Showing results by author "Ginger Cucolo" in All Categories

The 100 year anniversary of the official use of American military personal identity tags, affectionately known as Dog Tags, recently passed without fanfare. We are currently in a war where the Dog Tag is once again a highly personal item to warriors in every service and their families. Each Dog Tag carries its own human interest story. Receiving it, hanging it around the neck, and feeling it is at once a silent statement of commitment. The tag itself individualizes the human being who wears it within a huge and faceless organization.

This is the 2nd story in The Knoll Trilogy Series. Allie McCreary embraces her new life in America with the Captain and Rufina, and goes to school in New York City. Her life seems perfect. The Captain purchases a new ship and uses it to stowaway slaves and bring them North to freedom. Allie is independent and strong-willed. She finds herself in a relationship with a wealthy, young man who is the brother of one of her schoolmates whom she does not like.

The potato plants are turning black. Allie McCreary is scared, but she thinks of Ireland as magical and can't imagine living anywhere else. Sadly, the potatoes are just the beginning. Widespread starvation was followed by social upheaval. When the McCreary's landowners, the Farradays, find their property and possessions stripped away, both families fight to survive. With the help of Mr. Farraday, Allie's mother gathers enough money to send her to America. This should be a journey for a better life, but it is a journey she may not survive.