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Many of our “HSJ Online” readers are familiar with Michael Vernon Harding due to his articles related to leading a team of 40 members in the early 2000s over the Lewis and Clark Trail. Since that expedition, he has made many interesting presentations, including locally for the Hope Yellow Trail Museum's annual meeting and for all fifth grade classrooms in the Hope Elementary STEM Program (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Mike has a magnificent coffee table book, “Flight of Discovery,” with outstanding photographs taken by a professional photographer on the trip. At this time, that book is being revised.

Several years ago, I first met Mike at the Pixy Theatre in Edinburgh. The Pixy is this wonderful historic building which Mike purchased in 2008 after returning home to Indiana from California. During my visit, Mike was kind enough to show me around, as he has with many attending events there, and I was inspired by the exhibits related to Lewis and Clark and the Civil War as well as all his restoration work on the 12,000 square foot building preserving it for future generations.

I can't recall exactly how it developed, but Mike asked if I might be willing to edit his books. With a little hesitancy, knowing the time required due to helping others with their books, I agreed and asked my wife if she might join in the process. We did not know we would be editing eight books in 2024 with seven now on Amazon and more to follow in 2026. Mike is a prolific writer, and we consider it quite the honor to be involved in his writing journey.

With us both being retired elementary teachers, and his love of the Big Blue River due to floating down it to his grandparents' farm when younger, we challenged him to write a book for older children. He ended up writing two: “The Boys of Blue River-A Change of Seasons,” featuring two boys navigating a raft down the river and “The Boys of Blue River-Beneath Still Waters,” again featuring river related adventures and including a young lady as a main character. The first book ends with “Fun Facts About Indiana” such as the major river systems while the second one ends with related “References” such as field guides to birds, medicinal plants, and herbs. If teaching fifth grade science and health again, I would definitely incorporate both books knowing they would meet several state standards.

Like the main characters, Daniel and Tony in the first book and Daniel and Joni in the second one, Mike has a strong interest in the natural environment. He graduated from Purdue University and has extensive experiences in the United Stares and overseas as an environmental scientist. Both books focus on ecology and friendship. The photos and illustrations, by outstanding artists, are sure to entice the interest of the reader, whether younger or older. In the second book, Daniel and his classmates were asked to write a paper about their summer vacation and then share them with the class.

Daniel starts with: “This summer, I cut grass, trimmed hedges, and did odd jobs in my neighborhood to earn money to buy an inflatable raft to float on the Big Blue River. I learned if you want something bad enough, you don't wait for your parents to hand it to you. You can earn it yourself.”

And his paper concludes with: “Everything seems to be related to each other, either through the river or the woods on either side of the river. I want to learn more about ecology. Finally, I learned that having a friend who is as interested as you are in these things makes the adventure a lot more fun. I learned that being different is a good thing, especially if you have a friend who is different like you.”

These books can be found on Amazon and also at the Hope Branch of the Bartholomew County Library. They make great reading for young and old alike.

Related Note: Sue Breeding, book publisher, who helped Hope writers, Rena Blake Dillman, Janice Lawson, and Rana Wetzel, has been of tremendous help to Mike. Sue is now working with Hope's Carol Ashbrook with a poetry book after Carol won a poetry contest.