By LUELLA DOW
Contributor
“Imagine getting paid for doing something you love.”
That's Connie Schroeder's sentiments concerning a memorable time in her life. But, she had to go through some other years before she arrived at that point.
Constance Marguerite (Brown) Schroeder was born in 1922 in her maternal grandmother's bedroom on the family farm near Fairfield,Wash. She was the first grandchild on either side of the family. In 1941 they moved to Cheney where Connie married “the farmer next door,” Donald Schroeder.
They had two children, Ronald Reed, who lives at Vancouver and Shelley Egan who now resides in Salem, Oregon.
On April 8 of this year Connie's family and friends celebrated her 85th birthday, daughter Shelley's and niece, Sharon Hall's birthdays with a potluck party at Four Lakes Seventh Day Adventist Church.
“Ronald Reed was born,” Connie said, “in 1950 in this house.”
The Schroeders moved to Bonners Ferry and lived there three years. They moved again to Eugene, Ore.where Mr. Schroeder worked in a sawmill.
Connie's life was about to change. She and Schroeder divorced in 1956. And Connie said, “I decided to be a teacher.” Here's where “being paid for doing something you love” comes in. Connie taught fourth grade and was the librarian for elementary grades.
She so enjoyed reading to those children. Connie taught in California and at the little red schoolhouse on the hill at Virginia City, Mont.
“Then,”Connie said, “I came home to mom. Her name was Maud Brown. I've lived in this house for 20 years.”
In January of 1987 Connie got a job working for The Spokesman Review training new people to put ads on the computer. She typed classified ads as well.
Connie wanted to be a reporter, but the Spokesman insisted reporters had to have a degree in journalism. She worked for The Spokesman Review for 10 years. She also worked for Jerry Jantz at The Cheney Free Press from 1970 to 1973.
Always active in the business of words, Connie said, ”I've published lots of stories. I'm currently writing two books; ‘Connie's Memoirs' and ‘Vengeance Is Mine,' a novel.”
The novel is a horror-mystery-love story involving serial killings in a school district. Connie's friends shake their heads at this mild lady writing this type of story.
Connie belongs to the Medical Lake Writing Club, which meets weekly. They follow a writing course with Spokane Community College.
Reminiscing, Connie said, “I took a writing class from ‘Pop' Holmquist at [Eastern Washington University]. He was tough. But everybody loved him. One day he yelled at me and figuratively ripped my writing to shreds. But I took it, and profited from it. He gave me a B. I had my own writing group through the Assembly of God Church for three years.”
Connie has been published in Grit and Cappers. “I wrote an article about my sister and her flowers, another about Mount St Helens' eruption, and the day Uncle Elmer took us to Hangman Creek in the summertime,” she said.
This lady who just turned 85 seems about 55 when you get to know her. She loves her writing career and is looking forward to finishing that novel about the serial killer.
Now, all we have to do is lock the door, locate the butcher knife and get a guard dog to keep us safe while we read it!
Blessings to you, Connie, and keep that computer humming. Bye for now.
Luella Dow is a local author and can be reached at lotsaplots@aol.com.
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