Featured Author
Helen Dowd
joined FaithWriters way-back-when in 2002 and has since grown immensely in her writing. She has
written hundreds of poems, some of which have earned her recognition and awards. She also has a
published novel. Join interviewer, Lynda Schab, as she asks Helen about her upbringing, her
writing, and what it really means to be retired.
LYNDA SCHAB: Tell us a little about yourself and your childhood.
HELEN DOWD: On Thursday,
September twenty-ninth, 1932, in a small country hospital in Northern Alberta, Canada, I entered
the world, nearly a month overdue. But I was not the son my mother had so hoped for. I was "A
third girl!" My sisters were three-and-a-half and two years old. Struggling to a semi-sitting position, my mother
flipped back the blanket and gazed with disbelief at the bundle in her arms, so still she could
have been a doll... This was the son she had so much wanted? The son she had counted on? The son
she had prayed for? This tiny bundle, with olive complexion, a mess of black hair, a long nose
nestled on chubby cheeks, between eyes, almost slanted? "A little Gypsy girl," the nurse had
called me. Mom shut her eyes,
the baby lying death-still in the curve of her arm. She felt as if God were stepping on her
heart. Maybe it would all go away. Maybe it was just a bad dream. Maybe when she awoke she'd
be sitting up, nursing a lively son. That evening my father bounded into the room, his face looking like the moon on a
cloudless, full moon night. "We're sure good at makin' girls, ain't we, Mama?" he
teased, bending to kiss his wife. Mom pulled away. She was in no mood for his cheeriness. He didn't know what it was
like to hope and plan for nine months for a boy—a son for him. She had wanted so badly to award
him for his patience and love. She had wanted to present him with a son. How dare he come
bouncing in, all smiles and cheerfulness? She'd failed him— "Oh, Allyn, I wanted to give you a son to show you how much
I love you. I think God is punishing me for being so… so critical, so—" She burst into
tears. Then suddenly she sat
up, and with tears still standing in her eyes, she smiled. "What'll we name her? We
didn't think of names for another girl." "I think we should call her Helen—'Sunshine and Light.' Your face
looks like the sun just popped out from behind a cloud." (This is info gleaned from the notes
Dad' gave me when I was gathering information for my book, "If You Only Knew!")
Two years after I was born, Mom finally got
her son. And in the next four years two more girls joined the family. We grew up on porridge, home made bread and butter,
and the Bible. Not a day went by that we didn't spend time listening to our parents reading
the stories from the Bible, and praying for missionaries all over the world. My dad had two aunts
who were a missionary doctor and nurse in India, and this brought MISSIONS into the forefront of
our upbringing. Many visiting missionaries spent time in our humble home and we never tired of
hearing stories of God's work, especially in Africa and India. (As a result, my oldest sister
and her husband became missionaries in Senegal, Africa, and Evelyn, my second oldest sister,
spent her adult life as a missionary in India.) Oh, I could tell so many stories about this time in my life, but
I'll just leave that as it is for the time being…A most important thing to mention is that at
the age of eight I gave my heart to the Lord. One night my two older sisters, Clara and Evelyn,
went to a revival meeting. I'll never forget the shine on their faces when they arrived home
after that meeting. They couldn't wait to tell our parents that they had given their hearts
to the Lord. And I couldn't wait until the next night so that I could go to the meeting too.
And it was on that night that I realized I had to confess my sins. Does an eight-year-old carry a
burden of sin? Well, I guess this one did, because I can remember crying buckets of tears and
asking God to forgive me. I still remember what I wore that night. Mom had made me a little khaki
coat (It was the war years), and the coat was very rough and I didn't have a hankie with me.
My eyes were so sore from crying and rubbing them with the sleeve of that rough coat. I remember
a lady coming down and kneeling beside me, guiding me to the Lord. I went home rejoicing, hardly
able to wait to tell my parents. Yes! There are NO second generation Christians. It is an
individual commitment to make. We can't gain our salvation on the shirt-tails of our parents.
I am thankful to the Lord for Christian parents who brought me up to love the Lord.
I saw my mother for the last time on my
nineteenth birthday. A month after my first year in Bible College my mother died of breast
cancer. She was only forty-nine. The last thing my mother said before she died was, "Allyn, you
were never meant to live alone. Go out and find yourself a good wife."…And that is just what Dad
did. Six months later, he came home with a wife, twenty-two years his junior. Her name was Helen.
Helen-mom, as we chose to call her, proved to the family that she was definitely the "good woman"
our mother had wished for Dad. (In the years following, she gave us four brothers.)
LYNDA: You are now retired. What type
of job(s) did you have before? Are you enjoying retired life?
And what types of things do
you enjoy doing that you weren't able to do while you were working?
HELEN: Retired! Did you say 'Retired'? I
don't know any stage of my adult life that I have been busier than these so-called
'retirement years.' I am a care-giver to my husband. In 2004 Hart was taken ill with
staph infection, nearly losing his life. In April of 2007 he had his right leg amputated, due to
MRSA (super bug). He is amazing, and has adjusted well, but there are things he can no longer do,
and this is frustrating for him. He constantly feels badly about my having extra things to do but
I don't mind and am thankful to the Lord for the good health He has given me. There are many
things that Hart always did that I can't do, like gardening and yard maintenance, but
together we are a great team. My older sister, Evelyn Splane, who has spent her life as a missionary to India, joined
our family home in April 2006. We enjoy having her in our home. She has not only accepted us and
our life-style, but she loves Corky and the cats as much as we do...God bless her! Evelyn also
has some health issues. I've always been a home-body, and never had a career outside of my home. Hart and I
weren't blessed with children of our own. But during our married years we cared for many
children. Nine months to the day after we were married, our fist child arrived. He was six years
old, the cutest little round-faced Native Indian boy. Three months later two little sisters, also
Native children, aged eight and nine, arrived. Two months after that, the Welfare asked us if we
would take a family of four, so three more boys and one more girl were added to our family. By
the time we had been married a year, our family had expanded to seven children. But it didn't
stop there. Within the next few months our family increased again, to nine, when we were asked to
take a troubled twelve-year-old boy, as well as his two-year-old brother. We fostered these
children for four years, until the Welfare Department decided we had too many. I was still under
thirty when the children left. I put out of my mind the pain of losing the children, and rarely
discuss it with anyone. From that point on we helped care for nephews, half-brothers and troubled
teens. We have also been
care-givers for Hart's dad, an Uncle (who died in my arms), plus two or three other
semi-invalids who needed care. Oh yes, I did have a job for a couple of years, working in the recreation field with
handicapped people. I held my own programs of crafts and sports for mentally and physically
challenged children and adults. I found this work very challenging and rewarding. The people were
always so appreciative. What
types of things do I enjoy doing that I wasn't able to do while I was working? This part of
the question makes me smile. My husband was a salesman. His area included Northern British
Columbia and Alberta. We had a travel trailer—our home away from home. With our dog and cats, we
enjoyed camping, while working. AND…I got to go with him on reward trips to places like Hawaii,
Los Angeles, San Diego, Mexico, Brazil, and Colorado. Many people don't get to go to these
places until they retire. I guess I lived my life backwards.
LYNDA: So where does writing come in? Have you
always loved to write or did you gradually discover your gift?
HELEN: I started writing late in life. The credit for what ever I
may have accomplished goes to God, my husband, and my parents. When I started school, I did not
know what was expected of me, so I would sit at my desk and cry, or chew on a pencil, an eraser,
a ruler, or a crayon. I was what someone once called a "crayon eater." In other words, I began
school not "understanding the rules." At PBI (Prairie Bible Institute) high school, the teachers were more caring. I began to
catch on, however, I was still only a low average student. I got a good education at PBI, and
even though I wasn't scholastically bright, when I finally did learn things, I remembered
them. When something 'sank in', it sank deep! When I was about fifteen I heard my youngest sister asking our
mom a question about what it was like when she was young. I don't remember the exact
question, but I remember the answer: "Oh, if you only knew the half of it!" was my mother's
reply. "I could write a book." But that's all she said. She wasn't one to talk much about
her youth. Although I kept it to myself at the time, that day I determined in my heart that some
day I would write her story. At that time, I was no more capable of writing than I was of flying.
And I certainly kept that dream secret. I am a "ponderer" and I kept it in my heart that one day
I would write her story. To ponder means to muse. So I mused about the story for many-a-year.
I have received certificates
from two international writing courses, as well as from a business college. But this didn't
really prepare me for writing a novel. The courses did, however, teach me discipline. One of the
lessons that stuck in my mind was: "Write what you know." So I pondered this, until I was ready
to write. In 2005, my book, If You Only Knew! was published.
LYNDA: Tell us more about your novel. Also, as it
was published through Publish America, what can you tell us about the self-publishing
process?
HELEN: "If You Only
Knew!" is a story of courage and faith and takes place during the Great Depression and beyond.
Jessie Hudson gives up a career in nursing to marry impetuous Allyn Splane, who leaves his
railway job in the city to pioneer in northern Alberta. "If You Only Knew!" has been a complete success in my
estimation—not money-wise, but it has blessed many people and given me a great sense of
completion. I did something I dreamed of doing, and I did it successfully. Someone put me on to PublishAmerica after I had
tried for years, unsuccessfully, to find a publisher that would accept my manuscript and
didn't cost a lot, as I had no money to invest in something as uncertain as publishing a
book. PublishAmerica doesn't charge anything to publish the book, but the royalties are low.
I didn't care about that. I wasn't looking for a profit. I was just happy to find a
publisher that accepted my manuscript. It was a lot of hard work, as anyone who had ever had a
book published would agree. But I am glad I did it.
LYNDA: Take us through the actual writing of your book. Was there
a lot of research involved?
HELEN: Through the years, I had corresponded with Mom's sister, Florence, who not
only encouraged me to write, but also supplied me with many of her stories about their childhood.
And in 1970, I had written pages of questions to Dad about Mom's early days and about their
life together. In his nearly illegible writing, he wrote pages back—out of order and
jumbled. In order to get more
of the feel of the story, I revisited the old Colinton homestead, as well as the site of our
shack in Meanook. I talked to people who remembered Jessie and Allyn. I read books and accounts
of life during the depression; and I went to the archives of the Three Hills and Medicine Hat
newspapers, in order to acquaint myself with the times of which I would be writing.
The first rough draft I wrote by hand, much
of it while waiting in the car for Hart as he called on people in his sales business. After many
draft revisions, with the aid of my word processor (no computer at that time), I completed it.
Later, when I caught up with the computer age, I scanned the whole manuscript, page by page, into
the computer. I had to almost
BECOME Jessie in order to get into the feeling of the story. Parts of the story, while I was
writing it, made tears come to my eyes, imagining what Jessie must have gone through. No wonder
she would never talk of her childhood. However, I am a "gleaner" and would pick up on little
things that I would hear, and remember them.
LYNDA: You also write poetry. Is poetry something that's near and dear
to your heart?
HELEN: In 1992,
after the manuscript for "If You Only Knew!" was completed, I printed out several copies and
distributed them to family and friends, never expecting that one day my effort would become a
published book. But after having spent so many concentrated years on getting the manuscript
finished, I felt lost. I felt like I had given my kid away. I hadn't yet been introduced to
computers and the internet, so what was I to do next? I felt too drained to think about starting
another book. So… One day I sat looking at my dog, Jasper. The thought popped into my head: It
would be fun to write a little ditty about him. So I did, to the rhythm of "'Twas the Night
Before Christmas." It was so much fun that I decided I would try another, more serious, poem. I
had never studied poetry, and never have to this day, but I began to write the things on my heart
–poetry on Scripture, the Psalms, every day happenings, special occasion poems for friends or
relatives—just about everything. It seemed for a few years that I thought in poetry. In all,
between the years of 1992 and 2002 I wrote over 200 poems. Before the days of internet for me, I
sent my serious poems to several magazines, two of them being, "The Inspirational Poet" and
"Poet's Review." I won several prizes from these and other magazines. Both these magazines
folded, as well as other journals I contributed to. And just about then I was introduced to the
internet.
LYNDA:
Speaking of the Internet, how did you find FaithWriters?
HELEN: As I mentioned before, I had written for several
magazines, but had not been introduced to the internet. It was in 2000 that we ran across
"Themestream", a website that encouraged writers to participate. That website died suddenly in
2001. One of the many excellent writers on Thememstream was Debbie Porter. We corresponded many
times and we commented on each others' entries. I can't say for sure if it was she who
introduced me to FaithWriters, or just how I found FW. But I am glad I did. I think it was about
2002 when I first began entering my writing to FaithWriters. I was also writing for Mission
Magazine, where I won a Bible quiz contest. The prize was the setting up of, and maintenance of
my own website for the first three months. The website was under Online-ministries. Then in 2003,
that website disappeared, leaving me to run and maintain my own website (http://www.occupytillicome.com/). I still struggle along as best I can, not knowing much about web
mastering.
LYNDA: On
another note, tell us about your love for pets. Have you always been an animal lover? And does
much of your writing revolve around animals?
HELEN: As a child we always had a cat in the family, but never a dog. My
oldest sister was the real animal lover. She rescued many a critter, from gophers to snakes, to
abandoned kitties. I guess I shared her love of pets. In our married life, Hart and I have had at least one dog and two
or more cats, usually more. I have told many stories about our experience with our pets. At one
time we had what some might call a hobby farm. We lived in the country and enjoyed our life with
three dogs, three cats, a goat, a lamb, a dozen or so Bantam chickens, several bunnies, at the
same time enjoying visits from nephews and my small half-brothers. Our goat loved to go swimming with the children and
our three dogs. The cats, chickens and bunnies would follow as far as the shore then retreat back
to a safe distance from the water. Since I insisted on naming my livestock, it was no easy matter
to make meals of them. In the long run, when we decided to move into town, we ended up giving our
livestock to neighbouring farmers. Other pets have included geese, ducks, turkeys, a chinchilla, a salamander, several
budgies, guinea pigs, a cockatiel, a pigeon—named 'Chip', as he used to sit on our
shoulders—a pet hen, named 'Gabby'—because she wouldn't shut up, and got herself in
trouble from our other chickens. Have I missed any? Probably, but who's keeping track?
Since then we have narrowed
our pets down to rescued dogs and cats. One of my most precious memories is of my blind cat,
"Baby." We had her for five years. I have written a story about that experience.
Right now we have only one dog, Corky, and
four cats, Eezy, Keeper, Scooter, and our last one, Sparky. Each of these has a story behind
them!
LYNDA:
Congratulations on recently celebrating your fifty-first wedding anniversary! Wow – what an
accomplishment! What would you say is the secret to your marital success?
HELEN: I have always said that the theory of a happy
and long marriage is this: "In honour preferring one another." It's worked for us. Think of
your partner's comfort first, before your own. You'll find that if both partners thinks
that way, as Hart and I do, that the marriage path will run happily, even if not always smoothly.
Through the fifty-one years that we have been married we have weathered many-a-storm
together….Here's the story of how Hart and I met: A shy young woman, I had always declared that I would remain a
spinster for the rest of my life. I had only one brother, whom I adored, but apart from him I had
no use for "boys." In fact, if I saw a boy I knew, I would cross the street to avoid meeting him
face to face. But the summer of 1954 changed all that. I fell head-over-heels in love with a man I saw on the dock of
the Mission Boat, Goforth, which was to take us to the children's camp where we would be
workers for the summer. I was 21. Standing with the directors on the deck were three young
men—Ron, Jim, and Hart. I guess you could say that it was at that moment that the course of my
life was set, as Hart would become my husband. Although I couldn't identify the emotion at
the time, it was then I fell in love for the first time in my life. I remember when I was fifteen and in my first year
at Prairie High School, I listened to the testimony of the Principal's wife, Mrs. Maxwell.
She told of how she prayed that God would keep her from falling in love with any man, until the
right one came along, the one He wanted her to spend her life with. At that time I prayed the
same prayer. Since I had never had a boy friend, nor ever wanted one, it was an easy prayer for
me to pray. But I was sincere. And God answered my prayer. I don't remember even having a
crush on a boy, until I met Hart. Then I knew that some day he and I would be married.
We were still in Bible school,
and were not supposed to communicate during the school term; however, to make a long story short,
despite that restriction, our hearts were united. We were married in 1957. And the rest is
history, fifty-one and a half years of being there for each other, missing each other when we are
separated, comforting each other, caring for each other, and loving each other more every
day.
LYNDA: What an inspiration you are to married couples everywhere, Helen!
Finally, what are some things you'd still like to accomplish during the course of
your life? Both professionally and personally?
HELEN: I can't say that there is anything that I would like to
accomplish in the rest of my life other than living every day to its fullest. God has sustained
me this far and I expect— I know—that He will continue to do so for how ever long He allows me to
stay on this earth. All I ask is that I can be here for Hart, and that we can enjoy each
other's companionship for as long as we are on this earth. My theme is "Keep looking up." I
know that one day soon the Lord will come. At that time I hope to hear: "Well done, thou good and
faithful servant." I have made a whole pile of mistakes in my life, but I know that as I confess
my sin to the Lord, He forgives them and forgets them. KEEP LOOKING UP Keep your eyes upon Jesus.
Don't look at the troubles ahead.
'Though the stormy waters surround you,
don't panic. Look to Jesus instead.
Keep looking up to the Saviour.
Keep your eyes fixed firmly on Him.
Then the cares of
this world that engulfed you
will strangely grow rapidly dim.
LYNDA: What a perfect way to wrap up this interview.
Helen, you are beautiful through and through. Your heart, your compassion, and your love for life
are amazing. It's been such a pleasure chatting with you and I wish you all the best as you
keep busy in your "retirement."
To read Helen's work, visit her FaithWriters profile here: http://www.faithwriters.com/member-profile.php?id=581
And stop by her website: http://www.occupytillicome.com/
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