On Genesee Hill, QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

[fiona]

Jon: Annie Laurie was a popular song written by Stephen Foster, during the Civil War. The tune is very slow. It was written for piano.

[fiona]

Dave: to answer your question about the relationship between the two girls, yes, that is my (our) plan, to have them meet and Annie will live with the family and be Mary B's ladies maid. The second question: Mr. Wood went back to get the box on the parlour table at his wife's request. That's when the family became seperated. I would like to introduce the box in the beginning of the story. What kind of a box do you think it should be? I was thinking "cinnabar", a reddish stone from the orient, that can be carved beautifully. They were all the rage in the late 1890"s for jewelry and sometimes they held opiates. Anyhow, the "box" was precious enough that he went back for it. Think of the story the Monkey's paw by O'Henry as an example of a twist of fate. Could their lives have been saved if Mr. Wood had not gone back for the box? We'll never know but we can surmise that Mr. Wood regretted that decision until his dying day. I should begin tomorrow by posting an introductionalong with some bios. If you want me to wait until your ready to post let me know here.

[dgriffin]

Fiona: Should we discuss your last post, above, here or in which thread? It's not clear to me where we're discussing plots or characters.

Maybe you could say more about what goes in what thread.

[fiona]

Dave: I think I am confusing myself. And I am sorry for confusing you. I thought it would be a good idea to put the intro, the bios and the plot lines in the Sullivan thread and save this area for questions and comments. Mabye it won't work, due to the nature of the project. Let's give it a try and see how it goes. If it doesn't work out, well, we can move things around. So, let's discuss the last post here, if you don't mind. Tonite I'll start posting some bios in Sullivan and then tell me what you think. Each bio can be a bit lengthy, so I can only do a few at a time, but a list of characters will open up the story to readers, especially those who haven't gone through the History of the Fire and don't know what were talking about. And , if they really want to, they can refer back to the History of the Fire. Right now I see this project as being the backstory of the individuals who lived it. I am hoping it can be interactive with postings, maps, postcards, your art work and short stories, ect; and that Jon can post his great history as we go along. I am going over to the Sullivan now. See you later.

[dgriffin]

OK, I was going to comment about Mr. Wood going back while they were in mid-escape, so to speak.

My first thought isthat I believe Jon was working on putting together a complete file of the newspaper stories, so that we could use Word or some text program to search for characters, facts, etc. That would be so much easier than trying to scan through the same material as it was posted in the Genesee Flats thread, especially since the search facility on this forum is quite limited, and in my experience, doesn't always work. And we should not forget the lesson of what was lost on Mezzanini's thread when he left us high and dry without our research and posts. (There's never been an explanation offered in regard to that, nor a question answered, nor even an acknowledgment to our questions.)

Now, to Mr. Wood. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember that while enroute to an exit, Mr and Mrs. Wood and their daughter Mary stopped, and Mr. Wood told them to wait while he went back for a box. When Mrs. Wood and Mary had been waiting a while, along came another party of residents, who convinced Mrs. Wood to accompany them. Frightened and thinking Mr. Wood may have been unable to get back to her, but had hopefully found another way out, Mrs. Wood and Mary went along with the other party, but a few minutes later left them, evidently to go back and wait for or find Mr. Wood. Mrs. Wood and Mary were never seen alive again. The party they had briefly joined made it to safety.
Mr. Wood had returned to their flat and met another party passing through his living room along the escape route that the Flat's builders had intended, north or south from balcony to balcony on the front of the building.

[ASIDE: Each flat's living room had two front doors, one leading to a balcony on the left and another leading to a balcony on the right. This was a convenience and a safety feature. On a summer evening, you had a choice of balconies for your use, in case one neighbor was using either. Plus, the balconies were built on the somewhat fireproof brick front of the building. (Most of the Genesee Flats was built of wood.) To escape in a north or south direction from your apartment, which stretched from the front of the building to almost the back, you went to the front of the building and walked out on a balcony, then walked into your neighbor's living room and out on to the next balcony, progressing away from the danger. This route would only be successful if your neighbor's doors were unlocked and unblocked by furniture. The idea was for residents to leave their front doors unlocked, considered safe because they were at least one story above ground. But few did, evidently. Plus, to augment wall space, the doors were often blocked with furniture.]

If I remember correctly, Mr. Wood helped the party passing through his living room. I think the smoke in main hall across the back of the building by that time no longer allowed him to leave the apartment anyway. I'm not sure what he did to help, possibly he helped them to get down to the next floor, dropping from balcony to balcony, in hopes that a path was clear through more living rooms on the floor below, where they could possibly make their way to an end of the building free of smoke and fire. At some point Mr. Wood felt that his wife and Mary would have gone on without him and on to safety. When he finally got out of the building, he headed to the Albrights across the street assuming he would find them there.

If Annie Sullivan the character were with the Wood family as their maid, this would be an excellent position from which to tell the story. She's practically Mary's friend, she is frightened out of her wits, she might choose face the choice of accompanying the women or (for some reason) Mr. Wood. She may stay with the women and with them join the party that came along, but then refuse to go back with Mrs. Wood and Mary when want to retrace their steps through the smokey gloom, pleading with the women to stay with the group. Lots of possibilities.

TWO QUESTIONS:
1. Do I have the facts relatively straight?
2. It occurs to me I never wondered how anyone could get lost in the fire, even though I'm a past volunteer fireman and am aware that you can see absolutely nothing in a smoke filled space, even when there are lights. But in the case of the Flats, there is only (per floor) one main hallway across the back of the building, from stairway to stairway. True? Well, I guess only 3 people got lost to the extent that they lost their lives. Mrs. Wood, her daughter and Mr. Noble Hopkins.

[dgriffin]

If "On Genesee Hill" is going to be interactive, everyone will have to know and be able to confirm the current state of the materials produced. E.g., if you want to suggest an action for a character, it would be helpful to know the latest plot line. It might be difficult to place a plot description, character synopsis, etc. in a place on this forum that is easy to find. Version 1.2 appearing in Reply # 22 on one thread, and the later Version 1.3 appearing in reply # 131 in possibly another thread just won't be very useful.

So, how about a page on my website? As long as it is text only (with the exception of photos that are already in my webspace, which includes most of the the photos in these Genesee threads) it shouldn't take up too much webspace.

By the power vested in me by absolutely no one, I hereby appoint Fiona the final arbiter regarding plot, characters, story, action, etc., although we will all contribute. (I'm also writing a separate story.)

So, those of you who will participate, now or later, let us know what you think.

[fiona]

Yes, Dave, you are very right. He went back for the box that was on the parlour table at his wife's request. The rest of the time line and action you posted is very close to what we have read in the old papers. So, we will leave it as that is what he did. Yes, Annie could have done any of those things, as I have her as Mary B's ladies maid. not the family maid. There are lots of possibilities. Please read my intro in "Sullivan" which I posted tonite. Also, remember that I have 90% of "The Flats" hardcopied and in a binder so I can look up facts very fast. I am going to copy the other 10% this upcoming week. I don't think Clipper would ever go the route of Joe Mezz, but something else could happen. Also, let me point out that, according to the accounts, the "serving girl" came out of the building alone and when interviewed by the reporter as to why she was sitting down on the sidewalk a ways from the fire. She replied that "she was putting her shoes on the right feet, as she had left the building in such a hurry, that she had put her shoes on the wrong feet." And yes, the layout of the building is correct, one long hall along the back, and don't forget, the building was a labryinth of halls and stairs, so it was easy to get lost. I will begin posting some bios as early as tomorrow night.

[dgriffin]

Was the "labyrinth of halls" due to and including the halls that ran front to back along each flat? Or were there other halls. That's never been crystal clear to me. Nor has the nature of these halls, one each evidently contained in every flat. In any event, not including these "Flat Halls," wouldn't there be only one hall (the back hall) per floor? That's what I'm unclear about.

Thanks for the historical clarification of the shoes incident. I like my version better!
There's more action and sympathy in her trying to stand up, falling down in the snow.
But you're the boss.

[fiona]

No thanks. I don't want to be the boss of anything. I want this to be shared project. You're idea about the shoes is very good so we can use it. We really don't know anything other than what the reporter told us. The reporter made have "invented the character and incident" for the sake of a story for all we know. About the halls, there was one long back hall along the east side (back) of the building from which all other halls and stairways connected. The Olbiston and the Kanatenah were constructed in the same way. Also, the flats were French Flats, some would call them railroad apts, and they were constructed like dumbells. Each flat had along internal hallway from which the rooms extended. The public rooms were in the front, chambers (bed rooms) off the hall, and the kitchen in the back, facing east.

[fiona]

About your website: I am not really sure what you are asking, but I can see the confusion, re: plot lines, ect. I want it to be interactive and as open as possible, as long as a person sticks to the plot and time line. Do you want the bios and tentative plot lines to go up on your website? I want to start some postings tonite. I have a plot in mind, at least for the few opening chapters, but that can always change as new ideas and information come available. Let's keep looking for a song also. That's a good idea.

[dgriffin]

Well, it's just that we don't have a easy-to-find place to keep the story, as it gets developed. Or maybe I'm not understanding what you're intending. Yes, interactive, but someone has to finally decide after everyone's input that the first scene takes place in the basement, for example, with certain characters, action, dialog, etc. And then, of course, it gets written. Where does all of that go? Peppered among the thread replies, it will be hard to find, if someone wants to update themselves on the story so that their interactive participation will relate to what's was done to that point.

Here's a possible scene. Where should I put it? (Assuming we want to use it.)

Annie couldn't for the life of her figure out why she couldn't stand. "I got here, didn't I?" she thought, "Oh, Jesus, where was Mary? Why did I leave her?" Annie lunged to her feet once more and began to run toward the road. Her feet twisted underneath her and the young woman went sprawling into the mud surface of Genesee Street. She quickly twisted around, sat up and looked at her feet. Her shoes were on the wrong feet! She wasn't going anywhere far unless she switched them. At the sound of hooves, she glanced over her shoulder to see 4 horses bearing down down her, their steaming breath snorting through flared nostrils in the frigid morning air. She quickly bent forward and began to unlace the shoes. The horses were now pounding a path directly at her, ice and snow and mud kicking up from their feet in every direction. "Oh, God. Oh, God," she wailed, lying back and trying to kick the shoes off But they were tied too well, too tightly. How the heck had she managed to do that when Mary first woke her, she couldn't remember. "Feckin' shoes," she shouted. "I didn't get outta the feckin' fire to die like a feckin' dog in the feckin' street!" With all her might, Annie flipped her body toward the curb, landing in an upright position on the curb as the horse and the chemical engine rumbled past, trampling the spot that almost been her grave. "Are you all right?" a male voice came from behind her. "Where the feckin' hell were YOU!" she wanted to say. But always the maid, she simply said, "Yes. I guess I got the wrong shoes on my feet."

Or something like that.

[fiona]

OK Dave. I understand what you're saying. I sometimes find it very hard to communicate my thoughs or ideas through the internet and working on a project like this you really need to have live chat with others. I like the piece, it makes a great opening. Nothing has to be perfectly polished- these are our thoughts as we feel, think them. We can use flash backs as well to tell the story. About posting the story in the middle of replies, I can see your point. t
The original impetus would be lost, the readers and possibly the writers focus gone also. So, do you want to do this on your website? I think I could send you a couple of scenes and you could tell me if you like them or fit them in. I don't think there is any perfect way to do this, but, yes, there is a better way. This is all new to me, as I am a visual artist, who usually works alone, but I have this story in my head. It won't let me go. I have a tentative plot in my head also that would help you surely. Suppose I send it to your e mail in a few days and you can look it over. I think that would work. About your scene- it's a great beginning, just says enough.We know why this girl is lying in the road, but the reader doesn't! We want them to keep reading to find out why! If OK I will e you my plot, the begin to post the bios. A few days won't matter. I will also write a second scene to add to your first, but won't post it yet. In the visual arts this process is called an "exquisite corpse" where two or more people work on a painting and each person can change some or none of the others work. I will wait to hear from you.

[fiona]

Dave: I found a song that I have on a recording called "after the Ball" written in 1891 by Charles Harris. If you go to Wikkipedia there is a great graphic of the front page of the sheet music. It's a waltz written in 3/4 time.

[fiona]

Dave: I am working on a fine scene based on your opening.

[dgriffin]

I'm not sure the Road Scene makes a good opener. I think it needs an introduction, and of course would require a flashback to tell the story. Flashbacks should be avoided, I've always thought, on the first pass.
But that's a decision that can be made later. Trick now is to get a few of the scenes laid out for a feel of the piece, I'd think. And such an approach used in an interactive process would allow people to be working on stuff simultaneously.

At the moment, I'm not sure if my separate story is about Annie or Mary B. or both. But I'm really interested in the song, Blue Eyed Mary, and will use its lyrics to express a girlish romantic interest in each other. I think it can add an electric spark to the story and heighten the sadness.

Here's the Sheet Music cover you mentioned on Wiki.