by his bandmates to clean up or leave the band, Jax agrees to accept help from the one person who has the ability to break him. Again. When Erin and Jax return to her family's ranch in Texas they're forced to face the ghosts of their past and decide if the time apart has changed the love they once shared. They must answer a question that neither is prepared to face - Can your first love remain your true love? Together they're given a second chance. At life. At love. At everything. BONUS: Includes the short story A Very Marlowe Christmas, previously published in the charity Anthology Love, Snow & Mistletoe.
On September 13, 1804, Henry Clay entered into an agreement to purchase 125 acres on Todd's Road just outside the city limits of Lexington, Kentucky. With this transaction, Clay began the creation of one of Lexington's most important sites. Over the next two centuries, Ashland would be home to five generations of one of Kentucky's first families. Ashland would also be the source of some of Kentucky's finest horses; the location of a small but important Civil War skirmish; the birthplace of the state's flagship university; the home to one of the state's first museums; one of Lexington's first subdivisions; and finally a National Historic Landmark. Many books have been written about Henry Clay, Ashland's creator and most important resident, but this is the first to tell the story of his beloved farm and personal retreat.
