Finding Aldo

Gwen Kruger was born and raised in Yakima Washington. She lived between a cow pasture and an apple orchard with her parents and siblings. As a young child she and her dog Skippy disappeared through the orchard looking for the origins of the wind. She told Skippy everything she knew. Another great listener was Peter the Rabbit. She used to hide in the cage and talk his ears off, well, almost. During the summers her family, two brothers and a sister did a lot of hiking in what is now the William O Douglas Wilderness Area, one summer hiking over 100 miles just on weekend trips. She grew to love the forest with all of its varied flora and fauna. She has always loved books and equally loved writing. Her mother was usually upset with her because she would read instead of fixing dinner or doing her chores. Mom didn’t know that she read into the wee hours of the morning with a hidden flashlight under the covers. (They could never find the flashlight, but it magically appeared when they needed it for hiking.) When Gwen grew up, she went to school at the University of Kansas and graduated with a degree in Mathematics. Back home after a brief teaching stint in Southern Idaho, she met and married her knight in a white car. Together they had 3 children and lived a pioneer existence for 6 years in the north east corner of Washington State. Then her husband convinced her to move to the west side of Washington, promising her that it never rained there. (It doesn’t. It pours, drizzles, showers, and any of a number of synonyms.) She is now retired after 23 years of teaching grade school.