Author writes about growing up at Hanna

By Joan Janzen

Lorna Stuber, who grew up ten miles from Hanna, Alberta, is launching her book “Nut Bags and Num-Nums” at the Hanna Municipal Library on November 7th. Lorna was inspired to write the book when a friend asked when she was going to write about growing up in Hanna?

“In the past, I had jokingly told some of my friends from high school that I should write about those days since I had some funny stories to tell,” Lorna said. “When I took some time to think about it, I thought it could be entertaining.”

Lorna Stuber will be her book ‘Nut Bags and Num-Nums’ at the Hanna Municipal Library on November 7th. The book is filled with funny and poignant stories about her years of growing up in the community of Hanna. SUBMITTED

The author says she desires her writing to both entertain and inspire her readers. After much consideration, she decided to relay humorous as well as poignant stories from her first eighteen years in Hanna. She wanted to honour her roots, which include the farmers and ranchers in rural Alberta.

She credits the influence of the generous, helpful, hard-working and humorous people in her family and community who helped make her the person she is today. “Those people represent the spirit of rural people in all of Western Canada,” she said.

Anyone who grew up in rural western Canada in the 1970s and later will relate to the stories in ‘Nut Bags and Num-Nums.’ “I hope people will get a few laughs, but I also hope they are inspired to reflect on their own life experiences and the events and people who impacted them,” Lorna said.

However, she also hopes to bring public awareness to the challenges faced by farmers and ranchers as they set out to make a living for themselves and also bring food to the tables of Canadians. “These people can never get enough recognition,” she noted. She emphasized the importance of values kids learn by taking care of animals, helping grow plants, and being surrounded by hard-working people who hold traditional values.

“The sense of community in a rural area is different than the feel of a community in a big city,” stated Lorna, who now resides in Okotoks, Alberta. She said folks in rural communities support one another, an attribute which is worth recognition.

“I was 17 when I left Hanna. I’m now 54 and am welcomed whenever I come back to town,” she said.

Lorna will be coming back to Hanna on November 7th, when she will launch her new book at the Hanna Municipal Library. “I will be speaking and reading a few excerpts from my book,” she said. This will be followed by a question and answer time, after which Lorna will be happy to sign books which will be available to purchase and chat with people from her old stomping grounds.

“I look forward to seeing everyone!” Lorna said.