Alisa Weis's Blog

Roslyn Black Pioneers(Roslyn Pioneers: Jim Shepperson, wearing suspenders, is the businessman who didn't tell Black miners in the eastern and midwestern states that they'd be arriving at the peak of a strike. Also pictured is Ethel Florence Williams (Craven) being held by her father, David Williams. Photo courtesy of the Craven family).Pioneering Spirit Back in 1900, 22% of Roslyn was comprised of African American residents. The majority of Black families arrived in 1888/1889, after the call for...

Samuel Craven, one of Roslyn's most respected miners, beloved husband to Ethel Florence Williams Craven, loving father to 13 (image courtesy of the Craven family)Roslyn’s Black Pioneers: Unearthing a History Every August the Craven family upholds an important tradition that began back in 1889. Passersby might take a glimpse of the large African American family and friends celebrating at the Cle Elum Park and not realize there’s more to the scene than a roasted pig, delicious homecooked sides, s...

The Emblem is told in two time periods, the 1930's and the late 1880's. Here's a passage that follows one of the first Black miners to Roslyn, WA. His name is David Ward.1889When David saw the letter left on Bella Johnson’s kitchen counter, he sought the privacy hard to come by in the boarding house. Bella’s husband, Gerald, offered him a bowl of soup, but he couldn’t hide the fact that Georgina’s words were to him more satiating than a hard-earned meal. He set the bowl down quickly, wincing at ...

We're a month in to the social distancing mandate due to the threat of COVID-19, and I don't have something particularly original to share. But even though my takeaways are expressed in similar formats, perhaps they're worth repeating: You're allowed to be grateful and feel _________ (insert frustrated, disappointed, afraid, sad) on the same day. Sometimes at the same time.This past Saturday was heavier for me, and seemingly small things were shaking me more than usual. Much of my concerns...

Chapter One: March 1889When he emerged from underground after hours of toil, David couldnt deny the protest of his back any longer. But two years over thirty, his body gave him pain that he didnt think hed feel until he was an old man. He knew the men who worked below ground beside him felt the same. Not all tried to hide their cursing; others couldnt hide deep, throaty coughs that demanded relief from the brisk mountain air. He shook his head. Hed long since realized the opportunity to mine...

Chapter One: March 1889When he emerged from underground after hours of toil, David couldn’t deny the protest of his back any longer. But two years over thirty, his body gave him pain that he didn’t think he’d feel until he was an old man. He knew the men who worked below ground beside him felt the same. Not all tried to hide their cursing; others couldn’t hide deep, throaty coughs that demanded relief from the brisk mountain air. He shook his head. He’d long since realized the opportunity to...

*written for "Choices" magazine/ summer 2019 editionThere's nothing like a milestone to make you take inventory of your life's accomplishments (or lack thereof). My twentieth high school reunion is approaching this summer, and while I see a few fine lines in the mirror that confirm this fact, it's still hard to believe that my small class of twenty-two is standing on the brink of our fourth decade. In the midst of planning this occasion, a former classmate made the amusing observation that "n...

Write what you know.” I believe it’s the most common writing advice an aspiring author will hear. It’s a worthy consideration, but it’s seemed hollow at times and not always helpful. While it’s important to write from what one knows of life: its wonder, joys, triumphs, and heartaches, that one-liner stopped inspiring me a long time ago. In realizing those four words can mold and bend (where the writer draws from her own experience of disappointment to identify with a character’s), I wanted so...

written for "Choices" magazine If Washington state is known for anything in its late August days, its the detrimental wildfires. Threatening, sometimes devastating, the flames spread through farmland, creating chaos and rendering the sky full of hazy smoke. For most these fires are a signal to stay indoors, but for others the flames mean something else: mandated change, an eviction notice from the life they're been living, hard-to-fathom-loss. There are people who don't walk away from this se...

*article written for Judi Moreo's personal growth/development publication, "Choices"When considering life's journey, it helps to think of myself ascending a spiral staircase. This visual reminds me that there are steps behind, steps still ahead, and that anything I'm circling around once more is allowing me to look upon a situation with more knowledge and experience than I once held. A wise woman told me to "give yourself permission to be in process." When we let ourselves note the importance...