LOCAL LEADERS TELL STORIES OF THEIR FAVORITE AND INSPIRINT BOOKS

Favorite books, inspiring books, and current reading were the topics put to these Area Wide United Way agency leaders and supporters. Here's what they wrote back:

Mary Burton, American Red Cross

You can go anywhere in the world anytime you choose. You can be anyone you want to be. You can learn anything you choose to learn. You can do all this and more by simply opening the page of a book. This is what my wise and respected fifth grade teacher assured me ... and she was so right.

Books can enrich our lives and guide us through our days. A book can be a friend and companion on a cold and lonely night. A book can bring us joy and laughter, peace and contentment, or a host of other emotions we can feel through an author's words. A book can even teach us to be better individuals, and inspire us to achieve greater personal excellence.

My love of reading came from that fifth grade teacher, and I bless her everyday for it, for reading has been a blessing to me. I found that some books have a long-term impact on our lives. Reading Clara Barton, Heroic Woman, about, the founder of the American Red Cross, has proven to have had such an impact on my life.

Clara Barton was a strong, determined woman who started a movement which swept across our nation, and has endured for over 114 years.

Clara began teaching school at a time when most teachers were men. She won the right to have a desk job in an office of the federal government in Washington; previously women had been required to carry their work home. At the age of 40, soon after the outbreak of the Civil War, Miss Barton's eyes were opened to the needs of the people in distress and to the ways in which she and other volunteers could help. This vision dominated the rest of Miss Barton's life. She cleared the path to new fields of volunteer service to people in trouble.

Miss Barton saw the need for service to the men involved in the war, for some were wounded, some hungry, and some without bedding or any clothing except what they had on their backs. She collected and distributed necessary supplies to the soldiers. She read to them, wrote letters for them, listened to their personal problems and prayed with them. She established the genesis for the American Red Cross emergency services to the armed forces, and the International tracing services to search for individuals reported missing in time of war.

Clara Barton not only taught individuals how to give of themselves, she has offered entire communities a means to translate caring and concern into immediate action when emergencies strike.

She showed me that through the giving of myself, I can receive back so much in return. Red Cross has given so much to me. Wouldn't it have been a shame if I had not listened to my fifth grade teacher, and missed reading about this amazing woman and her movement?

Nancy Stiegemeyer

Lutheran Family Services

Under the Influence: the Unauthorized Story of the Anheuser-Busch Dynasty is a fascinating read about a Missouri family of unimaginable wealth and influence and power in Missouri, the Anheuser-Busch brewers.

Written by two award-winning investigative journalists, Peter Hernon and Terry Ganey, the book purports to tell the whole story, personal and business, of five generations of this family.

For almost 130 years the Busches have worked ceaselessly to brew and market their beer. Few dynasties can compare with their's for wealth and the drive to succeed and the scope of their scandals. Their divorces, their brawls, the glittering ostentatious debuts of the Busch daughters, their equally ostentatious weddings and their ability to influence various police forces in order to protect their own family members from scandal are delineated here, as well as the mysterious disappearance of one family member, and the manslaughter committed by another.

In two world wars, the allegiance of various Busches was questioned by the American government.

We read that "old" St. Louis society considered the Busch parvenus, and any society event which was overdone, overwrought and pretentious was referred to as "Buschy".

The founder of the clan in America was Adolphus who emigrated to St. Louis in 1857. He was one of twenty-two children born to a prosperous burgher in Kastel, Germany. Adolphus married "Lily" Anheuser whose father was a brewer of very bad beer. Adolphus was a merchandising genius of the beer, and eventually brewed a better product.

After Adolphus came August A. Busch, Sr. followed by August Busch, Jr. followed by August A. Busch III., (present leader of the clan) to be followed eventually by his son August A. Busch IV.

The book contains a family tree to help keep track of the "Augusts" and a section of fifty-six photographs.

Ryan P. Harper/Pam Harper

Jackson R-2 Schools

Literature is an all-encompassing subject. To study literature for its own sake would prove to be quite an undertaking. Most often, books are called on to entertain, answer questions, or satisfy a curiosity.

My favorite book is Can Man Live Without God, by Ravi Zacharias. The book presents an excellent defense for Christianity. Dr. Zacharias has apparently done extensive research on the subject of theism, atheism, ethics and virtue. He discusses in great detail the philosophies of Kant, Hume, Neitzche and Bertrand Russell, among others. His objective approach to the subject matter is very helpful.

The best quality of the book may be the enormous amount of references and quotes Dr. Zacharias cites. To the serious reader, the book can create quite a reading list.

J. Michael Heston

Court Appointed Special Advocates

My favorite book is Young Man with a Horn, by Dorothy Baker, often called the great novel of the Jazz Age. The book was inspired by, but not based upon, the career of Leon "Bix" Beiderbecke, one of the great Jazz trumpeters of all time.

The story opens in L.A. where the protagonist, Rick (who is white), is befriended by, and hones his skills under a group of African-American musicians who practice after-hours in the basement of a downtown building.

The action quickly shifts to New York, the then center of Jazz, where Rick becomes the toast of the town. Predictably, he is caught up in the fast paced life to the city - hard drinking, and unstable relationships. All of which conspire to burn him down. The crash comes one night while recording, as Rick builds up from a tonic note, pushing it to everyone's dismay higher and higher. It would have been a killer, but it missed. It was the first time the horn had not given him back everything - if not more - than he put into it.

Rick was devastated. Was he slipping, or had he become so good he couldn't contain it? The reader suspects the latter but is never certain. A member of the band philosophically remarks, "that note he was going for - there isn't any such thing. Not on a trumpet." It is the classic tale of a human being attempting to transcend himself.

Book Four contains a humorously provocative discussion of the meaning of life, mostly in monologue form and delivered by Amy North, who is eventually and briefly Rick's wife. That portion, alone, is worth the price of the book.

Rick's own life comes to an end shortly. It was a tragic life, to be sure, the only part of which he had never compromised being his trumpet playing.

I first saw the movie version in 1964 while a college student. I was enthralled by it. However it would be two decades later before I would acquire the book and read it. Today the volume is prominently displayed in my library. And while I seldom open it up these days, I reflect on the story a lot. I would heartily recommend the book to anyone, whether or not the reader considers himself or herself a connoisseur of Jazz.

Susan Wallis

Asst. Director, Cape Girardeau County Association for Retarded Citizens, Inc.

My favorite book growing up was Little Women. It gave me a realization of how hard life was in that era. It brought out hardships that I thank the Lord, I have never had to endure in my lifetime. It also focused on the importance of family and dependence on others which in today's busy world is so often forgotten. It also depicted the different pathways that life could take you down.

Hard work, endurance, happiness and suffering is all a part of life.

In today's world it would be good to remember to take time for your family, friends and people less fortunate than ourselves - to give back a little to others that which we have been lucky to have received.

Sam Roethemeyer

Jackson Ministerial Alliance

As a pastor, I read many kinds of books. Presently, I have been reading books on "aging." I am fascinated by what people are able to do no matter what their age may be.

Many books that I read tell the story of people who have something to share with our world today. I am also blessed by what people do when they think "young" and give of themselves to help others.

Jean Shipman

United Way

Growing up, I read a book, very tattered from the library, Swish of the Curtain. It inspired a love of sewing and fabric make up and how to improvise to get the desired effect. I wanted to re-read it later and have never been able to find it, since the library had destroyed their copy. I have searched used book stores, etc.

Robert M. Gauthier, Captain

The Salvation Army

While there are many books which are on my list of favorite books, I have to say that the Holy Bible is number one. It is a book of unparalleled importance. It has been, throughout the ages, and is still today, God's revealed word to man. It brings hope and comfort to millions.

The Bible is a book full of historical events from which all of us can learn many things. We not only learn from its history, but God uses it to give us clear direction in our lives today.

The Bible is published in many languages and comes in simplified versions, so everyone can understand it. I find it to be a great inspiration and would recommend it to every one.

Amy Peukert

Family Learning Center

My favorite book growing up was Winnie the Pooh. At the Family Learning Center the children find the same pleasure reading about or listening to Pooh's adventures as I did years ago.

Donna Fields

Cape Girardeau County 4-H Council

I was given this assignment of discussing my "favorite book." It is impossible to choose just one book, so I'm choosing a "category". (I have never been very good at following instructions!)

I enjoy reading historical fiction, especially writings that focus on frontier or pioneer life and have a strong, independent woman as one of the central characters. Several of my favorite books in this category are: O Pioneers by Willa Cather, Cold Sassy Tree, and The Awakening Land.

Chuck Martin

Easter Seals

My favorite book is This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti. Peritti is a Christian novelist that writes with a gripping style. His books offer a glimpse beyond the natural. Once I pick up any of his books, it is next to impossible to put them down before finishing them in one sitting.

Denise Stewart

Otahki Girl Scouts

My favorite book is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

The four March sisters always had such fun together. They were not only sisters, but best of friends and enjoyed life fully, even though they had very little material riches.

I envied their closeness and at the time mourned the fact that I instead had two younger brothers who took great joy in tormenting me and being generally obnoxious.

The principles of life taught in this book are timeless. Honesty, generosity, cheerfulness, love of God, family and country, are still the values we try to instill in our young people.

The March family struggled with many challenges that are still very relevant today - poverty, discrimination, and limited opportunities for success. The valiant way they overcame obstacles to remain a close family unit can be admired.

A copy of Little Women is still on my bookshelves thirty-two years after I read it for the first time. From time to time I will pick it up and open to a familiar phrase or reread a favorite passage. We never outgrow old friends!

Roger Henry

Community Counseling Center

I like to read The Bible. I enjoy reading about different people before, during and after the time of Jesus.

Jo Nelle Lingo

Cape Senior Center

I like to read historical romances today. Really, I can't pin down a favorite book, however a favorite author is Janey Daily.

Gil Degenhardt

FISH

Today, I like to read about current issues and events - national and international. I also like future "projection" writings, and political and economic books and periodicals.

Donald G. Sherwood

United Way Yell Chairman

My favorite book is The Bible. Growing up I read Ebony Magazine. Today, I like to read current publications.

Richard Gross

United Way

Growing up I liked Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain's other writings, Boy's Life Magazine, and Weekly Reader in school. Today I read the Southeast Missouri, Golf Magazine, and national business publications.

Calvin Chapman

United Way

Today, I read mostly periodicals: U.S. News and World Report, Time, Newsweek, Southeast Missourian, St. Louis Post, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and selected books.

Dorothy Klein

United Way

Today I read the Southeast Missourian, and autobiographies, also Elmore Leonard novels and I do the cross word puzzles.