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My Name is Esther Clara
by Laurel A. Johnson   
Category: 

History

 Publisher:  Dandelion Books ISBN-10:  189330289X Type: 
Pages: 

241

 Copyright:  February 2006

Esther Clara Sofia Sanow was born in 1898 in Iowa and died in 1989 in Marysville KS. She married Herb Ford in 1916. They experienced one of the most amazing centuries this world has known so far. Esther and Herb were never rich, famous, or powerful. But they were strong, courageous and tough -- the kind of Americans who made this country the world power it is today.

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Table of Contents



 

Cast of Family Characters

 

Foreword from the Author

 

Part One:  1898 – 1916

     Chapter One                  – A Bit of History and a Hard Lesson Learned

     Chapter Two                 – Dead Goats and Drunk Roosters

     Chapter Three               – Green Geese and Gravy

     Chapter Four                 – The Day the Hogs Got Sick and Cow Tails

     Chapter Five                  – Corn Picking Season

     Chapter Six                         – White Witchcraft and Second Sight

     Chapter Seven               – We Knew How to Work and Have Fun

     Chapter Eight                 – The Bridegroom Didn't Come from Money


 

Part Two:  1917 – 1957

     Chapter Nine                 – The Best and Worst of Times in Frankfort, Kansas

     Chapter Ten                         – Bed Bugs and Blizzards

     Chapter Eleven             – Birds, Bees, Birth Control, and Carnation Milk Labels

     Chapter Twelve                         – Pa Knuckles Under and Navy Beans

     Chapter Thirteen                        – Dorothy

     Chapter Fourteen                       – Memories of Fairbury, Nebraska

     Chapter Fifteen             – The Dirty Thirties

     Chapter Sixteen                         – Setting Priorities

     Chapter Seventeen             – Our Life in Marysville, Kansas




 

Part Three:  1939 – 1989

     Chapter Eighteen                       – Into the Next Generation

     Chapter Nineteen                       – Dreams and Regrets

     Chapter Twenty                         – My Favorite Holiday

     Chapter Twenty One             – Tippy and Trixie and Friends

     Chapter Twenty Two             – All Good Things Must Eventually End

 

Afterword from the Author

 

Discussion Guide – Optional

 

Websites You Might Enjoy

 

About the Author

 


 

 



 


Excerpt
(From the Foreword.) In 1989, my maternal grandmother lay dying in a long-term care facility. By that time dementia had stolen all but a few shreds of her personal history and identity. To the facility staff she was simply another wasted shell battling hallucinations. In their rush to care for dozens of other elderly patients, I knew they couldn't see beyond the wrinkles and incontinence or identify the once-strong human being she had been. Memories of the woman I had known came to me with an aching tenderness while sitting at her bedside. If only the caregivers could see her as I had twenty, thirty, forty years in the past. More than anything, I wished to share somehow the lush entirety that was Esther Clara's life. This book is that wish transformed into reality.
Grandma's legacy is a simple one, and typical of Americans who made our country the world power it is today. She wasn't a celebrity, not a millionaire, but Esther Clara knew who she was and trusted her instincts through good times and bad. She blazed her own path, focused on what was right for her and those she loved, then let the chips fall where they might. She learned in childhood to set priorities, to work hard and value her accomplishments, to cook and clean and keep an orderly house. She learned at her mother's skirt tails the pleasure pretty plants, flowers, and embroidered linens brought to a woman's home. And she knew exactly what sort of man she wanted as a husband and the father of her children. She wanted a strong and moral man, a man whose eyes twinkled with humor and compassion. When Esther Clara finally met that man, it didn't matter that he wasn't Lutheran or rich. Grandma was intelligent, an independent thinker, and capable of making life what she wanted it to be with the right man at her side.


Professional Reviews

The Wichita Eagle
(Excerpt.) Johnson's rich literary style and ability to give her characters life will not only bring laughter and tears, but make this story one you won't forget.
Patty Satalia -- producer / host WPSU-TV
This is a family love story and a tribute to a grandmother's gift of love, comfort, and wisdom.

Midwest Book Review
(Excerpt.) As Esther Clara spins tales of her life, her mark upon this earth, you know you have been privileged to share her existence.


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