Hearthstone residents land in EWU anthology

Craig, Inghram look to write more

MOSES LAKE — Two citizens recently joined the ranks of local published author.

Through a creative writing program taught at Hearthstone Inn, inn residents Hazel Craig and Jackalea Inghram's writings were selected to be included in the Eastern Washington University literary anthology, Inroads. The magazine is available through the university and at Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane.

"I think it's wonderful," Hearthstone activity director Connie Fesler said, calling Craig a "sweet little grandma type" and Inghram one of the most talented ladies she has ever met, noting she has a notebook full of stories. "When I talked to the lady at Eastern Washington University, she said when they were making their decisions, in nine years, they had not had any one that just intrigued them like the one Jackey wrote."

Craig's "Loveable Monster," was written during the program as part of an assignment to write about her favorite place. Craig selected her old farm kitchen stove.

"I was so surprised," Craig said of her reaction when she found out her writing had been selected. "I was happy with it. My family was really happy, that Mom could do that … My little grandson said, 'Grandma Hazel really wrote that?'"

The stove was Craig's favorite place while she was growing up, with the family all around, and she remembered doing things together in the evening, playing games around the old kitchen table.

Even though the anthology classifies Inghram's work as nonfiction, she says "Ring," the story of a narrator's great-grandparents' inability to find a flung wedding ring and subsequent founding and naming of a small town called Ring, is a work of fiction she wrote years ago, and brought to the program when she decided to check things out one day, noting she was instructed to bring the story to the class.

"I went to part of one class," she said, noting she went to sit in on part of the fourth class. The story just happened to come out one day, she said, which is the way she writes. "I'll be doing something else, and an idea will pop into my head and I write. I never know how it's going to turn out when I start."

Inghram has had some poetry and short stories published before, while this is Craig's first time.

Inghram has lived in the Moses Lake area since 1956, while Craig has been a resident for about 12 years.

Each woman prefers writing fiction.

"You can't go wrong writing fiction," Inghram noted. "I've always just written for myself. I don't know where it comes from. It just, there it is, and I write it down and it goes in my notebook and that's the end of it."

Craig said she does not do much writing, save for a few little things here and there, while Inghram said she has in the past, but not recently. Both say they would like to write more.

"I probably will," Inghram said. "If it strikes me again, I'll write it down."

Curiosity brought Inghram in to check out the class, and Craig also wanted to give it a go.

"I thought it would be interesting to try," Craig said. "And I like to write. Whether I'm any good or not, I like to write."