The Renfrow Story

What a joyful journey it has been since my last post! Getting the books into the hands of fellow Renfrow story enthusiasts has been simply wonderful in every way.

My first stop was to the Pioneer Bookstore, where Cassie and Sonya met me at the back door on a frigid morning. Stomping through the snow still drifted through the alley, we stacked the boxes of books into their back room and snapped a joy filled picture as they pulled the first ones out of the box.

My next delivery coincided with arrival at work, where I delivered two copies – one to add to the children’s collection and one to add to the local authors collection in the archives. The circulating copy is now cataloged (it feels really library official now that it has a MARC record) and it is checked out to the first borrower.

I spent the next evening signing copies and getting them ready to mail to the the wonderful people who financially backed this project on Kickstarter back in April. With 32 packages to mail, I was a bit anxious to back up the line at the PO. I had asked a couple of weeks earlier if there was an easier way for me to do this. But since the books were mailed “Media Rate” they had to be individually metered and signed off at the window. So I crossed my fingers that it would be slow at the window first thing in the morning. I was mostly lucky and the friendly post man worked his way through the pile in about 30 minutes. As he was nearing the end of the pile I mentioned that these were all copies of the book about Edith Renfrow Smith, noting that I could see the crane working on Renfrow Hall through the window behind him. That made the moment all the better.

The next task was getting the other 90 or so books to Kickstarter backers in town. I was able to get all of those signed and put into envelopes, not for mailing but just so I could track them and hand them out more easily. I spent the next Saturday afternoon hanging out at Saints Rest Coffee Shop where I had told people they could come to pick thm up. The weather was still attrocious and bitterly cold. But I had some wonderful converstations with those who ventured out.

But the big event was an official book launch this morning at the Pioneer Bookstore. It was a steady stream of people who were filled with excitement and gratitude for book. The vast majority of them have been following along throughout the last year, as anxious as I was to finally be able to hold it in their hands and read it through. There were many hugs and laughs and, of course, lots of books to sign. This has been such an incredible journey and there have been so many wonderful people following along each step of the way.

It was especially fun to talk to people who are a part of the story. Sharing the page that shows Alma and Edith on the farm with Heather, who grew up across the road from Alma – that was wonderful. She gave us the picture of Alma that Erica used for that illustration. And signing a book for one of the students in the photograph with Edith towards the end of the book – fabulous fun.

But one of the most memorable conversations was with a woman who only moved to town a short while ago. She had picked up the book when she was in last week and wanted to come back today specifically so she could talk to me. She came up to me and with piercing eyes told me how moved she had been by the story. She wanted to thank me for doing such an important thing. We ended up talking for quite a while. She’s a retired minister and we had a delightful conversation about following God’s nudges and where walking in faith can lead us. I’ve shared before how much I have leaned on my faith throughout this journey. A year ago I really had no idea how this was going to come together. But what a year it has been. God is good.

I don’t have any pictures from today. There were two photographers there from the college – one with a reporter from the college paper and one from the communications office. So I decided I would just trust that they would take some great pictures that would eventually end up online for me to share.

I simply wanted to focus on being present for everyone who has shared the joy of this journey, people like each of you reading this now.

If you ordered a copy of the book you should have received it by now. I’d love to hear what you think about it or any questions you may have after reading it. The next step is going to be getting it spread beyond Grinnell so I’m now working to develop my skills in marketing and distribution – and awaiting the Edith magic and divine guidance as we work to make that happen.