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"Britain's Theater with a View"

Copley News Service, March 2004

In this travel story for a national syndicate, the author takes readers to Cornwall, one of her favorite corners of the world, and the U.K.'s most unusual setting for a theater.

“Home Sweet Catalogue Home”

St. Louis Magazine, September 2006

From the 1910s through World War II, catalogue homes from Sears, Roebuck & Co., Montgomery Ward and their long-gone competitors Aladdin, Gordon-Van Time and Harris Bros., opened the door to suburban homeownership for millions of Americans. Today, most current catalogue home owners aren't even aware of their houses' vintage origins.

“Max Hess, Jr. Puts Allentown, PA on the Map”

Pennsylvania Heritage, Fall 2004

A half century ago, Hess's department store turned Allentown, PA into a shopping and entertainment magnet with cutting-edge glamour, bigger-than-life events and 10-inch-high strawberry pie. This story shows how Hess's evolved from a place to shop into a community icon.

“Schools of Thought: How a St. Louis Architect Revolutionized American Public Schoo

St. Louis Magazine, May 2005

When the St. Louis school board hired William B. Ittner as its first commissioner of school buildings in 1897, the shape of America’s public schools would be changed forever. Ittner was the first to bring light, air and beauty into school buildings to create an environment that promised to nurture as well as educate children.

“Dodging Bullets”

Cobblestone, November 2005

The story of seven Civil War-era families caught in the cross fires of the first and second battles of Manassas. These harrowing tales of civilian life and death, of lives turned upside down on a major battleground. give kids a chance to learn about the war on a deeper human level.

“Flood Alert!” & "Flood Busters"

AppleSeeds, April 2005

These two stories describe the great Mississippi River floods of 1927 and 1993 and how human efforts to shape the river can lead to disaster and destruction.

The Great American Medicine Show

Prentice-Hall Press, 1991
(c)1991 by Elizabeth Metzger Armstrong and David Armstrong

A romp through America’s health reform movements spotlighting the bizarre and the bold, the spurious and the serious. Peopled with crusaders and reformers, crackpots and quacks, it introduces the movements and manias that have gripped a populace for whom health cures are as American as apple pie.

The Breakfast Book

Chronicle Books, 1979
(c)1979 by Elizabeth Metzger

More than a restaurant guide, The Breakfast Book is a series of tales about California's cafe and restaurant culture of the 1970s. The 160 restaurants, cafes, bakeries, truckstops and inns featured serve breakfasts to suit every taste, whim and mood. Readers will salivate over the menu descriptions and the late 1970s prices.