Ideas for writers can come from a variety of places – even a lunchbox – Neosho Daily News

I enjoy writing and I also enjoy substitute teaching. Last week, I had the rare opportunity to combine the two for some eighth grade English classes at Neosho Junior High School.

I enjoy writing and I also enjoy substitute teaching.  Last week, I had the rare opportunity to combine the two for some eighth grade English classes at Neosho Junior High School.
The teacher, Sharris Hayes, asked me to share some thoughts about writing with some of the classes since the students were about to begin a unit on writing.
I liked the idea and so I brought along a few of my titles, made up a sheet with an excerpt from one of my sweet romances, and started talking. Like the curious of all ages, students asked where I find my ideas.  My answer has remained the same — any and everywhere.   An object, a name, or a phrase can spark an idea and inspiration.
As I talked with one of the classes, I noticed avid interest in one student’s steel Stanley lunchbox.  So I mentioned it and within moments, we were all focused on the lunch box.  The student proudly told me it dated to 1913, which is true about the Stanley line.  The particular box, although retro in style, appeared to be new.
My dad carried a similar lunch box as well as a Stanley vacuum bottle for many years.  So did my husband.  While I was toting my lunch to school in themed lunch boxes with characters from television series, a few boys had Stanley lunch boxes.  In our blue collar neighborhood back in St. Joseph, Missouri, I imagine some of them are still in use by working folk today.  
At school, we talked about the mysteries that the lunch box might hold.  It could be a treasure chest filled with valuable coins or jewels.  A fortune could be tucked inside or, as a student suggested, a head although after some discussion, we determined the size wouldn’t accommodate one.  But the possibilities were almost endless and so I promised I would write this week’s column focused on the lunch box to demonstrate how an everyday object could spark an idea.
At home, I found myself inspired by the kids’ interest but I also researched the history of Stanley lunch gear.  That led me to learning more about 1913, the year the William Stanley Jr. first marketed the company’s now well known vacuum bottles with the lifetime guarantee which still is honored today.  
Although working people long carried a meal with them to work, the containers evolved from the simplest napkin or bandana to wicker baskets and later to lunch pails, usually fashioned from metal.  They were usually round, however, and when Stanley brought out their version, the lunch boxes had domed lids and a different shape.  I know my dad’s had space in the lid for a small bottle but he preferred a larger size bottle to carry his coffee to work along with his sandwiches.
1913 is just over a century ago but life as Americans know it has changed in many ways.  1913 was the first year that the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution made income tax mandatory.  1913 is often considered the last year of the “Old World,” before the events leading to the Great War, the one we now know as World War I, erupted in Europe and spread.
The Panama Canal was completed that year and the first assembly line courtesy of Henry Ford revolutionized manufacturing.  The first paved cross country highway, named the Lincoln Highway, opened for traffic that year.
Ladies still wore ankle length or longer dresses.  Most wore elaborate, large hats when they went out in public.  The zipper was invented that year and replaced buttons on men’s trousers.  Most women had very long hair, worn up in fancy hairstyles.
Little girls wore shorter dresses until they matured enough to lower their hemlines and put up their hair.  Boys often wore short pants or knickers.  Like men, they also wore a hat almost everywhere.  Working men favored caps while the upscale gentleman had different hats for various occasions.
In New York City, the Grand Central Terminal (more often known as Grand Central Station) opened to the public and remains the busiest train station in the country.  Train travel, however, is not as common as it was in 1913 and the Lincoln Highway is long since history, replaced by a series of highways and interstates.
1913 was the year that William Stanley Jr. brought changes to carrying a lunch.  Durable Stanley lunch boxes are still favored by many and they still are guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Imagine all that from one student’s lunchbox, one weekday, in one class.
And so the ideas flow for a writer — and for anyone who uses a little imagination.

Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy of Neosho writes a weekly column.

from Hairstylez http://cityhairstyle.xyz/ideas-for-writers-can-come-from-a-variety-of-places-even-a-lunchbox-neosho-daily-news/