Here is the Legend of Rowena, the mermaid. The story was written by my mom, Mary Lou Holman. She is very talented. Thanks Mom, for helping make this adventure more fun.





The Legend of Rowena, The Mermaid


Rowena



Rowena raised her thick brown curls off of her neck in hopes of a breeze. She’d slipped outside from the heat of breakfast preparation for her father and four brothers.

Rowena’s mother had died earlier in the year leaving a gloom in their home that did not seem to lift.

From where she stood, Rowena could see the bay. She loved the picture it painted with the flags of sailing vessels blowing in the wind. The shipyard was owned by the Rolf family and Rowena had glimpsed the youngest heir on more than one occasion. He was tall, thin, and blonde. He climbed and swung from mast to mast on the Delphine, his first ship. It was named after his mother.

When he was up high on the mast with his spyglass, his blonde hair blew about his handsome face. The Rolfs had five sons, but none of the others affected her the way Drake Robert did. Just to look at him made her feel lighter in spirit.

She had stood many times in the same spot gazing at Drake and his antics, but today Drake turned his eyeglass slowly towards her wooded side of the bay. Rowena’s heart began to pound. Would he see her? Rowena dared not move, but even without magnification, she saw Drake stop, seek, and smile. He had found her!

She was not as surprised as she should have been to find Drake standing in her spot the next morning as she stepped outside while her family ate.

“Ah, at last the spy appears,” he said.

“Spy, indeed,” Rowena said. “You’re trespassing.”

“That’s a mighty big word for such a little girl,” he said.

Rowena just looked at him, but he smiled, and her heart turned slowly over. He bowed from the waist and said, “I am Drake Rolf, at your service mam.”

Curtseying, she said.” I am Rowena Elizabeth Tyler.”

While she was trying to manage her skirts, she dropped what she was holding in her hand.

Bending, Drake picked up the wooden object. It was a carving of a face with windswept hair. He turned it in his hand. Looking at her, he said, “This is me.”

Embarrassed, she lowered her eyes.

“Where did you learn to carve like this?”

“My grandfather taught me to whittle when I was a girl.”

“This is marvelous!”

“Thank you.”

Turning the replica again, he asked, “If you can do this with a small piece of wood, could you do it with a larger piece?”

“I have not thought about it, but I don’t see why not.”

Drake grasped his lower lip between his teeth before saying, “Good, you’re hired.”

“Doing what?”

“Carving me a figurehead.”

“For your new ship?”

“Yes, how long will it take?”

“I don’t know, I have never done one.”

“How long did it take to do this?”

“I did it last night.”

“Ah,” he said. “A work of love goes faster.”

She opened her mouth, but he held up his finger and said, “Shh, it’s okay.”

“You’re spoiled, Sir.”

“True. As the youngest it’s only natural, but I am also smart and quick and I’ve never met anyone like you.”

Looking up at him, she smiled.

“He held up the carving and said, “May I keep this?”

“You want it?”

“Very much. I’ll pay, of course.”

“I will only give it as a gift.”

“Thank you.”

“My brothers and father will be leaving soon. I have to go inside.”

“Too soon to introduce me.?”

Surprised he would want to meet her family, she said, “Yes.”

“Okay, I will see you here tomorrow.”

“You will?”

“Of course.”



When she answered the knock on the door the next morning, she almost fainted. With eyes wide, she whispered, “What are you doing here”?

“I want to see your father.”

“Why?”

“I want to do this right.”

Her father hearing the voices came to the door. When he saw Drake said, “Something wrong?”

“I am Drake Rolf and I would like to hire your daughter.”

“To do what?”

“To carve a figurehead for my ship.”

“Rowena has never done anything that big.”

“I know but she thinks she can do it.”

“And where would she be doing this?”

“At the shipyard.”

“I cannot allow that. She’s only 18 years old.”

There was a small silence before Drake said, “Sir, if I bring the supplies to her, would you give permission?”

Mr. Tyler looked at her. He meant to say ‘No’, but he saw hope in her eyes. There had not been much of that in any of the family lately, and so he said, “If you bring what she needs here, I’ll consent.” Turning toward his daughter, he continued, “If she agrees.”

Drake said to Rowena. “Do you agree?”

She smiled.

Her father added, “Now I still expect meals on the table like always.”



When Drake came with the wood and the tools, he also had two photographs. “This is Delphine.”

She opened the locket before inspecting the wedding picture.

“This is your mother?”

“Yes, before she met my father and on their wedding day. Will that help?”

“Yes, but may I see her in person?”

“You want to meet my mother?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I need to feel the motion of her.”

“The motion of her?”

“Yes. Will she come see me?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ll go to her, if you will set it up. I won’t go unless she is expecting me.”

“You can’t travel that far by yourself.”

“I will get my brother to take me.”

He again clasped his lip between his teeth before agreeing.



Mrs. Rolf invited her to tea two days later. Rowena wore the best dress she had but she knew it was not good enough for tea. She went anyway. She watched every single movement Drake’s mother made. She was a larger woman than Rowena had expected. She was still pretty, especially when she smiled, but it was her eyes Rowena loved. They sparkled and twinkled as she talked as if she were having so much fun.

Rowena’s brother, Grayson, picked her up an hour and a half later. Mrs. Rolf said, “I’ve enjoyed your visit very much. Are you sure you can’t stay longer?”

“No, mam, I have to have supper ready for my father and brothers when they come in from fishing.”

“How many brothers do you have?”

“Four.”

“You’re a bit like me, surrounded by men.”

Rowena smiled. She did not think she was at all like Mrs. Rolf.



Rowena talked three of her brothers into helping with supper so she could use all the light to work on her figurehead. In wet weather she could work the bulky parts of the wood but she only did details on the dry wood. Drake came by every morning before going to the shipyard. Each day he was more pleased with her progress than the day before. Even her father complimented her work.

When Rowena finished the figurehead, Drake was more than satisfied. Before he left to haul the finished product to town, he asked Mr. Tyler if he could court Rowena.

“You’re parents may not like you seeing a fisherman’s daughter.”

“My mother likes Rowena, and my father appreciates good workmanship and will be impressed with her talent.”

“You have my permission, but you treat her like a lady.”

“You have my word, Sir.”

That night Rowena cooked for her father, four brothers and Drake Rolf.”



Three weeks later, Rowena and Drake were secretly married aboard the Anvil by Captain Joseph Carlton July 23, 1819. They shared a few hours in Captain Carlton’s quarters before Drake had to take her home.

Drake rowed her back in the darkness to allow time for her to cook breakfast for her family before anyone missed her. The sounds of the water against the boat seemed lonely as they reached the shoreline. When he set her on dry land, he said, “I will walk you to the door.”

“Someone might see you.”

“I don’t care. I have to know that you are safely inside.”

Her brother, Grayson, was sitting on the porch. “You’ve got your nerve, Rolf,” he said. “I ought to beat you to a bloody pulp.”

“Grayson, be quiet,” Rowena said.

“Quiet? He’s leaving in two days and you let him dally with you.”

Turning to Drake, she said, “I sure did, Little Brother, and I only wish I had time for more.”

“Listen to yourself!”

“Rowena,” Drake said, “Tell him.”

She reached inside Drake’s shirt and pulled out a chain holding his wedding ring. “He’s my husband, Grayson, you owe him an apology.”

Grayson stopped talking as Rowena kissed her husband before going inside to start cooking.

Drake had turned to leave when he heard Grayson call his name. Looking back, he saw Grayson extend his hand. Shaking it, Drake smiled and said, “Thanks.”

Since Grayson knew of their marriage, he picked Rowena up the morning Drake reported for duty. Drake had asked her to wait until she could no longer see him. Rowena kissed her husband one last time and waited until the Delphine was out of sight before she climbed into the wagon with Grayson to go home.

Mr. Rolf continued to send work to her for figureheads. She had saved quite a bit of money. She was giving her father half of it, even though by law her father was entitled to all of it, he was happy with what she gave him. In her spare time, she worked on her little carvings of the things around her - birds, squirrels, boats, and trees. She accented the pieces with purple-red dye she extracted from muscles and snails. She was careful not to get it on her fingers because it was permanent. She used thick rags to apply it and a flat-bladed knife to mix it.

When Drake had been gone about a month, Grayson found her whittling and crying.

“Rowena.”

She looked up at her brother and cried even harder.

Grayson sat down on the ground beside her chair. “Did you cut yourself or something?”

“No,” she wailed.

“Can’t you tell me?”

She blew her nose on one of the rags she kept to use with her work. “I’m not going to have a baby.” No sooner were the words out of her mouth than she began to cry again.

Grayson awkwardly patted her shoulder. “Hey, you were only a wife a few minutes. What did you expect?”

”I miss him,” she said as she broke down again.

“Hey, you keep this up and you are going to have red eyes at supper and Father will be asking questions.”

“I know.”

“You’re the one who chose to keep it a secret.”

“Oh, shut up, Grayson.”



A few days before the Delphine was due in port, Rowena looked up from working with a new batch of dye, and saw Drake’s ship at a distance. She jumped up, excited, and then she saw the black flag. It was flying at half-mast. Her heart slowed and she tried to keep her brain from asking questions. She watched as the ship docked.

She could not find Drake on top. Two men got off and went into the Rolf Shipyard office. Four men came out and went onboard The Delphine. Rowena thought it was Mr. Rolf and the oldest brother, Marcus Rolf. They went below and were down there a long time. The sailors remained at attention in full dress uniform.

Rowena realized a large shadow had fallen over her. When she turned her head, she saw her father and four brothers holding their caps in their hands watching her. Her body shuddered.. Tears washed down her face, but she made no sound. She waited.

Grayson walked closer and said, “He fell Rowena. There was a storm, and he fell from atop one of the masts. His head hit a sharp corner and he died instantly.”

“No!” “No!” She screamed and stabbed her right cheek repeatedly with the knife she had been using to mix the dye.

“Stop it, Rowena.” Grayson said as he grabbed her hand.

Her older brother, Filmore, carried her inside.

Drake had been buried at sea. That was the worse part of acceptance for Rowena. Sailors were buried at sea. If she could have seen his body, touched him one more time, maybe, maybe she could acknowledge he was really gone, but he was so vivid in her mind. She had only word of mouth that he died.

She tried to run her hand through her hair. It was tangled. Drake had called the color russet when she had described her hair as brown. Russet sounded so much prettier. Drake had a way of making everything better.

Rowena sat staring at the bay. She did not carve. She did not cook. She just sat there day after day staring. She only went inside because one of her brothers came each evening and carried her into the house. A few times her father sat with her, saying nothing, just keeping her company. This behavior continued for six weeks.

One afternoon, she realized she was not alone. Mrs. Rolf was standing beside her. Rowena stood up. Mrs. Rolf put her arms around her and they cried together. Mrs. Rolf took a clean handkerchief from her pocket and wiped Rowena’s face. “I didn’t know until today you were my daughter-in-law.”

Rowena’s bottom lip trembled. She clasped the chain she wore around her neck holding her wedding band.

“May we sit down, I have some things to show you.

My husband, Phillip, showed me these things this morning. This was in Drake’s pocket when he died,” she said as she handed Rowena the carved figure of Drake.

She held it to her heart and sobbed.

The older woman, wiping her own eyes, continued, “They said this was around his neck.” She extended the gold chain and Drake’s wedding ring dangled from the end. Rowena put them to her lips and kissed them.

“And this,” Mrs. Rolf said, “is his personal journal.” My husband said to tell you he only read far enough to know you were married before he stopped. The rest is for your eyes only.”

Rowena rubbed her hand over the leather bound book before saying, “I can’t read., Mrs. Rolf, will you read it to me?”

Drake’s mother hesitated.

“Better I ask you than one of my brothers or father.”

Opening the journal, Delphine Rolf began. “I thought sailing as captain of my own vessel would be the best day of my life, but I was wrong, it was the second greatest. The best was when I help Rowena in my arms as my wife.”

Mrs. Rolf closed the journal and gave it back to Rowena. “I will teach you to read, my dear, and then you can finish it. I brought a woman with me this morning. Her name is Marion. She will cook and clean for your father and brothers. She will come every day.”

When Rowena opened her mouth, Mrs. Rolf said, “She needs the work, and I want you to come home with me and take your place as Drake’s wife in our household.

I’ve been doing much as you are, sitting at my window and staring, but when these things came today, I realized I still had a purpose. I can take care of you for Drake. I, in turn, need you to help me.”

Rowena remained silent.

“My son, Marcus, lost his wife three months ago to childbirth fever. He has not been home since it happened. He works at the office all day and into the night, and stays in the living quarters on the second floor instead of coming home. The baby, Markie, is with me. We have a wet nurse, but he needs someone young in his life to help him grow and laugh. I think you can be that person..”

Rowena leaned back in her chair. She held Drake’s things close to her breast. “You want me to move into your house?”

“Drake’s house.”

Looking at the water, Rowena said, “He’s out there. I keep wishing I could turn into a mermaid so I could join him.”

“Rowena.”

“I’m not thinking of drowning myself, Mrs. Ralf, but that is where he is.”

“His body,” Mrs. Rolf said.

“Yes.”

“What about his soul, dear?”

“He had a beautiful soul.”

Mrs. Rolf reached over and squeezed Rowena’s fingers. “He would want you to come home, dear.”

“I need to tell you, mam, that I am not expecting a baby. If that is your reason for asking me, you need to know up front.”

Mrs. Rolf said, “I would have liked a little of him left, but life is not always fair.”

“He did it to protect me. I was afraid of what people would think and now I’m alone.”

“ I need you for the simple reason that Drake loved you. A daughter is a welcome thing in our house.”

“It’ll take me a day or so to prepare my family and I want to help Marion find her way around.”

“May I pick you up day after tomorrow?”

“Is there a place for my wood and supplies”?

“Of course.”



Rowena was given a carriage house to store her supplies. It was larger than her father’s whole house.

The baby, Marcus Phillip, attached himself to her the first time she held him and their souls seemed to mesh. Rowena carried him with her wherever she went. He was brought in for feeding but otherwise he was with her.

There was an iron bed with sides set up for him in the carriage house/workshop. She was able to work on some of the smaller pieces when he was out there since it produced no sawdust for him to inhale. It was the first work she had done since Drake’s death.

In the late afternoons, Rowena walked with him around the grounds and close to the water’s edge, but Mrs. Rolf was afraid he would be bitten by mosquitoes and so Rowena skirted that area of the lawn. unless she was alone.

This procedure went on for three months, and then, the baby’s father came home. He showed up unannounced at 2 o’clock in the morning. Rowena saw a man bent over the baby’s bed. She took a piece of kindling and poked it into Marcus Rolf’s back and said, “Get away from that baby before I blow you away.”

Marcus tried to turn as he said, “Don’t be ridic…”, but the object was pressed deeper into his back, and she said,
”Mister, I won’t hesitate.”

Marcus raised his hands and said, “Look, Lady, I am not touching him.”

The wet nurse hearing the commotion went to Mr. and Mrs. Rolf’s room and Mr. Rolf came immediately to the nursery followed by two other men who served in the household.

“What’s going on?”, Mr. Rolf said.

“This maniac has a gun stuck in my back.”

“Marcus?” Mr. Rolf said.

Removing the firewood from Rowena’s hand, he said, “This is Markie’s father.”

Marcus turned to face the young woman. Her hair was wild about her shoulders. Purple color was scattered on her scarred face and her blue eyes were flashing anger.

“Father!” she exclaimed. “What kind of a father are you? I’ve been here three months, but you haven’t been here in forever!”

Not used to being chastised, Marcus raised himself up to his full height, but before he could speak, Mr. Rolf touched his arm and said, “Marcus, this is Drake’s widow, Rowena, your new sister-in-law.”

Marcus was obviously taken back by the information and said, “That’s not possible, Drake would never marry this!”

“Marcus!”, Mr. Rolf said.

The irritated young man turned and left the room. Rowena could hear him talking to his father who had followed him into the hall. “I don’t want that monster near my son. I want her fired!”

Mr. Rolf laughed. “She kept you away from him didn’t she? She convinced you that she had a gun in your back, didn’t she?”

“Have you looked at her? She looks like a witch, a tattooed witch. I don’t want her working with my son.”

“Have you seen him with her?”

“You know I haven’t.”

“You’re speaking from anger, Son. Give it a few days before you address this with your Mama.”

“Mama?”

“Mama is Rowena’s advocate.”

“Why?”

“She’s Mama’s project. Instead of continuously staring out the window like she did after we found out about Drake, Mama has an interest that gets her out of bed every morning without coaxing. Rowena has given her life.”

Marcus slowly rubbed his right eye before saying, “I’m sorry I woke up the whole house.”

“It’s okay. Go to your room and I’ll bring Markie to you.”

“Thanks.”

“ He’s definitely awake now.”

Marcus laughed. “ You heard him, too, huh?”



A violent thunderstorm in the early morning hours caused damage to one of the trees that was facing the bay. Lightning struck it, split it and caught it on fire. When Mr. Rolf saw it, he ordered it cut down.

When Rowena found him, he was having breakfast with Marcus.

“Excuse me, Mr. Rolf, but I need to talk to you before the tree out back gets destroyed..”

“What do you mean, Rowena?”

“The men are cutting it down.”

“I know, I asked them to, it’s ruined.”

“May I ask for the stump?”

Mr. Rolf blinked.

“I want to carve a mermaid out of it.”

“A mermaid?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have you discussed it with Delphine?”

“No, sir, I just found out. Do I need to? The men said you gave the order.”

“I will tell them to cut only the damaged top section.”

Rowena smiled. ”Thank you.”



Rowena only worked on the eight foot tree stump when Markie was either nursing or napping.

The head came quickly. The details took longer. Her bosom

emerged soon after and then her arm and flat stomach. Some of the bark would be left for the hair. Her tail flipped around and up. The scales came last.

Marcus watching from his bedroom window with his mother wondered how Rowena could carve like that. Rowena did not speak to him unless he spoke to her first, she wore her hair up now which only emphasized the dye-laced scar. His mother explained to him why she was scarred. He had told his mother he never one time thought of self-mutilation when Mary Katherine died.. His mother reminded him that all scars do not show. She had also stated that it was her prayer that when the mermaid was finished, Rowena would be able to sleep the night through, and then his mother asked if he was sleeping through the night yet.

He put his arm around her and said, “I love you, Mama.” She kissed his cheek and they continued to watch.



It would soon be a year since Drake died, and it was Rowena’s goal to finish the mermaid by then and dedicate it to Drake in her heart on their anniversary.

Rowena was working feverishly on the mermaid when she looked into the brown eyes of Marcus Rolf. It startled her and she almost lost her balance on the scaffolding. He reached around the mermaid to steady Rowena.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Is something wrong with Markie?”

“No, no, he’s sleeping away. I just wanted to tell you that I like your mermaid.”

Surprised, she managed to say, “Thank you.”

“You loved my little brother a lot, didn’t you?”

“You say that like it’s over. I will always love Drake.”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean you won’t wind up marrying again.”

Looking directly into Marcus’ eyes, she said, “And exactly how many men do you know that want to marry a witch with a tattoo?”

He rubbed his right eye. She could tell he was trying to get his temper in check before he answered her.

“I’m sorry you heard me say that, Rowena, but I do not even see the scar anymore.”

“Really, what do you see, Marcus?”

“The woman my son loves.”



Legend has it that Rowena, the mermaid, stands alert and waiting as Drake requested. She stands overlooking the bay that leads out to the gulf, which directs ships toward the ocean.

Rowena, the woman, two years after completing the carving of the mermaid, married Marcus Lyndon Ralf. They had four more sons named Lyndon Grayson, Michael Andrew, William David, and Robert Drake.