Nancy Oswald Archives - Colorado Central Magazine

Spotlight: Nancy Oswald

July 30, 2021 by Mike Rosso

By Elizabeth Walsh TEACHER, AUTHOR, RANCHER and environmentalist, Nancy Oswald jokes, “If I ever wrote a memoir, I’d call it the crooked path.” Perhaps it is the twists and turns, the side ventures, even odd roads that lead to a full, rich, interesting life journey. Raised primarily in Denver, Nancy frequently spent time at …

Book Review: Trouble Returns

October 20, 2017September 1, 2017 by Mike Rosso

by Nancy Oswald
ISBN 978-0-86541
Filter Press LLC
$8.95; 209pp

Reviewed by Forrest Whitman

I wish I’d had an author like Nancy Oswald to read when I was ten. This is the third in the series of adventures about young Ruby and her donkey Maude in Cripple Creek. Oswald is careful to present the mystery in a setting as close as possible to 1895. Oswald’s research leads to enjoyment for any history buff, and the plot will keep any kid reading right through till the end. It did that for me.

In her last adventure, Ruby encounters a real passenger train robbery. That happened in 1895 on the Florence and Cripple Creek night express between Victor and Florence. This time the meanest of the robbers is going to trial in Colorado Springs and Ruby must go and testify. The historical detail about the trip; the hotel, Garden of the Gods, the court house, the jury (women weren’t allowed on a Colorado jury till 1945), and the whole setting is meticulously researched. Oswald even has the time tables of the Colorado Midland and the Cripple Creek spot on.

Part of the plot concerns Ruby’s father. He’s raised her literate and tough and Ruby can’t see why he thinks she needs a mother. Not only that, he picks the local school principal to marry and Ruby hates school.

Book Review

October 8, 2012July 1, 2012 by Mike Rosso

Rescue in Poverty Gulch

Historical Fiction for Ages 8 and up

By Nancy Oswald

Filter Press, paperback, 185 pp, $8.95

Reviewed by Annie Dawid

The first in a new series by Cotopaxi author Nancy Oswald, Rescue in Poverty Gulch will delight children who get their hands on this book as well as the adults who read it to youngsters. Oswald’s stories appeal to readers in search of lively characters and rich local history.

Telling Tales in the Valley

January 25, 2010September 1, 2009 by Staff

by Susan Bavaria

Ranging in age from 81 on down, several regional women authors have written books as varied as river stones. Tackling subjects ranging from geology to self-publishing, these six writers exemplify the moxie needed to endure the publishing process and a love for language that creates worthy content. Some have taught students. Some have experienced far-flung adventures in the quest to find a good story. Some are members of the Colorado Authors League. All share a passion for good literature and an innate curiosity about the world we share.

Hard Times: The Jewish colony at Cotopaxi

December 14, 2009February 1, 2005 by Staff

Article by Nancy Oswald

Local History – February 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

ON MAY 8, 1882 a group of Jewish Russian immigrants disembarked from the train at Cotopaxi to establish an agricultural colony. They thought they were leaving the hardships of Tzarist Russia behind, but as it turned out they were exchanging the privations of “home” for new hardships, which included non-arable land, broken promises, and the difficulty of living in a culture where language, religion, and terrain were foreign and inhospitable.