Author, Joyce Crawford grew up in the little southern town of Hawthorne, Florida, in the 1950's. Mrs. Crawford considered it a blessing to have three generations of loving family living nearby. One of her happiest memories was living next door to her Great Uncle Delbert in a sweet little white house with green trim located just across the overpass. She shared, "There I spent many happy hours singing, watching the sky, and talking to God's creations. Mrs. Crawford's personality is a combination of her faith and memories of watching cows, within arm's length, grazing in orange groves just across the back fence; Uncle Delbert's bird dog, Major, who took every opportunity to jump in the back of the pick-up-truck for a road trip; and mocking birds singing in ancient magnolia trees. The sweetest memory of all, was visits to grandma and grandpa's house in the middle of a pecan grove. Ever since the first grade, Mrs. Crawford's dream was to be a teacher. However, because of a reading disability and the fear of failure, Mrs. Crawford realized her dream by teaching children in Sunday School. Years later, when she agreed to author articles for her garden club newspaper, her writing blossomed. Her love of teaching children, and the new-found craft of writing, has helped her realize her dream in a way she never dreamed possible. After her retirement, Ms. Crawford, starting writing stories for children, and Thelma Thistle was born.
