Austin Jernigan

The Lady from Sedalia: the Life & Letters of Blanche Coffey Jernigan Austin Jernigan

In a time when a postage stamp and an envelope provided the most effective and economical means of long distance communication, Blanche Jernigan wrote thousands of letters to family members, clergymen, newspaper editors, elected officials and to friends near and far. The replies she received indicate that a letter from Blanche often brightened someone's day. Born December 6, 1886 in rural North Texas, Blanche was a dedicated Christian and an innovative schoolteacher who enlivened our world for 90 years. She and her husband raised three sons, weathered the Great Depression and prayed for an Allied victory while their boys served in WWII. When her husband died suddenly in 1956, Blanche was devastated but found the strength to flourish during 20 years of living alone at the home she called "the dearest spot on earth to me." She enjoyed interacting with a wide circle of family and friends, hundreds of whom are mentioned in the letters included in this book. Blanche always wrote spontaneously and from the heart. Words of praise, encouragement and love flowed freely from her pen. She wrote extensively about her daily experiences, which provides a unique perspective on the life of a Texas farm woman in the 1940s through 1970s. Illustrated with over 150 photographs, The Lady from Sedalia is a leisurely, heartwarming story told mainly through the letters of a remarkable woman who lived in the kind of close-knit community that most Americans today can only imagine. Between 1905 and 1975, Blanche had just two US mail carriers, Alvin Whitehead and his son A. V. In 2003, when A. V. was asked to provide photos of his father and himself for the book but not to go to too much trouble, he replied, "Anything for Mrs. Jernigan."