Edna Anderson was born on a farm in Mitchell, South Dakota on April 12th, 1914; one of eight children.  Her storytelling began with tumbleweeds. During the Dust Bowl Days the wind carried magazine pages across the dry and thirsty earth. The stray pages got caught in the tumble weeds. Edna plucked the pages out, and gave the stories beginnings, middles, or endings; whichever part was missing.

She went to school in a one-room school house; passed two grades in one year, and then did it again. She went to teaching college at sixteen; the cost per quarter was about $30. Her dad chose “teacher” for her because it was ladylike. Fortunately, it was the right choice.

Her first official teaching position came when she was only eighteen. She was hired because she had Girl Scout experience. Some of her students were older than she was.

Edna published four children’s story books in the 1960’s: The Extra Egg, Mac the Firefighter, Snowshoe, and Icebound Treasure, published by T.S. Denison & Co. of Minneapolis. She wrote a teacher’s resource book, titled Round the Clock in the Classroom (T.S. Denison, 1959), four spelling books, and two social studies books; all for Silver Burdett Publishing Co. The textbooks were used all over the United States and in some military schools overseas.

Edna was an elementary teacher, elementary helping teacher, elementary principal, college professor and superintendent of schools. She has a doctorate in educational administration.

At her first superintendents’ meeting she was the only woman. The man she sat down next to whispered to her, “Are you looking for your husband?”

Throughout all these varied experiences, she never lost her concentration on topics that would interest children in writing.

Edna currently lives in Roseville, Minnesota.

Mac, The Fire Fighter
illus. by Lorraine Spoors
T.S. Dennison & Co, Inc., 1959, out of print
ISBN 8601630318

A wonderful children's book.