From the Kentucky foothills of the Cumberland Mountains comes the silent voice of a woman of faith and family and a fountain pen:
"When I am no more visible, and the touch of life is gone.
Here in these pages you will find me, where I've spent many hours alone."
That may be the best description of the heart and feeling within 'Zona: Her Collected Works and then some.'
Born in 1902 in Lee County, Zona Chapman grew up on Bear Creek near Beattyville and Canyon Falls, Kentucky. Here she learned of country ways and, thanks to some Missionary school workers, she also heard the luring call of higher thoughts early in life. That led her to write at an early age-one of the most moving pieces collected here was written when she was only 17-and she continued to write and influence and color her world with words until the day she died.
The 'Samples Boys'-the father/son collaborative team that put this together-are but a small part of the family legacy that belongs to Zona. This book is a written part, and a true labor of love; a reflection of the love a family holds for its matriarch (and her love for them), as well as the love and respect shared by a father and son.
Throw in a love of poetry and Kentucky philosophers and you get two old guys working together to memorialize the words and wisdom and grace and humor of their mother and grandmother. As Christian Church ministers, both are also a reflection of Zona's spiritual journey, and the hope and faith and values she always tried to instill in those around her.
John 'the First' ministered with churches in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and California during his five-decade career. He retired from Standard Publishing in Cincinnati at age sixty-five, then un-retired to serve the East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis. He finally retired again-at age eighty-on the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination. John lives in Indianapolis with his wife and friend of more than sixty years, Joyce.
John 'the Other' had careers in broadcast journalism, politics, and rural electric utilities before accepting the call to full-time ministry at age forty-five. He has served at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville; Lighthouse Mission Ministries in Indianapolis and Ukraine; inner city youth programs for homeless and disadvantaged children in Indianapolis; and the Christian HolyLand Foundation in Israel. He has published a book about grieving, a book of church drama scripts, and a couple of hundred articles for faith and trade publications. John lives in Noblesville, Indiana with Bobbi, his high school sweetheart and wife of more than forty years.