A window of life in the early 1900's, GOOSE CROSSING represents a typical small community with a Scandinavian background in the Red River Valley area on the Minnesota and North Dakota border. It is the story of personal relationships that arise through the social interactions of the business people who develop the area. Jan's Smith forte, writing historical fiction, means zeroing in on a time period in a locality, researching the events that affected those people and its land, and creating additional characters to enhance the story line to make it enjoyable reading. Smith, a former teacher, writes in the classical style, enlightening her readers of means and methods of survival in new surroundings.