Ambassadors were able to hear a unique story today with a visit from local author Monique Shore. Monique shared more about her journey to self publish a book on local Grinnellian Edith Renfrow Smith. Smith was born in 1914, graduated from Grinnell High School and was the first black woman to graduate from Grinnell College in 1937. She then went on to work in academic institutions, elementary education and volunteered prolifically in the Chicagoland area where she still resides today at 109.
Monique met Edith when she was 101 years old as part of a project to digitize the Renfrow family photos and Dan Kaiser’s project to collect an oral history from one of the oldest Grinnellians. They reconnected many times over the years and with the announcement of the naming of the new downtown residence in Edith’s honor, Monique took that as the final sign to share Edith’s incredible story with the world.
Over the course of a year, Monique worked with Edith and her daughter Alice to develop the text of the story with the focus being on Edith and her mother Eva Pearl’s message “no one is better than you”. She launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to pay an illustrator to develop the images. She was connected with Erica Lauren Butler who worked with her, Edith and Alice to ensure the illustrations accurately reflected Edith’s life.
Monique self published the book, "No One Is Better Than You: Edith Renfrow Smith and the Power of a Mother's Words", with the help of a company out of Chicago who then printed the books overseas and shipped them back to Des Moines. Originally, the books were to be delivered to Monique in Grinnell but with delays from the January snow storm and cold temps, Monique and her husband drove to Des Moines and loaded all the books into their vehicle!
Edith received an early copy of the book in December and was delighted with the results. Monique is working hard to get the book in the hands of children across the state of Iowa and throughout the country. If you’d like a copy, Pioneer Bookshop, Grinnell College has books available for purchase. If you know of a private bookstore, a library or an elementary school who would like a copy, reach out to Monique!
Monique is sharing more of Edith’s story and the story behind the book tonight at Drake Community Library starting at 6 PM. This event is free and open to the public. If you’d like to learn more about this incredible story, please attend!
Pictured L-R: Nathan Beck - Community 1st Credit Union, Dorothy Spriggs - Carriage House Bed & Breakfast, Rachael Kinnick - Grinnell Chamber, Fran Conn, Rachel Arseneault - Ramsey-Weeks Inc., Lisa Cirks - Cirks Financial Services, Donnette Ellis - Grinnell College Community Connections, Hannah Vos - UnityPoint at Home, Monique Shore, Monica St. Angelo - Grinnell Area Arts Council, Keith Jay - Advantage Seamless Gutters Iowa, Hannah Warnell - Warnell Real Estate, Matt Moyer - Bayer Crop Science, Marissa Pronschinske - Grinnell Chamber, Jennifer McAlexander - JM Consulting & Hawkeye Lock & Security, Donna Fischer - UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Foundation, Cynthia Alberts - OnMedia
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