Timeline

There is very little detail about the timelines of the various stories in the Lord Huron universe, and it may well be adrift in time and space, or dealing with many worlds and fictions within fiction. However, there are still some known dates, and some possibly canon dates.

## Known dates

April 9, 1945 Buck Vernon is born.
March 11, 1946 George Ranger Johnson is born.
1966 *Lonesome Dreams* published.
1966 Frankie Lou dies.
1967 events of *Vide Noir*.
1968 *She Lit a Fire* published.
1969 *Time to Run* published.
1971 *Ends of the Earth* published.
Circa 1971-1973, on one episode of Alive From Whispering Pines, Tubbs Tarbell interviews George Ranger Johnson on "his new book" *Ends of the Earth*. He also mentions that Johnson runs the Broken Bottle.
1974 *The Man Who Lives Forever* published.
1977 *In the Wind* published.
1979 *Brother (Last Ride)* published.
1983 *I Will Be Back One Day* published.
1985 *Lullaby* published.
1987 *The Ghost on the Shore* published.
1996 is the year Dale Frandor claims to have discovered the Ojo de Equilibrio in Mexico.
1997 LHSC Products of the Universe season 6 episode 44 is produced by William "Bud Jr" Crampton. According to Dale Frandor, Vide Noir products were illegal only a few years before. George Ranger Johnson is spiritual advisor to Marsha Tanley.
## Possible dates

In the "World Ender video", there are documents of employee information of a surveyor, dated May 1954 and a shipping ticket dated July 31, 1954, as well as a Whispering Pines Motel calendar for January, suggesting the events take place in 1955. These dates are speculative, as it's unclear if their inclusion was intentional, and because the World Ender may be a fictionalized event, or possibly even a WBUB Midnight Movie starring Dale Redmayne.

The music video for "The Night We Met" has a split second image of a film clapperboard for the 1967 production *Suivrez L'Étoile Émeraude,* directed by Z'Oiseaux. This could possibly establish the time period for the Vide Noir film. The Impala Buck Vernon drives in the film is a '67 model, placing the events of the film in that year at the earliest.

## Speculative dates

If the 1955 World Ender date is accurate, in episode 423 of Alive From Whispering Pines, Tarbell has a newspaper on his desk with the headline "Winthrop Tragedy, Ten Years Later" which, if the same tragedy, places this episode around 1965 - assuming it's not an old newspaper. Considering Tarbell's reminiscing and going through archives, it may well be. It is supposed to be the 35th season of the show (teaser), and about 35 years from its start (records and tapes ad spot). This dating would place that start in the 1930s, which seems rather early. This has ramifications for other characters and events as well. George Ranger Johnson, who runs the Broken Bottle, was born in 1946, and appears on the show circa 1971 to promote his then-new book *Ends of the Earth*. Since Tarbell had his inspiration for starting the show at the Broken Bottle, George cannot be the first proprietor in that timeline.

Another highly speculative approach to the timeline is to consider details from the "I Lied" music video. This video appears to depict the first recording session at Whispering Pines Studios of Donny and Midge's "I Lied." In the video, it is broadcast on television screens in a shop window. On another screen, there is a W-BUB metro news newscaster who reads a headline about a "neighborhood blaze." If the house fire is the one that set off the events of the World Ender, and they are intended to be contemporaneous news broadcasts, it establishes the recording session in approximately the mid 50s. This would place season 35 in the 90s, which seems rather late.

Somewhere between these two approaches is a third. If the *Vide Noir film* is set around 1967 and there is a newspaper placing the events of the "Winthrop Tragedy" five years prior\*, then season 35 of Tarbell's show would take place around 1972 - which seems to make sense with the music and fashion styles depicted. If this were the case, the beginning of Whispering Pines Studio would be around 1937, which again seems rather early, but not implausible. This approach would necessitate moving up the date of "The World Ender" to 1962, which doesn't line up with the materials seen in the video, however it's possible that these props were not meant to convey an exact date when these events occurred. It's also possible that Tarbell is simply detached from time and space.

* However, there is no concrete evidence this paper is current to the film's events, especially considering the older "Who's Next" article is present in the office.

Regardless, the film places Frankie Lou's death in the late 60s. The man at the bar notes that she was murdered "last year" and the schedule in the office suggests it is still January. Vernon indicates that Lee Green moved to L.A. from Detroit "a few months back" which leaves the possibility that Lou and Green's paths overlapped, if Lou died late in the year.

## Sources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kim Berens Design website
2. ↑ George Ranger Johnson's website