Like a Leaf Upon the Current Cast by Katie Willmarth Green


website of Katie Willmarth Green	writer/historian/genealogist

Purpose: sierragoldrushhistory.com provides a brief bio of my patchwork life and work, and a more or less dignified electronic trail of crumbs leading to a few of the more recent published writings -- namely, the books. The past and present newspaper articles and essays are currently archived in the elegant green drawer of my overstuffed filing cabinet. The most recent essays will eventually be published in chapbook form, but until then they can be read at www.voiceoftherivervalley.com. On that site is a link to essays following the Chippewa lunar calendar.

Deborah Whitney of Shady Flat: A Dauntless Girl of the Golden West

A new Gold Rush book! -- a fictionalized historical adventure story for "children of all ages". Deborah Whitney of Shady Flat is the mostly-true tale of a pioneer child born and raised in an historic gold and lumber camp along the North Yuba River in the mountains of Northern California. As the book opens, we see Debbie Whitney -- daughter of early emigrants -- as a fearless tomboy, impulsive, and also rather spoiled!

At this age, Debbie's ardent desire to test mental and physical boundaries clashes frequently with her parents' protectiveness. Her mother, especially, fears for Debbie's safety and reputation. Fixated on fairness, the girl condemns prejudice and other mean-spirited behavior around her -- and is blind to her own failings. A series of unexpected events shakes up Debbie's life, helping her to grow in understanding and goodness of heart.

This book examines burning issues and changing cultural values that were front and center in 1874 (when the story takes place), as seen through the eyes and actions of a child. They are essentially the same things parents and children still wrangle about today and in every age. It's a book for lovers of history and adventure, ages 10 and up, including adult readers who are young in spirit.

Like A Leaf Upon the Current Cast

Like A Leaf Upon the Current Cast explores the history of life along a section of the North Yuba River from pre-Gold Rush times to the present. In it local events are nestled into the larger picture of the region, the State, the Republic, and the planet.

By using Sierra County as representative of what happened in the goldfields all over California, I sketch how the Gold Rush destroyed the sleepy, balanced world of the Native Americans and replaced it first with anarchy and then with a quirky, independent subculture that still holds sway today.