Travel Trunk from 1914
This is the actual travel trunk my Great Aunt Clare Louise took to France during WWI to assist the Red Cross with translations. I’m her namesake so I was happy to have this treasure. Inside is a pullout shelf above a deep space for clothing. Imagine traveling for three months with only the items you could include in a trunk like this.
In my novel Stay Out of That Room, the girls discover a travel trunk like this one in Great Aunt Polly’s secret room. The story is fiction, based on true characters and events. Polly and Clare were cousins who lived through both world wars, the Great Depression, and many other world events. This trunk is my link to their shared pasts.
Clare Bills
Clare Bills is a Minnesota author with three published novels. She holds an MS in journalism, three BA degrees and is a graduate of Brown Institute for broadcasting. She worked in radio, public relations while also teaching at Iowa State University. She's also completed courses in writing from the Institute of Children's Literature, and novel writing from Jerry Jenkins, Susie May Warren, and James Scott Bell.
