K-Lancaitar Farthing, Saturday, March Si, 1998 ’
Many of author Linda Oatman High’s story Ideas are derived from her own child
hood and those of her sons’.
Author’s New Book Captures
Beekeeping Story
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Fanning Staff
BOWMANSVILLE (Lancaster
Co.) When die word “bees” is
mentioned, most children shiver
with the memory of a bee sting.
But when Linda Oatman High
hears the word, she thinks of honey
and beekeepers hanging tough,
plugging away at their ancient art
with grit and guts, spunk and
{duck.
She wants others to share her
concept of beekeepers.
“Beekeepers are some of the
most dedicated folks I know,”
High said. “These gatherers of
honey are zealous and committed.
Beekeeping isn’t just a profession;
it’s a way of life, requiring heaps of
patience, devotion, and true love.”
A much-loved writer of child
ren’s stories. High shares her per
spective in a book she’s written
called “Beekeepers.”
High has a sparse, poetic style
that enables children and adults to
feel part of the action. She writes,
“Springtime sunshine pours like
warm honey from the sky....
“Standing still. I hardly dare to
breathe as the bees twirl down like
a tornado, swirling and whirling
every which way above Grandpa
and me, the clustering on the
branch of a tree.”
With muted illustrations, artist
Doug Chayka shows the beekeep
er’s garb and beehives to give
readers a realistic picture of what
happens when a swarm of bees is
brought down from a tree limb and
moved into a hive.
High wrote the book from
watching neighbor Bob Hughes
who operates Rainbow Apiaries.
“I wrote a fiction book sprinkled
with beekeeping facts, wishing to
entertain and inform in a way
that’s easy for children to under
stand,” High said. The book tells of
a granddaughter who becomes “a
fine keeper of bees,” under his
grandfather’s watchful eye.
“It is my wish that the book will
open the eyes erf girls and boys to
the many joys of puttering in back
yard beehives so that beekeeping
doesn’t fade away in the techno
age of die future.”
Other books by High include “A
Christmas Star,” which was her
alded by the “New York Times” as
one of the 13 best Christmas books
for children.
“Maizic,” “Hound Heaven,”
and “The Summer of the Great
Divide.”
High has written a column for
Tri-County newspaper for IS
years. A collection of those col
umns is published in book form as
“Hogwash, History, and Horse
Sense.”
Although all her other books
have had national publishers, the
collection of columns was pub
lished by a fan of her columns.
“Jake’s View,” is a wise, humor
ous column on local heritage and
its people.
High has been published in
numerous newspapers, magazines,
and has had several children’s
books published. Three more
books are under contract High
said that it usually takes three years
after a contract is signed until the
book is in print
High said her ideas for books are
often sparked by memories other
childhood and from her own child
ren. She, her husband and three
sons live in Bowmansville where
they are renovating a house from
old bam wood. Her husband dis
mantles old bams. In fact High has
written a picture book about his
vocation in her book, “Bam
Savers.”
High’s interest in writing deve
loped when her 11th grade teacher,
Mrs. Susan Severs at Garden Spot
High School, encouraged High’s
creative writing.
High married young and did not
attend college, but her love for
writing increased. She said, “I love
writing so much, I don’t need to
displine myself to set aside time to
do it”
However, responsibilities of
mothering and pursuing other
interests oflen limit her writing
time to when the children are in
school.
As many mothers. High laments
that her children do not read more
books, but she said, “I tell the lads
they must read my books.”
They do.
“My books usually have a theme
that lift up values such as faith,
love, and hope,” High said.
Her first book “Maizie,” is a
novel for B-14 yean old and tells of
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Lind* Oatman High hold* a copy of her new book, “Bee
keepers,” to add to the many delightful books she has writ
ten tor children.
a girl and her wishes for a pony.
“It’s bused on my observation of
living near the people of Welsh
Mountain and seeing how we're all
the same inside, with wishes and
hopes and dreams that may or may
not come true,” High said.
“Hound Heaven,” about a girl
who wants a dog, was nominated
for state book awards in Illinois
and Oklahoma.
“A Slone’s Throw From Para
dise” is a fictional setting of an
Amish town called Pearly Gates, a
stone’s throw from Paradise. “The
story is based on my husband’s
grandmother, who is Amish,”
High said.
“The Summer of the Great
Divide,” has a 1969 setting with
the backdrop of the Vietnam War.
It’s the story of a young girl whose
parents are getting a divorce, and
she spends a summer at the farm
with her cousin who she can’t
stand. “I try to incorporate some
American history with the division
caused by the Vietnam War
between generations and man’s
first walk on the moon.
High would like to branch out
into writing adult novels, non
fictional books, poetry, and song
writing.
“I did some song writing as a Idd
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and now I’m getting back into it,”
she said. She is also learning to
play the drums along with her teen
age sons.
Every novel that she has written
has been published. Breaking in
the first time was the most diffi
cult High submitted her manu
script to 13 publishers before it
was accepted.
With the release of several new
books; High is asked more and
more to cover public speaking
events. “I like it, but it’s draining
from creativity,” she said. She said
some out-of-state appearances can
be sychronized with family
vacations.
“I love writing so much that I’d
do it even if I wasn’t paid. But it’s
exciting to do something creative
that affects others’ lives and make
money doing it,” High said.
Unlike many oft-published wri
ters, High does not have an agent
to represent her. She represents
herself by making trips to New
York to visit publishers. “My writ
ing stands on its own,” she said.
The hard-cover picture book,
“Beekeepers,” written for children
from 5-8, is distributed by Boyds
Mills Press and, along with High’s
other published books are avail
able in bookstores nationwide.
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