Hanson, Susan F. 1955–

PERSONAL: Born March 23, 1955, in Morrison, IL; daughter of Robert F. (a pharmacist) and M. Margaret (a teacher) Fitzgerald; married Jon S. Hanson (an engineer), June 16, 1984; children: Beth Ann. Ethnicity: "White." Education: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.A., 1977; California State University, Long Beach, M.A., 1989.

ADDRESSES: Office—Happy Viking Crafts, P.O. Box 35, Mahomet, IL 61853. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Delco Electronics, Goleta, CA, programmer, 1978–80; Compunet, Encinitas, CA, programmer, 1981–83; McDonnell Douglas, Long Beach, CA, training specialist, 1984–87; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, Champaign, IL, geographic information specialist, 1991–94; Happy Viking Crafts, Mahomet, IL, co-owner, 1998–. Instructor at Fullerton College, 1986, Cerritos College, 1987, and Parkland College, 1991, 1997, 1999. Mahomet Public Library District, member of board of trustees, 1999–2001.

MEMBER: American Game and Puzzle Collectors.

WRITINGS:

(With Jon S. Hanson) All about Mancala: Its History and How to Play, Happy Viking Crafts (Mahomet, IL), 2003.

Contributor to Game and Puzzle Collectors Quarterly.

WORK IN PROGRESS: All about Classic Board Games, descriptive information and instructions for playing classic and historical board games, for Happy Viking Crafts (Mahomet, IL); research on classic and historical board games, including Nine-Men's Morris, Fox and Geese, and Queen's Guard.

SIDELIGHTS: Susan F. Hanson told CA: "My husband Jon and I are game enthusiasts who research and make historical board games. We have a booth at the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin, where we teach and sell games during the summer. Our game business is a sideline to our regular careers. I am a teacher and writer. Jon is a design engineer.

"We did not start out with intentions of writing a book on mancala. In fact, the beginning of the book was no more than a double-sided sheet of instructions to go with the mancala game that we made. It wasn't long, though, before we realized the double-sided sheet was inadequate. We decided to add some detail and make it look more professional. The result was a booklet called 'Mancala Mania: Sampler, Six American Favorites.'

"The sampler was a great success, so when we added other types of mancala games to our line of products, we produced similar instruction booklets for them. These booklets became the 'Mancala Mania series.' A complete book on mancala was the next logical step.

"We enjoyed producing the book and hope to write more 'all about' game books. In that way, we can pass on our knowledge and appreciation of the fascinating games of history."