PEOPLE OF INTEREST
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a pear shape and she
didn’t know what that
was. I said, ‘Have you
ever seen a pear?’ She
said ‘No.’ ”
Another book grew
out of something her
daughters were taught in
school in Michigan. Their
teacher wouldn’t let
them use the word “nice” in their writings. She pressed them
to find more descriptive words. Hameister’s book is called
“Let’s Put Nice on Ice.”
In 2006, a friend’s 2-year-old granddaughter had been cast
as a ladybug in the church Christmas pageant. She asked
Hameister if it was true, as her granddaughter had said,
that a “ladybug went to Bethlehem” after Jesus’ birth. She
answered her, and the result was a popular book called “A
Ladybug went to Bethlehem,” that explains the symbolism
of ladybugs to Christians. It continues to sell well, especially
during the Christmas season.
“The ladybug book I wrote in an hour on the computer,”
Hameister said. “I was answering my friend’s email and
I expounded.”
Hameister strives for balance in her children’s books.
“I try not to write condescendingly,” she said. “I like it to be
a book that an adult will have fun reading aloud. You have to
be careful with your choice of words, or explain them.”
She also writes journals, in longhand rather than on the
keyboard, and writes a monthly newsletter, Vero Voice, that
she mails to friends in Michigan. Last summer, she wrote a regional
“A Ladybug Went to Bethlehem” explains
the symbolism of ladybugs to Christians.
Eco-friendly Eco-friendly
Eco-friendly Eco-friendly
“I was appalled the
kids knew nothing
about food,” she said.
“They thought any kind
of hamburger was called
a McDonald’s. I suggested
a little girl make
best-seller about Bay View, a cultural mecca in Petoskey.
About 20 years ago, after leading an active life for many
years, she started suffering from the delayed effects of polio.
Now, one leg is not functional at all and her shoulders are arthritic
from overuse. She uses a walker to get around at home
but sits in a wheelchair when she goes out.
“I have good health other than that,” she says. “The thing I
miss most is being able to drive. I loved my car, and I liked to
get in and go do my thing. But I can’t do that anymore.”
Hameister says it without a trace of self-pity. Then, she
changes the subject.
Name: Elaine Hameister
Age: 81
Lives in: Vero Beach and Petoskey,
Mich.
Family: Bob, husband of 57 years
whom she met in sixth grade; two
daughters; two grandchildren and
four great-grandchildren.
Occupation: Writer of children’s books, former teacher, former
antiques shop owner
Something no one knows about me: “I played Hawaiian
guitar on stage in Detroit at the age of 6.”
TO A MORE HUMAN WAY TO BANK
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