Book research, curiosity led man to Egypt David Johnson of Moorhead has always been fascinated by young people who rose to power at an early age, remained in power and accomplished great things. He has spent his retirement researching and writing about this subject and made it a central focus of his life. In fact, he even wrote three books on the subject, one published and two waiting to be published. These books are historical fiction, meaning the story is made up, but set i

Long Prairie woman has written about 50 unpublished novels, 50 children’s stories Erma Long, of Long Prairie, 91, has been writing and doodling for nearly her entire life. She is pictured with one of her books. Photo by Nancy Leasman Erma Irene Long, of Long Prairie, remembers the first “grown up” book she read. She was 13. It was 1940. A friend of the family, her namesake, Irene, brought her her first birthday cake and that grown up book: Dora Deane. While she doesn’t wax po

Richard Gist has been many things in life: a foreign language specialist in the Air Force, an auto mechanic, a pipeline welder, a husband, a father and a minister. “Words just appealed to me,” said Gist, who dreamed of writing ever since he graduated from Pipestone High School in 1952 and married his wife Norma five years later. “The first day in first-grade, the teacher went up to the blackboard and did this and did that for the letter ‘H,’ and I was just fascinated. I wante

A frequently heard admonition for writers is to write what you know. Cheryl Weibye Wilke was influenced by her rural roots and small town upbringing in Eagle Bend and really does write what she knows. She has found success in creating stories and poems with a rural or nature focus for national magazines and more recently, books. Cheryl’s latest project is a picture book combining haiku and narrative prose.  Full Wolf Moon, A Lunar Calendar of the Anishanabe was illustrated by

In 1971 a young teacher named Jon Hassler joined the English faculty of Melrose High School.  He rented a room from Clara Schulzetenberg, a widow. His entry into the world of academia was not spectacular. A much more successful teaching career followed, in Fosston and Park Rapids high schools and colleges in Bemidji, Brainerd, and Collegeville, where he honed his teaching and writing skills, presumably using as assets what one of his students called his “quiet wisdom,” twinkl

Since he was a young boy, Ted Leagjeld enjoyed journaling. Having a knack for nature and a will to write, he jotted down thoughts and experiences on a daily basis. His musings between 1947 and 1950 fueled the content of Leagjeld’s latest book, Prairie Wind Rural School. This man, who owned Driftwood Resort on the west side of Whitefish Lake for the last 50 years, has led an interesting and diversified life, which really began right out of high school and served as the inspira