Kierstead-Farber, Vera M. 1913- (Vera May Kierstead-Farber, Vera M. Kierstead)

PERSONAL:

Born March 14, 1913, in Bainbridge, IN; daughter of George E. (an agriculturalist) and Nelly Bernice (a homemaker) Knauer; married Roger H. Kier- stead (died May 26, 1983); married Robert H. Farber (an educator and university administrator), June 26, 1998. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: DePauw University, B.S.Mus.; Villanova University, M.S.Mus. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Methodist. Hobbies and other interests: Choral music, piano, oil painting, gardening.

ADDRESSES:

Home and office—Greencastle, IN. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Worked as a music teacher at a school in Radnor, PA, for many years. DePauw Festival Chorus, member; also served as pianist at a retirement village and as art director at a senior citizens' center; active with local council for the aging.

MEMBER:

American Guild of Organists, American Association of Retired Persons, P.E.O. Sisterhood, Mu Phi Epsilon.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Freedoms Foundation Award for Jamie's Journey.

WRITINGS:

(Under name Vera M. Kierstead) Jamie's Journey: An Early American Adventure, Dorrance (Pittsburgh, PA), 2000.

Jamie Comes of Age, Vantage Press (New York, NY), 2004.

America Is My Country, Vantage Press (New York, NY), 2007.

Author of musical plays.

SIDELIGHTS:

Vera M. Kierstead-Farber once commented: "The eagerness of my students and the interest of present readers has encouraged me to keep writing early American stories."

Later, she told CA: "My original writing was for my students. After writing numerous musical plays I took a course in children's literature and started a book of historical fiction. The story has continued into a trilogy about Jamie. The newest one is America Is My Country. I hope it will encourage patriotism."