Garden City History Inspires Local Author

Jessica Kogelmann has spent her entire life in Garden City. Agraduate of Garden City High School, she recalls of her time in school that history was never of much interest to her and always involved learning about wars and memorizing events and dates. A job at Greenfield Village in Dearborn while she attended college changed all that. She recalls the job being a great learning experience and opened a different perspective on the people behind the wars, the events, and the notable dates in history, what she calls the personal side of history. "Okay, there's more to this history thing than people fighting wars," she recalls saying to herself.

It was this focus on the people of the past that was on her mind when she began reading a publication about the history of Garden City and took notice of an old map of what was known as Nankin Township in the early 1800s. "That just kind of got my imagination churning," she recalls. "I was walking around my neighborhood and thinking, if I were here in the time this map was representing, what would it be like?" The idea stayed with her and about three years ago she began writing a book for young readers which has become a mystery titled "Sadie Mae Miller and the Chicken Thief." The story is set in Nankin Township in the 1870s and follows young Sadie Mae Miller and her best friend, Jude as they seek to solve the riddle behind the disappearance of chickens from the family's chicken coop. At 168 pages, the book is broken up into 14 chapters and is ideal for young readers aged 8 to 12.

A mother of four with a degree in elementary education, Kogelmann knew just how to write a narrative aimed at young readers. Writing is one of Kogelmann's hobbies and in both high school and college, she worked on the student newspapers. "Writing has always been something I enjoyed, especially creative writing but I never really had an outlet for it until this," she says. Kogelmann published the book using Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, which is a method of self-publishing that is becoming increasingly popular with would-be authors.

"Sadie Mae Miller and the Chicken Thief" can be purchased at http://www.amazon.com . The book comes in paperback for $9 and can be purchased digitally for a Kindle device. Kogelmann will be running a promotion November 14 to 21 in which the Kindle version will be available for .99 cents. The book can also be ordered for shipment at http://www.barnesandnoble.com.

Kogelmann will be promoting the book in person and will have copies of the book for sale at the Garden City High School's Annual Holiday Craft and Vendor Show on December 3 from 10 a.m. to 3 p .m. Admission for the craft show will be $2 for adults and those 12 years and older.Garden City High School is located at 6500 Middlebelt Road. If you have a young reader on your holiday shopping list, you can pick up a copy of "Sadie Mae Miller and the Chicken Thief" at the craft show. Kogelmann can be contacted at [email protected].