In the know.

LEAGUE CITY — Author Mary Sue Anton speak at the Crossings Retirement Community on Friday, April 7, 2017, at 1:00 p.m. to commemorate the community’s new library and to provide an overview of two books she has written. The Crossings is located at 255 N. Egret Bay Blvd.

Floods often plagued the small town of New Madrid, Missouri, and people in the area faced challenges and took risks that many would deem unacceptable today. Mary Sue Anton knows firsthand of these challenges. Her books weave personal experiences with historical facts about this Mississippi River town.

Lest readers in Texas conclude the history of a county in Missouri is of no interest to them, rest assured that Anton’s stories are not only fascinating, but also are those of America in general — as told through the experiences of the people of New Madrid County.

In 1937, Anton, as a child of 7, and her family were forced from their dairy farm home in the middle of the night by rising waters from the river. They, along with others, took refuge in the New Madrid County Courthouse, where her grandfather served as a probate judge. She added entries from her grandmother’s diary “to add pizazz” and researched the stormy history of the courthouse to produce her latest book, “Tales from a Century-Old Courthouse:  New Madrid County, Missouri.”

In 2009, she wrote “New Madrid: A Mississippi River Town in History and Legend,” which became a bestseller published by the Southeast Missouri State University Press.

“When I began this book, I thought it would become a legacy for my family, then a legacy for my hometown; but instead I found that New Madrid stories are stories of many of us. They are America’s stories, for people whose ancestors faced challenges and took chances as they made the westward trek.”

To RSVP for this event, or for more information, contact Lauren Saloom.

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