Thursday, March 27, 2008

Unknown Birthday: Kate Shelley

Kate Shelley, teenage heroine
19th century

Kate Shelley: Bound for Legend by Robert D. San Souci (Dial, 1995)

A storm. A broken bridge. A train. Fifteen-year old Kate Shelley to the rescue. High drama in Iowa, July 6, 1881.

An anonymous report describing Kate Shelley's heroic actions is posted on a DesMoines River site.

The Kate Shelley Railroad Museum run by the Boone County Historical Society is open June through September.