Sanders Gant's Hope Chest Padlet by Sanders Gant

Chapter 1: The Stolen Letters

sg75242 — 2025-03-26 18:18:33 UTC

In Chapter 1, we meet Violet, Mother, Father, Chloe, and Stephen. The story is set in 1920, during WW1 and women could not vote yet. Violet finds letters from Chloe, her older sister, that her mother hid. Chloe was sent away by her parents. She now lives in New York. She is a nurse and she drives her own car, she is a "New Woman" which means she wants women to have the right to vote. Violet is upset her mother hid these letters and misses her sister so much. Her best friend, Flossie died two years ago from Influenza or the Spanish flu. Her brother Stephen is about Cloe's age and we don't know much more about him. In the end, Violet is on the banks of the Susquehanna River feeling very mad at her parents for hiding these letters from her.

Chapter 2: The Dying Mrs. Renwick

sg75242 — 2025-04-01 18:18:45 UTC

Violet runs away to New York City to attempt to go and find Chloe. She wished she had some more comfortable clothes to run away in though. She boards a train and spends most of her savings, takes a seat, and sees she is sitting across from anti-suffragist, Mrs. Renwick. Mrs. Renwick is dressed very nicely. Violet lies and says her dream is to be a reporter, (it is just not to be a normal woman) which Mrs Renwick doesn't approve of. Violet, knowing this when asked how many children she would like to have, again, lies and says seven. Mrs. Renwick was very impressed and proud and bought Violet two tootsie rolls. Violet kindly thanked her.

Chapter 3: Meeting Myrtle

sg75242 — 2025-04-02 18:15:20 UTC

The chapter opens with Violet stranded in a train station until she asks a police officer the way to Henry Street, a mistake she regrets. She lies and says her sister is coming to pick her up, so the police officer tells her to wait with him. She lies and says she sees her sister and runs off. She ends up below a train track which stumbles her when it passes, a local (colored) citizen sees her and immediately realizes, she is not from around here. Violet introduces herself to the young lady, Myrtle. Violet asks the way to Henry Street, so Myrtle decides to help. Violet buys hot dogs for the two of them and they eat them in a non-public space.

Chapter 4: Henry Street

sg75242 — 2025-04-02 18:16:34 UTC

In Chapter 4, Violet and Myrtle enter a public parlor and talk to a man, where they figure out Violet is in the wrong city. Chloe is actually in Washington D.C. With the man having some suspicions, Violet and Myrtle run off while the man goes to go do something else, even though he told them to wait there, and now Violet doesn't know what to do as she does not have enough cash to buy a train ticket to D.C. She is stranded in New York City, and the only person she knows to help her is Myrtle

Chapter 5: Hobie and the Brakeman

sg75242 — 2025-04-04 16:50:30 UTC

Violet and Myrtle meet a boy named Hobie, who helps them sneak on a train to Washington so Violet can get to her sister. The boy is experienced with riding the rails as Violet and Myrtle do not. They get off a train, get some food, and sleep in a broken-down car. The next morning they sneak onto another train where a criminal is waiting for them. He realized they were stealing rides and threatened to throw Myrtle off a train if they didn't pay him. They negotiated and Hobie was brave about it. He told the criminal fifteen cents which Violet had offered and told him to go away. The brake took the change and left. The chapter ended with the two getting off the train and Hobbie continuing on.

Chapter 6: It All Comes Down to Tennessee

sg75242 — 2025-04-08 18:44:30 UTC

The chapter opens and Myrtle and Violet are in Wahington. Violet could see the needle of the Wahington Monument. They walk to an alley, with loose trash everywhere and windowless houses with holes in them. There Myrtle and Violet washed off. They then walked to a suffragist's house, Mary Church Terrel. They were then redirected to The National Woman Party's headquarters. Violet asks the woman who answers the door where Chloe is. She lets the two inside. They have a cup of tea at the table and Violet finds out Chloe isn't in D.C either. She's been out picketing in Tennessee because that is where it all comes down to in the woman's rights cause. If the suffragists win Tennessee, the Susan B. Anthony Amendment will be amended giving women the right to vote. Mrtyle and Violet hear the woman arguing downstairs, Mrtle assumes it is because she is colored. Violet hopes she will be able to go down to Nashville with the woman and find Chloe.

Chapter 7: Heading to Nashville

sg75242 — 2025-04-11 18:03:32 UTC

Chapter seven starts with Myrtle and Violet walking down the stairs in the morning and to their surprise, they see Mr. Martin. The man that they had seen at the Henry Street Settlement House. He asks how they had gotten there and to their response, he explains how riding the blinds and freight trains is very dangerous. Mr Martin makes Violet send a telegraph to her parents which she does and writes a few words "Mother and Father I am fine hope you are too. Mr. Martin talked about how he participated in the Children's Crusade led by Mrs. Jones. They go to the train station, where they wait in the biggest waiting room in the world. Although they are told Myrtle may not ride the train with the suffragists. She must go to the colored cart. Mr. Martin tries to argue but the police officer does not tolerate and they are told when they leave Washington boundaries into Virginia she must move to the colored cart.

Chapter 8: In the Jim Crow Car

sg75242 — 2025-04-16 18:10:16 UTC

Mrtle finds her way back to the Jim Crow car, although the doors were very difficult to open. She sits next to an old woman, Mrs. Merganser. She is very kind to give Myrtle an apple. Mrs. Merganser talks about how many of her family members were sold away and how she never saw her first two sons ever again after they were sold. The seats in the Jim Crow Car are very uncomfortable.

Chapter 9: Mr. Martin's Escape

sg75242 — 2025-04-16 18:13:35 UTC

Mr. Martin had "gone to get drinks." However, he was in a car four cars down from the suffragists' car. But before Violet goes to look for him. Two nicely dressed men go over to Mrs. Dexter. We later figure these men are Palmer agents. They asked Mrs. Dexter if someone was sitting next to her (or where Mr. Martin was). She says yes and that he was just going to get some drinks. Violet gets past the agents, saying she was going to the saloon. She finds Mr. Martin. She tries to stop him, but Mr. Martin jumps off the train anyway. The agents come to the back and they ask Violet some questions. However, she plays dumb and acts like she doesn't know him. So they go back to the suffragist's car, and the agent tries to get some information out of them, but he is pretty unsuccessful. We also figured out Mr. Martin's real name is Arpadfi.

Chapter 10: Red and Yellow Roses

sg75242 — 2025-04-17 18:47:11 UTC

The chapter opens, and they are in Chattanooga, TN. She goes and gives breakfast to Myrtle. When she gets off the train, she sees a woman stumble and fall. Violet helped the woman up, and she seemed to be about to have a baby. The woman tells her in other words that her son had died in the war, and they were trying to ship his body back to America, which was apparently a slow process. Violet makes a connection with he woman, saying her brother went off the France too, but came back with shell shock. The woman was shocked when Violet mentioned women's voting rights. But what was shocking to Violet was Mr. Martin getting off the train. The train had left before Violet could tell him, he was being followed. When they arrived in Nashville, multiple women greeted them with red and yellow roses. One of them put one on Violet. The woman's name was Miss Charlotte Rowe. She asks Violet a few questions, and Violet's responses make the impression that she just wants to find Chloe. Violet and Miss Rowe enter the Hermitage Hotel. The lobby was very crowded, as crowded as the train station. When she went up to the registration desk she learns there are no more rooms but she is still redirected to the suff's floor, the third one. She is walking through the lobby until she hears a woman say, "Mr. Walker." The lobby goes silent. She demands, "How much did they pay you?" Violet asks questions to the registration person questions and it seems he was bribed to change sides. And even worse now, Violet had lost Mr. Martin and Myrtle, she didn't know what to do.

Chapter 11: Finding Chloe

sg75242 — 2025-04-21 18:39:19 UTC

Violet was going up to the room, which was a struggle to find. On the elevator, some drunk men were singing a song, but they could only remember a few words, going "The red, red, anti-suffragist rose!" She got off the elevator and found the correct room. The room had two iron bedsteads in it. The room was extremely hot. Violet went to search for some food. First, she went to The Grill Room, but it was only for men. Then she went to the dining room, but she was not dressed appropriately. Finally, she went to the Anti's meeting room, where they had sandwiches, so Violet ate. Violet went outside onto the balcony, and below her was a man named Mr. Hanover and a woman in a white dress. Then Ms. Mayhew walks out. And Violet is overfilled with joy. She drops her sandwich over the balcony and shouts to Chloe. Everyone introduces themselves, and Violet is finally happy again. They walk down to a hotel called the Tulane, away from the antis. The room is still hot but Chloe is finally reunited with her sister.

Chapter 12: Violet Spies

sg75242 — 2025-04-24 17:03:47 UTC

The chapter starts, and Violet is awake. After the long, hot, and miserable night, she wakes up right next to Chloe. A woman was walking around the room, eating Grape-Nuts. Violet checks herself, and yes, the antis are bribing politicians to change sides and support the anti cause. Violet eats a few Grape-Nuts and goes off to the train station to try and go find Myrtle and Mr. Martin. Although when she gets down to the lobby, she sees two hobos. Or so she thought, it was Myrtle and Mr. Martin. They are happy to see each other, but the drummer and the desk clerk do not approve of Myrtle. They kick them out because she is colored. So they walk on the streets east to get the hope chest.

Chapter 13: Dead Horse Alley

sg75242 — 2025-04-30 18:30:38 UTC

Mr. Martin and Mrtle could not find a single hotel that accepted a colored person. It took four drugstores, and Myrtle was starving. They ate out in an alley. Then they attempted to find a hotel where they could stay. No hotel would accept a colored child. Until they went to another, and the desk clerk, still, just like all the others, would not accept colored. But the clerk told them an address down an alley. So they went to a place called Dead Horse Alley. There, they found a woman named Mrs. Eugenia Ready who would let them stay there. Mrs. Ready was a suffragist. Her husband died in the Dutch Bend Train derailment of 1861. Violet had agreed with her sister that they'd meet at Max Bloomenstein's Pharmacy every day at noon once Violet was done spying. Violet goes into room 907 at the hermitage and meets a woman named Miss Escuadirille. She was asking the woman questions, and the woman wasn't at all afraid to say she had bribed many telegraph boys. Violet also learns that there was an anti meeting tonight where Mrs. Charlotte Mayhew would be speaking. Until Violet makes a mistake and says, "But Miss Escuadrille, you're not even married, how can you be the queen of the household. The woman begins to sob, and Violet realizes this was very rude, and suddenly this whole spy job isn't as fun anymore

Chapter 14: Max Bloomstein's Pharmacy

sg75242 — 2025-05-02 18:21:28 UTC

Myrtle and Mr. Martin are still in Deadhorse Alley. Myrtle is thinking about what she will do after she leaves Nashville. Mrs. Ready is always suspicious of Mr. Martin, as if she is trying to determine if he is a wanted man. Myrtle is trying to keep Mr. Martin safe and out of sight, but he keeps going out for groceries and other errands. Myrtle is suggesting that Mr. Martin should marry Chloe. I can infer that she may want to be with Violet. We also figured out that the agents are after him because he spoke against the war. Meanwhile, Violet and Chloe are meeting at Max Bloomstein's Pharmacy and talking about Violet's time being a spy. She talks about Miss Escuadrille. Until Mr. Martin comes in to talk. Chloe is thinking about taking the legislators to the movies or something entertaining to make sure they don't leave over the weekend. Violet has had enough with all this political adult talk, so she goes and finds Myrtle. Violet informs her about the Susan B. Anthony Amendment voting. Violet invites herself to Dead Horse Alley with Myrtle and Mr. Martin, but Myrtle immediately declines, as she would be embarrassed. Myrtle and Mr. Martin have to leave, so she goes back to the drugstore to continue her conversation with Chloe. The Senate will most likely vote on the amendment today, but the House is what the suffs are most worried about.

Chapter 15: The Ferocious Mrs. Catt

sg75242 — 2025-05-06 18:34:07 UTC

Violet goes back to her spying ways and listens to the Anti-Suffragists. Ms. Escuadrille is questioning the recent huge loss in the Senate to the suffragists, but Ms. Pearson is dismissing the topic. It was only nine days ago that Violet was at home, but it had felt way longer than that. Violet still seemed invisible among the antis she was sitting with. She assumed the man to her left was Mr. Garlick. The man to his right was dressed in a Confederate Army uniform. The man dropped his spoon on the floor, and Violet went to retrieve it. They were talking about Bolsheviks and a foreign jew. But then she heard them say something about making the jew disappear for a week or two to throw the suffragists off. Violet had been listening to this conversation under the table, so she finally decided to come out. Violet rushed out of the woman's entrance, she had to inform Chloe about the information she had just heard immediately. Chloe wasn't in the room, and Ms. Lewis said she had gone to dance with Harry T. Burn. Violet rushed back to the Hermitage, specifically the tenth floor, where they were dancing. She got to the ballroom, with an orchestra playing. Violet was keeping Mr. Burn busy, and then, Mr. Martin entered the ballroom. Chloe stops dancing with Mr. Burn to go and talk with Mr. Martin. Violet occupies Mr. Burn while Chloe is gone. The waltz was coming to an end, and Mr. Burn began to dance with a woman named Ms. Pollitzer. Meanwhile, Myrtle had to stay invisible in this crowd. A man and a woman were talking on a sofa. They must've been antis as they were talking about bribery. Then they're was a man named, who was yelling to his friend Joe, saying how the antis had bribed him three hundred dollars (so he could fix his roof) to change his vote. Mr. Hanover played a joke on the man, saying that all the other bribed politicians got a thousand, which wasn't true. The man was outraged. The man said, "Can't wait to tell Mrs. Chat about that." Myrtle didn't see Mr. Martin. One woman looked at Myrtle, so to avoid being caught, she immediately started dusting. She went out onto the Veranda and she found Chloe, Mr. Martin, and Violet, who ruined Myrtle's invisibility. And then, the woman named Mrs. Catt came out and started complaining about Myrtle and her skin color. She also complained about Mr. Martin being a Bolshevik. She told Chloe to keep them hidden. And then Mrs. Catt explained to Mr. Hanover that their floor leader in the house needed a bodyguard. He came from Poland as a child. Chloe goes to talk to Mrs. Dudley about the bodyguard immediately. And then after they will all go out for ice cream.

Chapter 16: Politics and Gunplay

sg75242 — 2025-05-13 17:52:32 UTC

It was Sunday, and they packed a picnic. Myrtle and Violet ride out to a field beside a river in a truck bed. It was bumpy, but Violet didn't care because she wore her worst dress. They learned a little about cars, how to care for them, and how to drive them. Mr. Martin was flipping through the Sunday paper, which seemed to only be about baseball scores. The paper is trying to hide the Susan B. Anthony Amendment. They also learn that Hobie the Hobo was caught and sent back to his stepmom. Myrtle and Violet run off to talk. Violet asks what Myrtle thinks she's gonna do with the rest of her life. Myrtle tells Violet about Dead Horse Alley. By Monday, both sides were panicking. Nobody knew which way the house was gonna go. Violet learns a bit more about voting and majorities from Chloe at their noon lunch. The Suffs probably don't have a chance with Burn. There was a lot of people in Nashville now, and a decent majority had just come to watch the battle. Violet had also learned a bit more about shellshock. They go up to the Capitol. There were bullet marks in places because of legislators who tried to escape, but they got open fire. All the suffs need is a majority. They also talk about a newspaper writer who was murdered, and the killers did not face any consequences. Mr. Martin and Myrtle were at the table, still at Mrs. Ready's. Until two men busted through the door into the room. It was the Palmer agents. They were here for Mr. Martin. He pleaded that he had a U.S citizenship, but the agents weren't buying it. They kicked his pocket knife away from the conversation, and Myrtle was afraid. Mrs. Ready was in joy when they got him in handcuffs and off to who knows where. Ms. Ready was gonna suggest that Myrtle go off to Mrs. Frankie Pierce, but Myrtle didn't bother to listen to the end. And now Myrtle was off, alone.

Chapter 17: The Hope Chest

sg75242 — 2025-05-14 16:51:09 UTC