House with a Heart
Stranded on a remote country road, Jessie and her Native American friend, Rose Mary, seek shelter from a storm in an old abandoned house. But this house has a past, a spirit and a voice. After a rocky introduction, the house shares the story of its first occupants. This story is the tale of nearly every pioneer family in the rural Town of Ashford, New York.
The year is 1848. With only a wagon, a few belongings, two oxen and a cow, Michael and Sarah bring their young family to the recently opened wilderness of Northern Cattaraugus County. This formerly forbidden land of the Seneca Nation was, until recent years, nearly cut off from civilization by the rugged Cattaraugus Creek to the north and the deep forests of tier upon tier of hills and valleys to the south.
Follow the story of a real family in a real place at another time in history. Share in their joys and sorrows as they overcome the hardships of the wilderness to begin a new life in a tiny area of Western New York known as “Franktown”.
About Rick Iekel (Rochester, New York Author)
Rick Iekel is a husband, father of four, grandfather of ten, retired and writing. During a 35-year career in aviation, writing was a pastime for quiet Sunday afternoons and peaceful summer vacations in the Adirondack Mountains. As a storyteller, he maintains a lifelong fascination for real stories about real people in real places. “With real-life stories so entertaining,” he muses, “why would I try to create believable fiction?”
Raised on a farm in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, he now resides with his wife in Rochester, New York. House with a Heart, the story of the first family that built and lived in his childhood home, is Rick’s third book. Previously published are:
LIFE LINES, A Selection of Poetry Written by Helen Corrigan Iekel
The Candles of My Life, a biographical sketch of Helen Corrigan Iekel
