The Chimneysweep's Daughter
by Jean L. Kuhnke
What little girl aspires to become a chimneysweep? It was all Maggie knew. Her father was a chimneysweep and she loved him. He was all she had after her mother took off with a man Maggie stumbled upon when she was sent home from school because she came without a lunch…again.
From five years old, her life centered on herself and her father. His many years working in soot filled chimneys took a toll on his health until Maggie was fifteen. Their hope of one day buying a little cottage in the country where they would enjoy the fresh clean air and home grown food was close to becoming a reality when his body could not recover from the years of abuse, leaving Maggie on her own.
Traveling west with nothing but their few household possessions, ‘Old Mule’, and a wagon, Maggie began her new life alone but determined to find a place that the money they saved over the years would buy.
Occasionally, she would supplement her supplies by cleaning a chimney, picking up information along the way.
From five years old, her life centered on herself and her father. His many years working in soot filled chimneys took a toll on his health until Maggie was fifteen. Their hope of one day buying a little cottage in the country where they would enjoy the fresh clean air and home grown food was close to becoming a reality when his body could not recover from the years of abuse, leaving Maggie on her own.
Traveling west with nothing but their few household possessions, ‘Old Mule’, and a wagon, Maggie began her new life alone but determined to find a place that the money they saved over the years would buy.
Occasionally, she would supplement her supplies by cleaning a chimney, picking up information along the way.
