Elaine Kiesling Whitehouse knows a good story when she sees it, and those stories often come from history. Writing from an early age, she was intrigued by the signs of the past all around her. There was a WWI era German radio transmitting station across the street and the decaying windmill of a former Gilded Age estate down the block.

On today's episode, we discuss Elaine's writing history and how she has drawn on Long Island's past for inspiration. Her novel Hart's Tavern, set in Revolutionary War-era Patchogue, sprang from a roadside marker commemorating George Washington's trip through the area in 1790. She also relates the valuable lessons she learned as the editor of the Fire Island Tide as well as the writing career of her husband, Jack Whitehouse.

Research

• Hart's Tavern (find in a library via WorldCat)
• 3 Legends of Fire Island and the Great South Bay (find in a library via WorldCat)
• Elaine Kiesling Whitehouse (LI Authors Group)
• Hart's Tavern Historical Marker
• Bourne Windmill
• The Radio Tower podcast
• Revisiting Telefunken (SCN)

Audio Footnotes

• Truth Behind the Spies with Bev Tyler

• Terry Ketcham Inn

• Mark Rothenberg

• Mary Lou Cohalan

• Warren McDowell