ELMA SCHEMENAUER

 

"ELMA MARY FROM THE PRAIRIE"

 

I was born Elma Mary Martens, a first-generation child of Russian Mennonite immigrants to Saskatchewan, Canada. My life began on a prairie farm east of the village of Elbow. Favourite childhood activities included picking wildflowers, jumping into haystacks, catching tadpoles, and singing to the cattle in the pasture.

 

I especially enjoyed hearing my Mennonite relatives' stories about Russia and early years in Canada. Later, these stories helped inspire my novel Consider the Sunflowers.

 

After high school in Elbow, I graduated from Briercrest Bible Institute (now a college) and the Universities of Saskatchewan and Toronto. I started my working career as a teacher. Then I moved into the publishing industry in Toronto, where I wrote and edited for a variety of publishers.

 

I'm the author of many books besides Consider the Sunflowers. They include the YesterCanada, Russia, Jacob Siemens Family Since 1685, Salmon, Pronghorn Antelopes, Ottawa, Hello Toronto, and Hello Winnipeg. I've also edited numerous books. Titles include The Unseen Hand: The Angela Tran Story by Robert Cretney, Playing Like Timothy by Johannes Waldner, The Girl From Away by Claire Mowat, Canada Today, third edition by Carl F. Smith et al. (co-editor), and To the Ends of the Earth: A History of the Canadian Bible Society by Gerald Benson with Kenneth McMillan. 

 

In 2006 my husband and I relocated to Kamloops, British Columbia. There I write, blog, and take long walks on grassy hillsides that remind me of my prairie roots. I thank God for His many blessings and trust Him for the future, whatever it may bring.

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Cattle photo by Jen Martens