When they acquired their cabin building site in Ski Tur Valley in the fall of 1967, things didn’t turn out exactly as they envisioned. Jim and Louise Bennett and their five children thought they were going to build a simple, uncomplicated, leisurely, and totally carefree retreat in the mountains. Most their Valley neighbors felt the same way. But in fact, what they really acquired was forty years of beauty, adventure, excitement and testing. The vision of having a cabin in the mountains was exciting and compelling, but what they actually experienced turned out to be far more so.

There were no phones, no power with television and computers, and only seasonal river water when they built their Castle in the Mountain. In the cold of winter it was two miles over snow just to get to their cabin from their parked car and back.

They experienced this wilderness area as it went through many changes, beginning as a rough “undeveloped” development to its present status as a highly coveted and well organized mountain recreational community. The history of that evolution contains volumes of exciting stories of adventure for residents and visitors alike. Mother Nature with the help of Murphy and his law, contributed to these adventures in many unexpected and unusual ways. Everyone was put to the test!

That evolution was fueled by what the author calls the Spirit of Ski Tur Valley, a Spirit which bonded members of the community into a vital force that overcame many threats to their pristine retreat. Some of those threats came from Mother Nature herself, in the form of blizzards, floods, and avalanches, but others from high powered land developers intent on destroying the Valley as members knew and loved it.

THE SPIRIT OF SKI TUR VALLEY is filled with true stories, some poignant, some of evacuation from flooding, of rescuing ill-fortuned hang-gliders, of bears breaking into left over birthday cake. There are tales of Mr. Bates, and Old Blaze, the truck that rescued his owner after ten years of separation.

Because he was involved in Ski Tur Valley from its inception in the late sixties, and had lived there full time on a couple of occasions, Bennett was asked to collect stories from community members and present them in book form along with other background history. This remarkable book is based on a family log, kept by his wife Louise, along with contributions from the memories of community members and also from the archives of the Community Association , consisting of legal records, minutes of meeting and records of legal activity.

All of these sources combine to unfold the story of THE SPIRIT OF SKI TUR VALLEY.

This is a true story about a stuffed animal named Lid who kept getting lost. It might be that Lid was so small he fit into his friend Matthew’s hand. Matthew took Lid with him everywhere, and maybe because Lid was so small, or because his fur was beige, or because Matthew wasn’t paying attention, Lid would somehow disappear.

Life Can Be a SmileStory of a six year old who is enrolled in classes for the disadvantaged. Cassy is a small young girl who was born with a severe speech disability. Cassy has light red hair that she likes to wear in pigtail but some days she just likes messy hair.Life can be a smile tells of how she handles day to day trials from teachers, students, school staff and the outside world who treat her as if she was mentally slow or deaf.The superintendent of her school tried to enroll her at a state school for the deaf. This failed due to the mother defying them by keeping her with the family and attending local schools.Even though she has hardships on a daily basis she is always smiling. Cassy believes life can be a smile and her favorite saying is “Be Happy.” She wants everyone to like everyone else but it never turns out quite that way. Her best friends are a dog, a black and white spotted goat and a cockatiel. Her defenders are her older sister, by two years, and her mom who went toe to toe for justice.As Cassy ages she still finds the same obstacles through school. No one ever changes their minds until the day she ran for prom queen and came down the walkway looking like a beautiful young woman. This was the only time the students and public saw her in a different light. Her escort was surprised and very proud to walk her down the isle.The story comes from life experiences. I would like to see this book as the beginning of a series of books pertaining to the speech impairment and how the child deals with the issues throughout childhood.I am also working on a manuscript that is non-fiction of how Cassy’s life affected her and her family. The children’s book is only the tip of the iceberg.Email: sisterstogether09@yahoo.com

Life Can Be a SmileStory of a six year old who is enrolled in classes for the disadvantaged. Cassy is a small young girl who was born with a severe speech disability. Cassy has light red hair that she likes to wear in pigtail but some days she just likes messy hair.Life can be a smile tells of how she handles day to day trials from teachers, students, school staff and the outside world who treat her as if she was mentally slow or deaf.The superintendent of her school tried to enroll her at a state school for the deaf. This failed due to the mother defying them by keeping her with the family and attending local schools.Even though she has hardships on a daily basis she is always smiling. Cassy believes life can be a smile and her favorite saying is “Be Happy.” She wants everyone to like everyone else but it never turns out quite that way. Her best friends are a dog, a black and white spotted goat and a cockatiel. Her defenders are her older sister, by two years, and her mom who went toe to toe for justice.As Cassy ages she still finds the same obstacles through school. No one ever changes their minds until the day she ran for prom queen and came down the walkway looking like a beautiful young woman. This was the only time the students and public saw her in a different light. Her escort was surprised and very proud to walk her down the isle.The story comes from life experiences. I would like to see this book as the beginning of a series of books pertaining to the speech impairment and how the child deals with the issues throughout childhood.I am also working on a manuscript that is non-fiction of how Cassy’s life affected her and her family. The children’s book is only the tip of the iceberg.Email: sisterstogether09@yahoo.com

One´s imagination can evoke emotions that become reality for that moment in time. BFF ADVENTURES encourages the reader to venture out using imagination. Come join Faith and her(Best Friends Forever)BFF´s as they have fun traveling around the world.Bring your passport because the world is our playground.***A portion of book sale proceeds will be donated for pediatric research.

A wonderful vibrant telling book for children of all ages. The stories within "Life Adventures With Fossy" were intended to create a bonding experience with child and parent. Fossy learns many life lessons with the help and love of his mother.

A wonderful vibrant telling book for children of all ages. The stories within "Life Adventures With Fossy" were intended to create a bonding experience with child and parent. Fossy learns many life lessons with the help and love of his mother.

THE ADVENTURES OF THE SMARTY PANTS FLY

Elwood lives life on the edge. He doesn´t care if anyone gets hurts in the process, as long as he has fun. Elwood believes he´s the greatest fly ever created, and that he can live forever without getting hurt. During his day he encounters some scary events, which change his life. If it wasn´t for his good buddy Joe a horsefly, Elwood would be no more.

THE ADVENTURES OF THE SMARTY PANTS FLY

Elwood lives life on the edge. He doesn´t care if anyone gets hurts in the process, as long as he has fun. Elwood believes he´s the greatest fly ever created, and that he can live forever without getting hurt. During his day he encounters some scary events, which change his life. If it wasn´t for his good buddy Joe a horsefly, Elwood would be no more.

WHAT WILL I SEE? is both educational and informative. It is told from the viewpoint of a six year old child who is telling the story of her family having a wonderful vacation in the mountains. Experience the high country yourself and let the words and pictures take you there.

"I want to thank all who were instrumental in helping make this book a reality. Mrs Mandy Assi, Robert Goldsworthy hotel concierges formerly from Toronto, Ontario, now residing in Vancouver British Columbia, Canada. Cheryl Mertens, without whose constant help, this book would have never been completed. The many artistic students in Alternative Placement at Highland High School, in Highland Indiana for helping bring reality to our ideas. In memory of our sons, with whom, this childrens book was the inspiration. We will never forget you, Blackie, Sebastian, and Felix. Dylan Assi, Michael and Kaitlin Claessens and countless other children that will soon know, how pleasant, a hotel stay can be, and in their own minds - an adventure!"

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" Remember, art and history go together!" says Mrs. M, the art teacher. So starts an unusual adventure for MillieMay and the other students.

The students learn about an amazing discovery right in their downtown where several old apartment buildings have been torn down. It seems that an ancient culture has left some clues behind. The main one is a large, strange circle of holes carved into the bedrock! But is is about to be destroyed unless they help save it!

After learning all they can from Mrs. M's newspaper articles, designing buildings, writing letters and collecting money they are finally going on a field trip to see the circle.

There, they meet the archaeologist, Mr. John who lets them touch and hold ancient artifacts from his box. Through questions and clues they piece together what life was like for the Tequesta who constructed the circle in the limestone.

MillieMay's vivid imagination takes her into the daily life and ceremonies of the Tequesta children. There, she finds herself interacting with them in the most amazing ways. The experience leaves a strong impression on her and she knows the circle must be saved from destruction and development so all can learn from it. She also learns that art and history do go together just as Mrs. M has said.

This is a forty-four page full color book for children in all elementary grades. Illustrations are a rich combination of pen and ink and cut paper collage. It has a full color glossary of plants, animals and artifacts found along the Miami River. The story is based on the true discovery of the Miami Circle in 1998 through the spring of 1999 and the actions of the school children in voicing their opinions to save the circle for future generations. Included are questions for discussion, lessons in archaeology, creating a dig site as well as web sites for further information.

" Remember, art and history go together!" says Mrs. M, the art teacher. So starts an unusual adventure for MillieMay and the other students.

The students learn about an amazing discovery right in their downtown where several old apartment buildings have been torn down. It seems that an ancient culture has left some clues behind. The main one is a large, strange circle of holes carved into the bedrock! But is is about to be destroyed unless they help save it!

After learning all they can from Mrs. M's newspaper articles, designing buildings, writing letters and collecting money they are finally going on a field trip to see the circle.

There, they meet the archaeologist, Mr. John who lets them touch and hold ancient artifacts from his box. Through questions and clues they piece together what life was like for the Tequesta who constructed the circle in the limestone.

MillieMay's vivid imagination takes her into the daily life and ceremonies of the Tequesta children. There, she finds herself interacting with them in the most amazing ways. The experience leaves a strong impression on her and she knows the circle must be saved from destruction and development so all can learn from it. She also learns that art and history do go together just as Mrs. M has said.

This is a forty-four page full color book for children in all elementary grades. Illustrations are a rich combination of pen and ink and cut paper collage. It has a full color glossary of plants, animals and artifacts found along the Miami River. The story is based on the true discovery of the Miami Circle in 1998 through the spring of 1999 and the actions of the school children in voicing their opinions to save the circle for future generations. Included are questions for discussion, lessons in archaeology, creating a dig site as well as web sites for further information.