Betty Freeman Haines, newspaper columnist and curriculum designer, is a member of a storytelling family. When her kin are together the family stories and folklore flow as easily as water flows downhill in a creekbed. Born in Chickasaw, Alabama, in the late 1930's, Betty was raised in a series of small south Alabama mill towns, where she witnessed (up close and personal) attempts to abolish segregration, integrate public schools, and implement equal rights in the work places and voting booths of the Deep south. For her debut fiction novel, Betty created a tender tale of her small town childhood, the Civil Rights movement, and showcases the actions of a very special reluctant hero of that era. Betty currently resides in Mesquite, Nevada, where she enjoys the awesome sun sets displayed above Flat Top Mesa. *Photo: Betty at age 12 with her first fan, her brother Clayton.