March 8, 190611:45 p.m.The Anning’s House I can see the porch light on for me as Nick’s driver pulls up to the curb in front of the Anning’s house, he’s bringing me home in the Van Sant’s buggy. I thank him, got out of the buggy, stand on the sidewalk […]
January 18, 1906Van Sant & WilsonSterling, Illinois The clock in the outer office chimed 8 pm. I had been reading the newspapers in the package from home for almost two hours. I admit it; I was homesick and lonely. I devoured everything in all of the newspapers from Pensacola, Marianna, […]
January 18, 1906Van Sant & WilsonSterling, Illinois … I must admit it. The trip to Morrison didn’t go well at all. The entire train ride home, I tried to be philosophical about it. I’m still new here. I don’t know everyone here. It is going to take more than one […]
January 18, 1906Sterling, Illinois I returned to the office late in the afternoon, after spending a day and a half in Morrison, at court. Our office secretary, Miss Delp, handed me a few letters in a folder that required my signature. No other messages? I’d asked. “No, Mr. Wilson”, she […]
October 11, 2016Chevy Chase, Maryland Those first few weeks in Sterling were an eye-opener for Emmett Wilson. Probably for Nicholas Van Sant as well. It isn’t that Emmett didn’t think he wouldn’t have anything to catch up on once he’d moved from Florida; he had a lot on his list […]
April 29, 2015Chevy Chase, Maryland Even though Emmett knew him from their college days at Stetson University, and had maintained a connection through correspondence, he didn’t know everything about his friend, colleague, and mentor, Nicholas Van Sant. Emmett thought he did; after all, he had good role models before (his […]
April 29, 1905Marianna, Florida4:30 p.m. Although my office door was ajar, there was a slight knock. It was Long. “Here’s the afternoon mail,” he said, placing a stack of letters and a rolled up newspaper on my desk. “Anything you need doing before I leave?” “No, nothing. Have a good […]
April 28, 1905Marianna, FloridaWilson & Wilson11:40 am The windows of the second floor law offices of Wilson & Wilson, were open; even though it could get a bit stuffy in April; there was a fresh breeze blowing gently into the outer office/reception room. At the large oak desk in the […]
September 15, 2014 Chevy Chase, MD My relationship with Sue Tindal, Deputy Clerk, Jackson County (FL) Clerk of Courts began with a cold call — a cold email message — actually. I admit I dithered over it for a week or more. After decades of being in this business I […]
In the early 1900s, if you got your name in the newspaper, it was a big deal. It indicated prominence in your community. In Pensacola, these columns were mostly found in the Society section of the paper, with little headings over each news blurb; if you were a businessman or […]
