Born on May 3, 1928 in Beloit, Wisconsin, one of four children on a 650 acre farm started by her grandfather in 1909. She taught creative writing at Sangamon State University [now U of I at Springfield] which awarded her two honorary doctorates. She explained that she fell into the job when they were opening the university in the 1960's. Her works include 12 books of children's stories; a family history titled Stories from the Round Barn; and Reading Writing Radio, and a radio program teaching creative writing for children. She moved on to describe details of early hybrid seed production and her grandfather's involvement with Beloit College in the early days of hybrids. She recounted the dairy days, with details of breeds and feeds and the introduction of milking machines following the electrification of farms by the REA [Rural Electrification Administration] during the Great Depression. She told of hobos who congregated along the nearby railroad and of the gender roles in farming. She credited the Federal Land Bank plus incorporation for the farm's survival. The lack of an interested heir, the division of the farm by Interstate 90 and the spread of Beloit brought the end to her family's farm.
From the description of An interview with Jacqueline Jackson / Jacqueline Jackson ; Michael Maniscalco, interviewer. 2008. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). WorldCat record id: 722474725
