Wymans Creek / Stratton Press (ePub)

The train slowly clanged down the grade. Rachel clasped her hands together, feeling a sense of suspended elation at the familiar sights. The north side of town lay like a peach pit sunk into the flesh of the fruit, its soggy marsh land cratering rundown company houses. The heat of the August sun beat against the window, but she could see sandbags still piled along the creek as a reminder of rampant spring runoffs, when the snow melted in the mountains and ravaged the lowlands. The sawmill, tin-sided and monstrous, zigzagged to fit the pattern of the creek, ballooned to hold logs, corralled like floating steers fattened for slaughter. Shooting flames spit through the door of the wigwam burner, as it caught the waste and hurled blue-streaked smoke into the air obstructing the sight of the mountains. Even inside the train, Rachel could hear the shrill gratifying whine of the mill machinery. It was a sound that was absent when she left.

Margaret Ann Wicklund-Wiese left her four children and her husband a Legacy of her Novels among other treasures wrapped up in her Writing. Throughout her lifetime, our Memory of our Mother consisted of her sitting almost daily at her typewriter and her fingers tapping on the keys as fast as she could type. The words just seemed to flow to her fingertips. She seemed to always have time for her family and friends. She was loved by many. Especially by her family.

Wymans Creek is just one of Mom's novels, but is where I felt led to start. This is the story of a family on the journey of life and not only tells of their family but also of the people that they were involved with, the people without whom there would be no story. This story will grip your heart as you realize that no matter what happens in life, life goes on. Rachel, the main character, is courageous throughout the story. She has been thrown some things throughout her life that most people could not have endured. This story shows that women have strength and can endure if put to the test. Lister, Rachel's aunt, is the cornerstone of the family. She reads her Bible and prays over the family and loves Jesus with all of her heart! Wilkins, the main male character, is thrown a challenge in this story that will show that he is a better man than he realizes. There are twists and turns in this story of this family that shows what people go through in this journey we call life. I hope you enjoy reading this story. It is full of action and suspense but also a lesson on what we can all endure if faced with the challenges of life.