Cynthia Collins
Cynthia Collins is equally at home in music, history, and writing. After graduating from Drury University in Springfield, MO with a Bachelor of Music in Music Theory, she continued her studies for two consecutive summers, on scholarship, at the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, CO, and received a certificate from the University of Salzburg Summer School, in Salzburg, Austria. She did graduate work at the Mannes School of Music in New York.
While working in the performing arts, as both a choral music composer and in the administrative side of the music industry, Cindy realized she was spending much of her spare time watching the ships in New York Harbor. In 2004, she signed up as a volunteer at the South Street Seaport Museum and soon became a part-time employee. She took sail training classes aboard a nineteenth-century schooner and served as a volunteer on the ship for three summers. Her interest in maritime history extends beyond New York, ranging from New Bedford, MA to the riverboat history of her native Missouri.
She is a member of the Steering Committee of the Working Harbor Committee – a non-profit educational organization dedicated to the past, present, and future of New York Harbor. She also works with historic house museums and writes fiction.
Two of her short stories have received People's Choice Awards - 1st Place Fiction.
"A Season for Christmas" - published in The Storyteller Magazine, a quarterly writers' journal - Oct/Nov/Dec 2010 issue.
"The Signature" - published in The Storyteller Magazine - April/May/June 2011 issue.
Her first book, The Unicorn Tree, a young adult novel about a teenage girl whose brother is lost at sea, was released in April, 2012.
Latest Articles
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Funnel Cake - Popular Carnival Pastry
Funnel cakes are popular pastries deep fried in oil and topped with powdered sugar. They are frequently prepared at carnivals but are delicious anytime.
Jul 12, 2010
- Cynthia Collins
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Using Bells to Mark Time on a Ship
For hundreds of years, bells and half-hourglasses were used aboard ships to mark time. This practice, still taught today, has a language all its own.
Jun 11, 2010
- Cynthia Collins
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The Shepherd of the Hills - the Beginning of Tourism in Branson
Harold Bell Wright was one of America's bestselling authors in the early 20th century. His most famous novel brought tourism to the Missouri Ozarks.
Jun 11, 2010
- Cynthia Collins
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Helping Children Understand the Body Language of Horses
Horses are very sociable animals. In order for a child to feel comfortable around a horse, it helps to know how a horse communicates.
Jun 4, 2010
- Cynthia Collins
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Marceline, Missouri - Walt Disney's Boyhood Home
Marceline, Missouri is a small town with a large history. Created by the railroad, it was Walt Disney's boyhood home and the birth of his dreams.
Jun 1, 2010
- Cynthia Collins
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Ceres - Roman Goddess of Agriculture on Missouri Capitol Dome
A bronze statue of Ceres stands on top of the Missouri State Capitol dome, 238 feet above ground level, as a symbol of abundance and nurturing.
May 10, 2010
- Cynthia Collins
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The Rise and Fall of Spittoons in the United States
Spittoons, bowl-shaped vessels into which tobacco chewers spit, were widely used in public in the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
May 8, 2010
- Cynthia Collins
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Slicker Wars of Missouri - 19th Century Frontier Justice
During the mid-1800s, conflicts between outlaws and local vigilante groups spread across the Missouri Ozarks and became known as the Slicker Wars.
Apr 29, 2010
- Cynthia Collins
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The Significance of the Color Red at Pentecost
Pentecost is regarded by Christians around the world as the birthday of the Christian church and is represented by the liturgical color of red.
Apr 20, 2010
- Cynthia Collins
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The Schooner Ernestina - Cape Verde's Gift to the United States
In 1982, the schooner Ernestina made her last trans-Atlantic voyage from Cape Verde to the United States. She was coming home, to New Bedford, to stay.
Apr 15, 2010
- Cynthia Collins
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