By David Krogh
What do you get when you use a real place, a real time in recent history, a mix of historical and made up characters and a story filled with mystery, crime, corruption and drama? The answer is you get a Sage Adair Historical Mystery written by local Portland author S.L. Stoner.
Stoner is a retired labor relations attorney with considerable experience in union-supporting roles. She also is a history buff, specifically local history. These backgrounds formed the nexus for her mystery writing. “I strive to make the books very true to Portland’s history,” Stoner said. “Every incident of corruption in Looters was taken directly from newspaper articles of the time, archived letters, other material and from the writings of historians like Kimbark MacColl and Leon Speroff.”
For Looters & Leeches, the story is set in 1905 Portland just before the opening of the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition in NW Portland. Many existing streets and buildings are mentioned as are many real persons from that time. In addition, a section in the back of the book entitled Historical Notes provides significant insight into names, places and happenings to help keep the reader straight as to what is fact and what is fiction. And for those not very familiar with Portland’s history, Portland and its political history has been rife with corruption, including bribery and price skimming, thus the name of this book.
The protagonist in this book is Sage Adair. Adair struck it rich in the Klondike gold rush and moved to Portland where he and his mother Mae own an upscale restaurant. He also is a labor activist and investigator under the alias of John Miner. Stoner clarifies that, “because of Sage’s significant wealth, and his ability to play the role of urbane restaurant owner, he and Mae opened Mozart’s Table. As the owner of that exclusive eatery, he is accepted into the town’s highest social circles. That frequently makes him privy to many of the elites’ secret dealings.” That said, it is easy to surmise that Adair’s activities are in support of workers and unions in the face of corruption by government officials and corporate crime. And that is true for the activities occurring within all 11 of the Sage Adair Historical Mystery series. According to the author, “The 11 books in the series can be read out of sequence and as stand alones. The primary characters remain constant. The first few books do a more thorough job of telling their back stories. But each story also focuses on a different topic not linked to prior books.”
Stoner clarified that the books do follow a chronological order. “Yes. The stories begin in 1902 and Looters & Leeches ends in June 1905. I’m now working on a story that begins in November 1905.”
Asked how she got interested in writing these stories, Stoner said, “The union members I answered to are hard working people doing a very difficult job. I had long dabbled in local history and knew how impactful unions were in Portland and the Pacific Northwest. I wanted to share that history with the union folks—I wanted them to know that, like Newton’s scientific successors, they too stand on the ‘shoulders of giants.’ But, I also knew it unlikely they’d read non-fiction. So, I decided to craft an adventure mystery—a fast-paced easy read—that would painlessly provide the reader with empowering historical facts.”
The first five books came out starting in 2010, when Stoner was still a practicing attorney. But getting the books published was a challenge which forced Stoner and her husband to do it themselves. “Yamhill Press is our company. My husband, George Slanina is the publisher. By the time the first book was ready to be published, the publishing industry was in a tailspin, mostly because of Amazon. As a consequence, publishers were cutting costs and being very restrictive in what they published. We do minimal marketing. The series really depends on word of mouth. The audience is growing, albeit slowly.”
Regarding story ideas and research, Stoner states, “I go wherever the topic takes me. For, example, I’ve researched in San Francisco’s Maritime Museum and rare book public library department. I spent considerable time researching in the Library of Congress in DC and at the Federal archives in Seattle. Locally, the OHS records, the Portland Archives, the OHSU library, Multco Library and the Cedar Hills library have been invaluable. Librarians are my heroes!”
One facet of her stories that really sticks out is the similarities that exist in economic events then versus now. “Because of current events, I am more aware of how progressives in the early 1900s fought and reduced the concentration of wealth and power that existed during the so-called Gilded Age of the late 1800s, early 1900s. At that time, 10 percent of the population owned over 73 percent of the country’s wealth. This untenable situation was created by the unrestrained greed of the robber barons of yesteryear. Popular legislation, pushed by progressives, started restraining that greed, moving the US in a more equitable direction. There are so many parallels between the huge wealth gap of that era and the growing greed-driven gap that exists today. Still, I am hopeful that a similar paradigm shift in societal values is underway today, driven by that same progressive spirit. The impactful rise of progressivism in response to the robber barons’ greed is one aspect of history that does need to be repeated.”
Looters & Leeches is a pleasant and action packed read, especially if you are interested in early Portland history. Published by the Yamhill Press (yamhillpress.com), it is available online from different outlets and from local booksellers such as Powell’s Books on SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Author S.L. Stoner. Photo by Stoner.
