Author to speak to 60+ retirement group years ago
Christian author Wilma Wall, Reedley, Calif., will tell of her life in a program entitled "From South China to Post Oak to the San Joaquin Valley," Oct. 31 at the 60+ Learning in Retirement Program.
The session will begin at 10 a.m. in the Wohlgemuth Music Education Center located on the Tabor College campus in Hillsboro. An optional lunch with the author will follow.
Wall was born in China to missionary parents.
"When the Communists took over, we moved to a small village in Inner Mongolia behind the Great Wall," Wall said. She lived there, within protected walls of a missionary compound, until her parents left China for America in 1935.
After living in the Reedley area, her parents served at the Post Oak Indian Mission in Indiahoma, Okla. Following graduation and the death of her father, Wall moved with her mother back to Reedley, where she eventually earned a bachelor's degree from Pacific College in Fresno, Calif.
Since retiring from piano teaching, Wall has published two books: "Forbidden," which tells the story of a Mennonite Brethren woman and her interracial relationship with a Christian Japanese friend during the 1940s in California, and "Jade Bracelet," a novel based upon a 1981 trip to China she took with her husband, sister, and brother-in-law.
In addition to writing, Wall also is active in the Kingsburg (Calif.) Mennonite Brethren Church as the church librarian and newsletter editor. In the past, she has worked with the youth, played the piano and organ, and written and directed Easter and Christmas productions.
Older adults are invited to attend. Enrollment is $15 per person a semester, $28 per couple or $4 a session. To encourage participation, first-time visitors will be admitted free of charge. Registration and discount lunch cards will be available at the door.
For more information, contact Connie Isaac, coordinator, at 620-947-5964.
