If only more people were like Rose Post
When I came home from Vietnam in 1971, I went through a period of restlessness. I needed to do something to occupy my time. So I started seeking autographs.
Salisbury is the kind of city thatís a crossroad for travelers, coming and going. Many of those great people are home-bred and of influential status. Usually I was there.
Rose Post did an article on a family that was in crisis. I donít remember the family, but I do remember the honesty, tenderness and compassion Mrs. Post put into that article. She inspired me, so I went to her office to get her autograph. She gave it to me with that bright smile and said, ěI donít know why anyone would want my autograph.î
When I read that she had gone on to glory, my heart was made sad and I could only think ó if more people could have the caring, the compassion and the love of Rose Post, just think what could be in the world.
ó James E. Neely
East Spencer
A Rose wannabe
Reading all the letters about Rose Post causes me to wish my memory was clearer of all the times I spoke with her. I gave her leads on several stories.
When my husband and I were Woodleaf 4-H leaders and with the help of Gloria Correll, Dale Alderson, Becky Wetmore and other parents, we planned community service projects for the kids to write about on their 4-H records. Some folks thought I was a ěpublicity seeker,î but those type of activities helped at least six children earn scholarship money for trips to Chicago where their records competed for $1,000 school scholarships.
When our club repaired and painted the old fence at Mount Vernon for Miss Current, Rose wrote a very nice story. During our interview, she discovered I had myasthenia gravis and ran a side article about my health and my volunteerism. Years later when I went in to talk to her about a possible story, I told her how much I enjoyed her stories and that I was a ěRose Post wannabe.î By then, the paper had used a lot of my stories. She stopped the interview and said, ěYou donít need to be a Rose Post; you are an excellent writer in your own style.î I think I floated out of the office that day knowing that Rose Post approved of my writing. I wish she had known about my two books; she probably would have written about me again.
ó Linda Beck
Salisbury
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