Wilmoth Foreman

The 11th President of the United States of America had a busy and eventful childhood. When he was ten, his family moved in covered wagons over 450 miles across dangerous mountains and through rough land from North Carolina to Tennessee. In middle Tennessee, it took them nearly a year to clear land and build a house. James K., who was a frail, sickly boy, was a part of it all.

During this period of history, slavery was a norm. Several of the enslaved accompanied the Polks on their move to Tennessee. By the time James K. was a teenager, he got so sick he nearly died due to a kidney stone in his bladder. The only cure was surgery, and the only doctor known for doing this surgery practiced in Pennsylvania. After a covered wagon was converted into a makeshift ambulance, James K. and a few helpers set out for Pennsylvania. While still in Kentucky, the patient's dire condition necessitated a change of plans.

 

History proves that James K. not only survived, but thrived, partially due to his father's realization that his eldest son's future would depend, not on his muscles, but on an educated and strong mind.

 

Ages 10 and up

 

ISBN 978-0-9860678-3-9

 

Wilmoth Foreman received the 2024 Maury County Historical Society Turner-Fleming Award for writing this book.

 

Along the Way Press

ISBN 9780986067822

September 2022

Preschool and up

 

A wee kitten finds a family. Who will pick its name? A sister or the brother, perhaps the mom or dad? Certainly not all of them . . . 

What happens when a young girl of the mid-20th century finds a mini mule and hides it on her elementary school playground? For one thing, the mule decides to stay, and stay, and stay… Foreman's whimsical fantasy [or is it a memoir?] and Hartsfield's artwork secure a spot for Minnie Mule both on the McDowell School playground and in our hearts.

"Delightfully told and charmingly illustrated, children young and old will enjoy this trip into the imaginary world of a schoolyard playground where everyday life is transformed into something extraordinary." - Jeff High, Award Winning Author of the Watervalley Books Series

 

IngramSpark
ISBN 0-9860678-1-4
Ages 8 and up

Excerpts

Margo smiles her Miss Perfect Teeth smile. "How do I look, Jill?"
She stands straight and flounces her hair all around her face. The sun coming through the feed room door has her in its spotlight. Her eyes are green today, my favorite of the colors they change to. They're flirting with me, asking for the right answer.
"You look like a beauty queen," I say.
The smile turns real. "Thanks. Do you mean it?"
I curve my elbow out like an usher did for me at Cousin Betsy's wedding. "May I escort Miss Feed Room to the gate?"
"What about my horn?"
"Beauty queens don't tote French horns. I'll come back for it."
We walk off, arm in arm, toward a house with skunks under it. But we wouldn't be arm in arm if it wasn't for those skunks. (p. 19, 20)

Mama notices me still standing there and gets this lost look, like I'm somebody she met a long time ago and can't quite place. Finally she says, "Jill?" She picks up the letter and waves it at me. "Soon as the dew's gone, let's see if we can find enough blackberries for a couple of pies. My cousin Hershel is coming for a visit."
Mama's kin are pale, educated people. They don't visit us much. When they do, Mama scrubs and carries on and gets out a tablecloth. We stay out of her way. (p. 95)

 

Front Street Books
ISBN 1-886910-80-4
Ages 8 and up

The writings in Somewhere Along the Way were originally published as columns in The Daily Herald in Columbia, Tennessee. Whether read cover-to-cover or ten minutes at a time, the book's gentle humor, down-home nostalgia, occasional serious ponderings, and quirky characters provide a life affirming and uplifting look at everyday existence.

 

Printed by CreateSpace
[originally published in The Daily Herald newspaper]
ISBN 978-0-9860678-0-8