My adult life has been spent primarily as a farmer's wife and a homemaker rearing four children, who are now wonderful adults of whom I am very proud. I am also pleased and proud of our nine grandchildren and three great grandsons.  

I had what I call a haphazard career in education.  I taught integrated  English-speech classes to sophomores in a Chicago suburban high school and coached debate the year before my marriage. For three years when our children were very young, I taught part time (speech or journalism)  at nearby Marion High School,  Later I sometimes subbed in preschool through high school, and sometimes taught part time at Johnston City High School, John A. Logan College, Shawnee Community College, McKendree College, and Southeastern Illinois College.  After four years working in family literacy in Franklin County for Rend Lake College when most of my professional friends were retiring, I finally was given a full-time position at RLC for my last two years before I retired.  I enjoyed two years with a paid vacation and full-time salary.  Although I never made much money from my work outside the home, I loved the challenge, stimulation, and the interaction with students.

I have always loved to write.  Down through the years, I have done some free lance writing, some family history work,  and I became a blogger in 2005. For several years as a farm wife and mother, I wrote a weekly column, and I decided in 2005 that I needed to put the yellowing clippings into book form for my children and theirs.  These columns became Down on the Farm:  One American Family's Dream.   I've researched and written about the Trail of Tears through Southern Illinois and done a great deal of speaking on that topic. I wish I had more time to write because I have much half-done material.  Although I never made much money from my writing, I have loved the challenge, stimulation, and the interaction with readers.

If you want to know about me, ask!