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When Hope Springs New

(Canadian West #4)

Janette Oke

4.17 · Rating details · 5,968 ratings · 196 reviews

Leaving behind their dear friends in Beaver Creek, Elizabeth and Wynn take over an even more primitive RCMP outpost in the Canadian Northwest. Elizabeth finds herself totally isolated when the local Indian women are afraid to even communicate with her. The Delaneys thought they had already faced the most crushing disappointment of their lives when they saw little Sammy dis ...more

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Paperback, 216 pages

Published February 1st 2005 by Bethany House Publishers (first published 1986)

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Feb 24, 2021 Tina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: clean-romance, read-in-2021, series, women-s-fiction-romance-chick-lit, historical-fiction

This is a Christian historical fiction, and this is the 4th book in the Canadian West Book series. I found this book was so well-written. The characters in this book are very developed, and I love following these characters. I really enjoyed seeing Elizabeth overcoming being put in a very small local Indian village. I love how this book shows how strong and strong well woman are. I think if you want to read an historical fiction, but you do not want it to be a War historical fiction then you sho ...more

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Jul 03, 2017 Kellyn Roth rated it it was ok

Shelves: books-for-teens, christian-fiction, adventurous-books, historical-fiction

Originally posted on Reveries Reviews.

I feel like there was only meant to be one or two of these books and Janette Oke just kept stringing them out ’cause they were popular. I didn’t really enjoy this book very much. I liked Elizabeth and Wynn still, yes, but I guess I just got sick of them. It’s the same Elizabeth and Wynn of the last three books, and I guess some people really want that, but I just can’t take it anymore.

I guess I just ended up being kinda disappointed with this series as a who ...more

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Nov 03, 2013 Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) rated it really liked it

Shelves: own, read-reviewed, cf-historical

About this book:

“Leaving behind their dear friends in Beaver Creek, Elizabeth and Wynn take over an even more primitive RCMP outpost in the Canadian Northwest. Elizabeth finds herself totally isolated when the local Indian women are afraid to even communicate with her. The Delaneys thought they had already faced the most crushing disappointment of their lives when they saw little Sammy disappear from view in the arms of his father. Would they be able to survive the challenges ahead?”

Series: Boo ...more

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Nov 26, 2020 Rebekah Morris rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I enjoyed this story. I was glad that Elizabeth wasn’t dealing with depression and sadness even though the new posting was more of a challenge. The “excitement” was quite different than usual and it kept me reading, but didn’t have me on the edge of my seat which was nice. I liked how things wrapped up in the end of this book. It brought things to a close without giving everything a “perfect ending” and yet it was the perfect ending.
I wouldn’t mind reading this series again some time.

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Oct 16, 2011 Melissa rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, religion-philosophy-mythology

This was a lovely continuation of Oke's Canadian West series. It starts perhaps a few days/weeks off from the last book.

Elizabeth and Wynn are traveling even further North to a more remote village. When they reach there Elizabeth is dismayed to find that no one will talk to her and hardly look at her. Despite her best efforts to find friends, she cannot. The house they live in is also little more than a shack.

She spends the first Autumn, Winter, and most of Spring by herself. Then, one day while This was a lovely continuation of Oke's Canadian West series. It starts perhaps a few days/weeks off from the last book.

Elizabeth and Wynn are traveling even further North to a more remote village. When they reach there Elizabeth is dismayed to find that no one will talk to her and hardly look at her. Despite her best efforts to find friends, she cannot. The house they live in is also little more than a shack.

She spends the first Autumn, Winter, and most of Spring by herself. Then, one day while Wynn is away a fire sweeps through the village. It is up to Elizabeth to organize something as everyone else is in a panic.

After the devastating fire, Wynn receives orders that they can no longer stay there. They are instead moved to the town of Athabasca Landing. This place is modern and after years of living in the wilderness, Elizabeth is amazed at all the amenities. She soon finds herself being a part of the church and people, and she and Wynn even take in a troubled boy named Henry. Her adventures have been toned down until Wynn receives his next assignment.

Since Oke's is a Christian writer I"ll touch a bit on the religious element of this book. There isn't too much. While she makes mention here and there of asking for help from God or guidance, most of the time she shows the Christian attitude through action.

Like most of her writings, there is nothing offensive to be found in this book. No strong language or harsh descriptions. We see the year through Elizabeth's eyes and since she is a calm character, the book is serene. The characters are all believable as Oke takes the time to go into their thoughts and actions. We can see that the Native Americans have spiritual beliefs and we can see Elizabeth's impatience. This makes them more real to me. Nobody is perfect or complete, they all have human qualities.

This novel moved quite a bit faster than the other ones did. While it only covered a year, it seemed that the story went by extremely quickly. The time spent in the village was not as much as I thought it would be until they moved on to the next town.

This is a good book to read anytime. I actually read it while waking up from anesthesia so it isn't too hard to understand! The storyline is simple and just brings a nice addition to the rest of the Delaney's story.

When Hope Springs New
Copyright 1986
308 pages (Large Print Book) ...more

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Oct 18, 2013 Becky rated it really liked it

Shelves: readin2013

I have enjoyed revisiting the first four books in the Canadian West series. These four books star Elizabeth and Wynn. One thing I've been doing is imagining Elizabeth and Wynn on an episode of House Hunters. I've been thinking about what Elizabeth's wishlist for a house would look like before and after. What would it have been like before marriage, before traveling with her husband to Beaver Creek and serving several years, and, what it would have looked like AFTER they left Beaver Creek. I have I have enjoyed revisiting the first four books in the Canadian West series. These four books star Elizabeth and Wynn. One thing I've been doing is imagining Elizabeth and Wynn on an episode of House Hunters. I've been thinking about what Elizabeth's wishlist for a house would look like before and after. What would it have been like before marriage, before traveling with her husband to Beaver Creek and serving several years, and, what it would have looked like AFTER they left Beaver Creek. I have an idea that Elizabeth would NOT have had "open concept" on her wishlist. She'd have wanted ROOMS, for ROOMS meant privacy and a greater sense of home. I think her wishlist would have included FLOORS however. In this last novel, she's in a one-room structure with dirt floors. There is not an outhouse. There isn't even a community outhouse--which would have taken getting used to. She simply learns that there are paths from the village leading to the woods. Certain paths for women and children. Certain paths for men. (In Beaver Creek, Elizabeth had it good. Wynn hired men to build her a private outhouse in their yard within the first week or two of moving!) World War I is taking place, and here Elizabeth and Wynn are living in a one room house, dirt floors, stove with two burners, two whole shelves, two chairs and a table, a bed in the corner, and nail pegs in the wall for hanging stuff. And this has to serve as their home and his office.

If there has been one thing I've not loved from this series, something that may date the series a bit, is its treatment of "Indians." The language is not politically correct or not politically correct enough. Readers are reminded again and again how primitive and savage and uncivilized and superstitious these Indians are. Mostly in the fourth book where readers learn that "these Indians" aren't like the other Indians from Beaver Creek that have lived among white people and become civilized and somewhat respectable. Wynn and Elizabeth are facing more of a "first contact" type of experience. Elizabeth never forgets that she's the first white woman and what a special opportunity this is. Great emphasis is placed on these strange chants and dances.

Anyway, in this fourth novel, Elizabeth and Wynn travel to their new assignment. Life is hard; really hard. Elizabeth finds it absolutely impossible to make friends. She tries every single day. She keeps approaching the Indian women and speaking to them in the language she learned at Beaver Creek. She even seems to stalk paths where she hears children laughing and playing. She walks with picture books and holds up the bright and colorful pictures, turning the pages, hoping to wow children into approaching her instead of running away. But Elizabeth is at her best, perhaps, in this one. When a fire threatens the entire village while the men are away, Elizabeth takes command and saves the day...

I like the series as a whole. But the first book is probably the best. ...more

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Dec 31, 2015 Delie Dell Chua rated it it was amazing

I remember that I read this series when I was still in high school. Back then, I find this series just a "lovestory" but now as I read it again, I appreciated it more, realizing how God uses people and situations unexpectedly for His kingdom. :) we only have to trust Him even if we don't understand, he knows what is best.... ...more

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Jun 09, 2018 Loretta Marchize rated it it was amazing

So another book that I read in May and didn't review until now. (I own the whole series and was re-reading)
When Hope Springs New is a great book, and I like it more than the first one. (view spoiler)
Content: hugs/kisses between a married couple. Mentions of blood, wounds. A boy is abu ...more

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Jan 14, 2016 Jessica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: western-and-cowboy-books, christian-fiction, 2016

I loved this book as much as the first. The series is doing a good job of coming full circle both in the storyline and for the characters. I like that in this installment of the series, Wynn and Elizabeth were finally working together as a team rather than as individuals like they seemed to do in the second and third books. Whether or not they were together when events and calamities took place, they handled things as if they were both there to garner wisdom from. This was especially evident in I loved this book as much as the first. The series is doing a good job of coming full circle both in the storyline and for the characters. I like that in this installment of the series, Wynn and Elizabeth were finally working together as a team rather than as individuals like they seemed to do in the second and third books. Whether or not they were together when events and calamities took place, they handled things as if they were both there to garner wisdom from. This was especially evident in Elizabeth's character. She grew a lot since that second book following the first year of her and Wynn's lives together. She grew stronger and more confident in any situation, whether they lived in a small town or out in the middle of the wilderness, she seemed to keep her wits about her whereas the old Elizabeth had the tendency to just wait for Wynn to fix things. I feel like her character has made a lot of good progress throughout the series.

I'm not exactly sure that Wynn is growing as much. However that might be because we don't see a first person perspective from him in the series. Everything is from Elizabeth's perspective or written about them both as unit. To a certain degree, it's a little sad that we readers don't get to experience Wynn's adventures with him. While we wouldn't be as interested to see him fix up a burn victim's leg, I'm certain many would have enjoyed reading his thoughts on Elizabeth and their neighbors. It would have been interesting to see the moments when he was worried and the instances when he was proud of her.

On the whole, the series has been pretty excellent. I like seeing in this book how God brought about giving Wynn and Elizabeth a child and how they adjusted, not just to one, but two new homes and destinations.

As a small note, I found that this book made me extremely thankful for God's providence in my life. Reading how Elizabeth and the Indians managed after the fire made me all the more grateful for the small things that God does to cloth and feed my family. I find myself very thankful for the oatmeal we eat at breakfast after reading about cornmeal gruel Elizabeth made. ...more

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Apr 14, 2019 Monique S. (The Ginger Librarian) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: library-g-c-p-l, favorites, romance, christian-fiction, historical-fiction, christian, historical, clean

Review coming soon.

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Sep 18, 2019 Heather McC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Book four proved to be more refreshing in pace than the previous installment because Elizabeth and Wynn eventually left the primitive area for the more sophisticated city life. This goes to show just how much setting can impact a story's conflict and characters.

Another excellent source of conflict that was missing in book three was the separation of Elizabeth and Wynn due to Wynn's Mountie duties. Here we finally see Elizabeth step up in a leadership role and ingratiate herself with the Indian n ...more

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May 25, 2021 sydney elaine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

another sweet and quick read from ms. oke. I enjoyed reading about Elizabeth's adventures in the West a lot in this one. :) it ended rather abruptly which was disappointing, but I didn't mind too bad. I don't expect this to be some great work of literature - just something calming and not too thought provoking. as always, I love the faith aspect in this story and how it's woven so well into the plot.

I've heard that the last two books don't continue the same storyline so I'm not jumping to finish ...more

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Apr 17, 2018 Christina DeVane rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-read-in-2018

I enjoyed this book the most in this series although it had some of the hardest circumstances. Through desperate times were learned the greatest lessons and brought her from stranger to sought after leader. How God works to bring good from hard times and His faithfulness were brought out over and over!

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Jan 18, 2020 Pamela Cooper rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Excellent read. Godly leadership & service ring through each page, Mrs. Oke describes the struggles & hardships as an outsider.

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Jun 20, 2021 Rae rated it it was ok

This was such a disappointment and I honestly wish I could undo my reading of books 2-4 in this series. There's such a white saviour complex to the narrative and this one was the worst of all. Oke doesn't even leave us with a clean ending, just the same abrupt finish of all the other books that makes you feel like someone left the last pages out and you therefore have to read the next book to find out what happens next. But apparently what happens next is that book five jumps many years into the ...more

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Apr 24, 2021 Pip Snort rated it really liked it

Shelves: christian, owned, historical

These really are lovely, well written books which are a delight to the heart and so easy to read. While completely imaginary, they glow with life and joy and have brought much joy to me. In this 4th installment, Beth and Wynn move to a new Indian town, Smoke Lake, and have an entirely different experience to their previous village. While not perfectly PC this book stands the test of time, painting frontier life in the hands of the LORD in bright colour and with warmth, wit and wisdom.

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Jan 17, 2013 Jennifer Hill rated it liked it

Shelves: 2013-books

To me this book in the series is heavier on the religion than the other 3, so I could do without that part. I didn't start reading it because it was a religious series, I started because the first book sounded intriguing in all other aspects of its story. This book was the same. I totally loved the story she told, which is good with or without the religious parts. I am going to finish reading the series to find out what happens with Elizabeth and Wynn! ...more

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Dec 02, 2015 Amber rated it it was amazing

I've loved the series, very fast reads, nice and relaxing yet uplifting. I appreciate that everything didn't turn out "perfectly" - as Elizabeth would have wished. I love that Wynn and Elizabeth grew their family through foster and adoption. ...more

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Feb 26, 2018 Lily Buhl rated it it was amazing

This book was great, almost as good as the first. I have been really enjoying this series and find it hard to put them down. I recommend this series to all you Hearties/bookworms out there. Love them!!!😍

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Jan 25, 2015 Micaiah rated it really liked it

Another good addition to The Canadian West series!

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Dec 07, 2017 Hayley Ringger rated it it was amazing

“When Hope Springs New”, by Janette Oke, is an adventurous journey of a young lady and her husband through an almost unbearable living style. Elizabeth and her husband Wynn have been married for a few years now and they have been living in the North since the wedding. Wynn is a Northwest Mounted Police and so he pretty much governs and makes laws for settlements in the north. So, the two of them have been in one settlement since they have been married and now in this book they have to journey fo “When Hope Springs New”, by Janette Oke, is an adventurous journey of a young lady and her husband through an almost unbearable living style. Elizabeth and her husband Wynn have been married for a few years now and they have been living in the North since the wedding. Wynn is a Northwest Mounted Police and so he pretty much governs and makes laws for settlements in the north. So, the two of them have been in one settlement since they have been married and now in this book they have to journey forth and travel to a new settlement where they will stay for a few years. Well, at this new settlement Elizabeth has a hard time fitting in since she is the first white women to ever live there and she can’t make any friends. Then, one day while Wynn is out doing business a tragic, breathtaking, accident falls upon the settlement and Elizabeth is put up to the challenge of saving the whole settlement and herself. I thought that this book was so intriguing! I loved the whole adventure that was put into it and how Elizabeth and her husband were put through hard trials that they had to face. I especially loved the part when Elizabeth stood up and helped the people in the settlement even though they showed no kindness or respect to her at first. That really showed how courageous Elizabeth was. I think that this book is very valuable because it shows that anyone can take a stand and be a hero no matter how big or small they are. So, to me this book was fascinating, but there was one particular part that I didn’t enjoy very much. I didn’t enjoy that after the horrific tragedy Elizabeth had to to all of the hard work and Wynn didn’t come home until several days after. I think that Wynn should’ve come home a little bit earlier so he could help his wife and the rest of the settlement through the hardships that they faced. Other than that little detail that didn’t please me about the book the rest of the story was really interesting and I just couldn’t wait to see what happened next. Also, this book was a roller coaster of emotions that always kept me on my toes ready to explode when something new came out of the blue. Just like Elizabeth and the people of the settlement, unexpected things will appear in our lives and we can learn to overcome them in our own, unique ways. ...more

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May 12, 2021 Paige added it · review of another edition

Shelves: keepers, fiction, romance, paige-s-must-reads, canadian, 2021

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I found that the start of this book to be quite slow and....................dragging. A real shame as I very much love this series so far. It was not until I got to the part of the Forest Fire at Smoke Lake that it really started to get interesting.

I mean before that, you could really feel the emotions of the Indian People towards Elizabeth, about her presence there. You as well can really feel the emotions of Elizabeth and how much of an outcast she feels from the people.

All up until the forest ...more

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Dec 11, 2018 Carina rated it liked it

Shelves: chick-lit, period, religious, 2018-reading-challenge

This is an interesting entry to the series if I am honest. The ending didn't make me want to read on in the way the others did (I finished this 9 days ago and still not read on in the series!) and yet I'd argue this was the most readable and entertaining book after the first one.

The ending of this, when Elizabeth and Wynn are back in civilisation was interesting in the juxtaposition of what they'd become used to, but was actually somewhat boring. For me the best parts of this were seeing how the ...more

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Jul 05, 2017 Emily Kidd rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 25, 2018 LadyCalico rated it liked it · review of another edition

Wynn's new post at Smoke Lake involves more hardship than they expected. Elizabeth is the first white wife ever posted there, and the superstitious Indians shun her bad mojo. There ensues much feelings of uselessness and weeping--not bad, a dismal but realistic story. But when a wildfire arrives, Elizabeth takes off her glasses, dons a red cape (okay, the glasses and cape are figurative, but this part is still really weird!), and saves them all because Indians are unable to think "RUN!" Suddenly ...more

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Feb 09, 2017 Catherine Hegewald rated it it was amazing

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Jan 20, 2019 Renee rated it liked it

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Oct 08, 2019 Rebecca rated it really liked it

I am not religious, and I was aware that this series was considered Christian fiction, but I started reading these more so because it was loosely historical fiction. I have enjoyed the series thus far, but I give this book only four stars because there was more of a Christian theme, and Elizabeth spends much of the book worrying about the Native American's "pagan beliefs." The subjects just kept coming up over and over again, and it could have been written in much less space. Don't let that dete ...more

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Feb 19, 2020 Anna rated it really liked it

Another great one. I loved the description of Elizabeth’s life in Smoke Lake, hard as it was. The largest problem I had was the Natives didn’t know what to do when a forest fire threatened their village. Whose ancestral home is in the forest that hasn’t seen/doesn’t know what to do when it’s fire season? It’s most likely an artifact from the time the book was written (🤷‍♀️), but it’s still a ridiculous scenario. That and the caricature of Indian men as lazy and chauvinistic was for the worse. Ev ...more

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Jul 19, 2020 Tami Skavang rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Janette Oke is an excellent author!!

I love all of Janette Oke's books I have read!! They are Christian romance. They are completely clean. My daughter and I can read them together. This particular book was so filled with trust in God, I think this is my favorite in the series!! It truly inspired me to work on my prayer life and trusting in God to take care of everythimg!! I really wish I had as much faith as Mrs. Delaney!! I love when she said "I give it to God and then I take it back". That is ...more

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About Janette Oke

Janette Oke

2,564 followers

Janette Oke writes with a profound simplicity of what she knows best—real life, honest love, and lasting values. With over 23 million in sales, her historical novels portray the lives of early North American settlers from many walks of life and geographical settings. She also writes engaging children's stories and inspiring gift books that warm the heart.

Janette was born during the depression year Janette Oke writes with a profound simplicity of what she knows best—real life, honest love, and lasting values. With over 23 million in sales, her historical novels portray the lives of early North American settlers from many walks of life and geographical settings. She also writes engaging children's stories and inspiring gift books that warm the heart.

Janette was born during the depression years to a Canadian prairie farmer and his wife, and she remembers her childhood as full of love and laughter and family love. After graduating from Mountain View Bible College in Canada where she met her husband, Edward, they pastored churches in Canada and the U.S., and they raised their family of four children, including twin boys, in both countries. Edward eventually became president of Mountain View Bible College and recently established a coalition of colleges that became Rocky Mountain Bible College.

During her earliest years, Janette sensed the desire to write. Though she yearned to be a published novelist, she devoted herself to being a wife and mother because, she says, "there is no higher honor—that is my number-one priority." She began serious writing when her children were entering their teens.

Her first novel, a prairie love story titled Love Comes Softly, was published by Bethany House in 1979. This book was followed by more than 75 others. She reaches both religious and general markets, telling stories that transcend time and place. Her readers of all ages and walks of life can identify with the everyday events and emotions of her characters. Janette believes everyone goes through tough times—the key is to be prepared with a strong faith as the foundation from which decisions are made and difficult experiences are faced. That perspective is subtly woven throughout her novels.

After Love Comes Softly was published, Oke found her readers asking for more. That book led to a series of eight others in her Love Comes Softly series. She has written multiple fiction series, including The Canadian West, Seasons of the Heart and Women of the West. Her most recent releases include a beautiful children's picture book, I Wonder...Did Jesus Have a Pet Lamb and The Song of Acadia series, co-written with T. Davis Bunn.

Janette Oke's warm writing style has won the hearts of millions of readers. She has received numerous awards, including the Gold Medallion Award, The Christy Award of Excellence, the 1992 President's Award for her significant contribution to the category of Christian fiction from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, and in 1999 the Life Impact Award from the Christian Booksellers Association International. Beloved worldwide, her books have been translated into fourteen languages.

In recent years, Janette and her siblings lovingly restored their parents' prairie farm home, and it now serves as a gift shop and museum of prairie life. Please see below for a special invitation to the Oke Writing Museum and The Steeves' Historical House. She and her husband live nearby in Alberta, Canada, where they are active in their local church. Visits from their families, including their grandchildren, are their delight.
—[http://www.janetteoke.com/ME2/Sites/d...] ...more