Nancy Drew at the National Archives

When searching for important clues, anything labeled "Top Secret" might be
a good place to start.
THE CRACKED BANISTER, a Nancy Drew mystery
I spent yesterday afternoon poring through Federal Court records at the National Archives. And look what I got!! It’s not a secret decoder ring or a detective’s badge, but it’s still nifty, don’t you think?

After signing my life away agreeing to follow a strict set of rules, I worked in a sequestered area, under constant surveillance by security cameras and trained personnel. Lemme tell you, even Nancy Drew would have squirmed under such close scrutiny! Gold star for me: I was only reprimanded once!

There’s nothing quite so exhilarating as discovering the secret password that allows you access to an inner sanctum such as this. And at the end of the day, I walked out with copies of a case file that help document an important chapter (and person) in my memoir.

A memoirist can’t be too careful, what with all the recent (and, groan, widely publicized) hoaxes and frauds. But I’m also doing my due diligence in the service of a higher purpose (at least for me). In writing my own story, I want to bear eye witness to every scrap of evidence I can find about my past.

UPDATE: Thanks, Pamela, for finding the Church Lady video! Expert sleuthing, that!

37 Comments

  1. Ooh, that’s very official-looking identification. My heart started pounding just thinking about doing research under all those watching eyes. Congrats again on hitting paydirt!

    • Impressive, right? I feel so…official. 🙂

      My heart was pounding, too. But maybe moreso because I’d found something important after searching for so long.

    • It is, isn’t it? 🙂

      I think I might frame it, along with some other Nancy Drew-ish memorabilia I’ve collected on this journey.

      Careful penmanship is very important in the writing of this book. 🙂

  3. Good for you. You know, whatever you write, someone will disagree. But it is your story, and doing good research to back up what you remember is important.

    • Thank you so much for reminding me of this. I am trying to balance my quest for credible evidence with the fact that it’s MY story and MY perspective that’s the heart of this memoir. I really appreciate your comment.

      • My husband’s memoir, Chickenhawk, came out to rave reviews, but one of the lifers in it went around telling everyone that one incident had not happened. We didn’t even know about this. He was a brave officer and Bob admired him. We even met him at a reunion, and he was very nice to us: so two-faced he didn’t say “That didn’t happen,” so Bob could have talked to him about it. Years later, someone did the research to prove the incident did happen, but by then the guy had had a stroke and didn’t seem to believe him.
        There is nothing you can do about stuff like that except laugh…
        Bob has many appreciative readers all over the world.
        One question: have you read other memoirs? When Bob started Chickenhawk, he told our agent he didn’t want to read othere memoirs in case they influenced him. Knox told him to go ahead and read them. It did help.

        • Memory’s a tricky thing. We’re all human beings, but we’re not all alike. No surprise, then, that we don’t experience, perceive, or remember events in the same way. I’m most concerned about writing *my* story, my memories true. I have to believe that the rest will take care of itself, as it ultimately did for your husband. Otherwise, I’d never get words down on the page.

          I’ve read many, many memoir. And several books about the craft. But ultimately, it comes down to figuring out the best way to write my own. I’m glad you’re stopping by. I value your encouragement and insights!!

          (You and your husband share an agent? Do you mind my asking who it is?)

    • Thanks, Lorraine! I loved reading Nancy Drew mysteries when I was younger, and I’m having fun super-sleuthing now.

      You just never know how where your favorite books will lead you. 🙂

    • The Nancy Drew investigations are an interesting (and integral) part of the journey AND the book. I’m glad I can share these experiences with people like you. I love that you understand…

  8. Very cool! I remember going into the Library in London (research library) and how hushed and still and somber everything (and everyone) was. I had a great time (but they didn’t give me a badge — I think I missed out!).

    • I love libraries. Being quiet, not so much.

      Actually, they treated me quite well. They were very helpful in locating the files I wanted, and they answered my (slew of) questions.

  12. Wait a minute, Nancy. {} I just realized something that didn’t occur to me when I first read about your research at the archives. Are you in DC?

    Love,
    Bess Marvin

    • Good guess, Bess, but no. Several buildings hold the National Archives; they’re spread out all over the country. This one’s in south Orange County. How fortuitous–it’s minutes from my home!

      • ohhhh
        I had my hopes up high thinking you were in my neck of the woods 🙂
        At any rate, I’m again impressed by your ingenuity and persistence.
        On a Baltimore note: No luck in getting the picture of where the old church was. Too dangerous….

        • If I were in D.C., I’d definitely get in touch with you, Laura! I’d LOVE to spend time with you in person!

          I totally understand about not wanting to venture into that section of the city. It was in a steep decline way back in the early 60s, when we had our church there.

  14. Congratulations on hitting pay dirt! It’s such a great feeling to unearth the mysteries in ones family. It reminds me of putting a jig saw puzzle together…making all the pieces fit.

    My neighbor and I even took a series of classes at the Pittsfield, MA division of the National Archives, but we were never issued any passes…just had to remember to sign the sign-sheet and try to remember the times that we logged in and out.

    I asked them what program they were using on their computers and now have it on my own computer but it’s expensive to connect to and I could only pay for a 3 month stint. I plan to re-enroll at some point later this spring in order to do more research.

    • You took classes there? Whoa, that’d be fun! I’ve figured out all these gumshoe thingamacapers all by myself.

      I love that you can do your research from the archives’ computers at no expense. Some of those programs are…expensive!!

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