ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marlene, Artist / Writer

MARLENE CRONKITE aka Marli lives in a quaint little city in Southern California where she enjoys writing and painting. But it all didn't start there... 

It began in Santa Maria, California when Larry and Katie Cronkhite welcomed Marlene into the world. She had one older brother, James, who she called Bo-Bo. 

Santa Maria was a mere hitch in the road before the family traveled on to Arizona, then on to Washington State, and from there Southern or Central California, wherever Marli's parents could find work. This was after the Great Depression ended but jobs were not that plentiful. In Marli's nomadic childhood she attended twenty-six different schools through grammar school and high school. 

Through her growing-up years, sometimes Marli stayed with her beloved grandmother, Effie Cronkhite. Nothing  compared to living with her grandma in the little white house with the colorful flowers growing in the backyard. Stirs up wonderful memories playing jacks with her girlfriends and in the evening, after the sun went down, playing kick-the-can with all the neighborhood kids.

Eventually, Marli married and had children. I guess you could say she grew up with her kids. As with most young marriages, Marli's  didn't last long. At twenty, she and her two children were on their own. Marli insisted her kids grow up in a stable environment--that meant no moving around. 

Marli found a good job with The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, a produce buying and shipping office, located in Fresno California. Her title was what they called "Girl Friday" back in the day. Primarily, she ran a teletype and processed buying and shipping produce orders for A&P stores across the country.  She'll never forget the wonderful people she worked with. They will always remain special to her. 

 Fresno became Marli's home for seventeen years. Although difficulties arose, such as financial problems involving braces for her daughter's teeth--or child raising issues that come up in every parent's life,  everything worked out for the best. Both Danny and Debbie are successful in life, have solid marriages, and brought beautiful children into the world. 

More to come...