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BUY Thunder from a Clear
Sky
July
2005
July 5 * Guest
Speaker- Southern Indiana Civil War Roundtable Annual
Dinner Meeting, Evansville, Indiana
Signing at my first speaking
engagement
My first public speaking
engagement in support of Thunder From a Clear Sky.
The folks at the SICWRT were extremely supportive and very
eager to hear about our very own little Civil War saga.
Although I spent hours making an outline and practicing,
when I stepped to the podium I switched to autopilot. I
barely looked at the notes and just starting talking about
myself and the raid. I looked at my watch and it was time
to stop. Nineteen copies were sold that evening, but more
importantly, I got the feeling that the SICWRT was my home
base.
July 8 * Page 1 feature newspaper
article on Thunder From a
Clear Sky appears in the Henderson,
Kentucky, Gleaner.
July
9 * Book
Signing- Henderson County Historical Society, Henderson,
Kentucky
Inside the new Henderson County Historical
Society
Thunder From a Clear Sky
would not have been possible without the help and
encouragement of the Henderson County Historical Society
staff. When I was in the research phase, then Society
President Frank Nally was the first person in Kentucky to
show me dedicated enthusiasm about my project. Apparently,
in all these years, no one had considered looking for the
story of the Newburgh Raid in Henderson, Kentucky. It turns
out that's where you had to look to find a large part of
it.
Linda Hallmark
and Mike "Manfox" Buley sort of adopted me. If you go to
the Historical Society at the Depot in Henderson you will
see them. They're always there, plugging the history of
Henderson. Members of the Adam Rankin Johnson camp of the
Sons of Confederate Veterans turned out in support of my
appearance- brass cannon in tow. We sold thirty-eight books
that afternoon for the benefit of the Society, which was a
nice start for Henderson. I knew I'd be back soon... as
usual.
July 10 * Short
newspaper article appears in the Henderson
Gleaner, with photos, recapping the successful event
at the Henderson Historical Society.
July
13 * Guest
Speaker- Evansville Optimists Club, Evansville,
Indiana
Bob Levi at Rivertown Antiques
was the first person I talked to about having a book
signing for Thunder. After we talked a
few times about planning details for the upcoming launch of
my book, Bob asked me if I was interested in being a
speaker for the Optimists. I said yes not knowing anything
about the organization. I'm glad I agreed as it was an
interesting lunch. Although I did give a rundown on my book
and the raid, for some reason I felt like talking about the
charitable goals of the book and how the process of
following my dream changed my life. I felt good about the
speech and Bob said later the Optimists were grateful I
came.
July 14 * A
short newspaper article on Thunder From a Clear Sky
appears in the Madisonville, Kentucky,
Messenger.
July
14 * Guest
Speaker- Hopkins County, Kentucky, Historical Society
Meeting, Madisonville, Kentucky
Harold Utley, President of the
Hopkins County Historical Society, was one of the many
amateur historians who helped me piece together Johnson's
activities in the days leading up to the raid. He did a
wonderful job of paving the way for my successful
appearance at the Society's monthly meeting. During the
research phase for Thunder, Harold took me
over to the hill where the Battle of Browning Springs was
fought. The Browning Springs Middle School stands on the
spot today. There is a site marker noting Johnson's attack
on the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry at the foot of the hill
near the spring. I signed fourteen books, which was nearly
half of the members there.
