My Mother's Story

My Mother's Story
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Sunday, May 15, 2011

Esther and Mary

Mary was Esther's dearest sister and friend. This photo shows the two posing for the Maude's camera. Esther is on the left, Mary on the right.


Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Interview with local newspaper

This morning I was interviewed by a reporter from our local newspaper, Stanwood/Camano News. It was a pleasant experience. Our discussion was wide-ranging--how and when did I decide to write about Esther's life? How did I learn about her childhood in Indiana? I was glad to think about the long and sometimes arduous process of writing, editing, revising, and rewriting. Quite a journey that was!

During my growing-up years, I kept a diary. It was some kind of escape from the oft-times depressing and traumatic events that hovered over our day-to-day lives. When I became a teacher, I gave my mother a journal. She kept up her entries, more or less, until her early 90s. Those journals, together with a box full of artifacts and recollections, provided me with an inside look into her adult life.

When Mom was in her eighties, she drove from her apartment in Edmonds to visit me at our Camano Island home. She loved to reminisce about her childhood in Garrett Indiana. She was still enchanted by her recollections of the family homesteading in Florida during pre-Great Depression years.

During one very special school year, I had the pleasure of teaching fifth grade in Lincoln Elementary School in Sunnyside, Washington--alongside my mother, who also taught fifth grade. We developed a new relationship as "colleagues," and I came to appreciate my mother's teaching skills and her devotion to her students.

Now I'm researching different methods of distributing my book. The Snow Goose Bookstore in Stanwood, Washington, is currently carrying THE ESTHER VICE HOUSE, and I have made it available for purchase through this blog. I look forward to hearing from my readers, so please leave a comment if you've read the book. Thank you!