Portfolio
Memoirs
Magazine articles
Newsletters
Other Writings
Memoirs
Memoirs Completed
- And Jill Came Tumbling After
Jill Byrne – Tulsa, Oklahoma (School psychologist who overcame a difficult childhood, depression and divorces to attain normalcy in life.)
- Grandma and Grandpa Ransom
About my grandparents James and Mildred Ransom and the farm on which they lived.
- Shiny Dimes and Wild Rides
About the lives of Dr. Glenn and Patricia Chamberlin. Their daughter, Barbara Chamberlin Daugherty, commissioned me to do the memoir as a 50th wedding anniversary gift for them.
- Rich In The Fewness Of My Needs.
Berdine Erickson’s memoir that tells of farm life near the small town of Bridge Creek, Minnesota
- Finding Home
About the lives of Kuo-Chien (KC) and Ling-Chang Shen; their childhoods in China, their military and medical careers, their children, and their journey to the United States.
- The Seamstress And The Salesman
Margaret and Clayton Engel’s memoir. She was a devoted housewife and he a successful salesman.
- Remember Who You Are
Mrs. Kay Irvine, Rochester (daughter of F. Matthews, Secretary of Navy during Harry Truman administration)
- Sitting on Top of the World
Philip Smaby, Minneapolis; retired owner of Bermel/Smaby Realty and former President NAR and FIABCI
- Sentimental Journeys
Phil and Barb Henoch, Rochester. Phil is a retired owner of McDonald’s restaurants. Barb had a traumatic childhood living in England during World War II while her family was “stranded” for several years in East Africa.
Memoirs In Progress
Memoirs for the following customers are in various stages of completion: Dr. Otto Berg (Middletown, MD), Lee and Louise Sundet (Excelsior, MN), Dick Jacobson (Stewartville, MN), Margaret Sloan, (Rochester, MN), and Marge Strauss (Rochester, MN).
Magazine Articles
Generations of TODAY magazine
TODAY is a monthly magazine dedicated to sharing stories of people in southeast Minnesota who have led interesting, inspiring lives. It is published in Red Wing, Minnesota, and targets a 55+ age audience. My articles published in this magazine are as follows:
Newsletters
Charter House Newsletters
Charter House is a retirement community in Rochester, Minnesota, and an affiliate of Mayo Foundation. I have written the following newsletters for them. Each is mailed to over 6,000 households as a way of marketing Charter House and its services.
- Spring 2007
- Fall 2006
- Fall 2005
- Winter 2004/5
- Spring 2004
- Winter 2004/5
- Summer 2003
- Fall 2002
Family Newsletters
Diana Post has commissioned me to help her write and print the following family newsletters. Each is approximately ten pages and includes several photographs. The newsletters contain Diana’s childhood memories and stories of her ancestors.
- Issue 1, April 2005
- Issue 2, June 2005
- Issue 3, October 2005
- Issue 4, May 2006
- Issue 5, October 2006
Other Writings
Charter House: Roots and Spirit
Charter House commissioned me to write this 112-page publication that commemorated their twentieth anniversary in 2006. The book extended the original history written in 1995. In the Introduction to the book, Charter House Administrator Dick Edwards wrote, "Because of these changes, coupled with our twentieth anniversary, we felt it important to revise the original publication, and commissioned writer Michael Ransom to do so. Michael met one-on-one and in small groups with Charter House residents and adult children of residents, staff and administration, listening to what they had to say about living and working at Charter House. He absorbed their input, then wrote this version that extends the original history through 2006 and conveys the current Charter House spirit. We applaud his results."
Ordinary People of Extraordinary Faith
I co-edited this book with Pastor Carol Solovitz. It contains faith stories shared by Zumbro Lutheran Church members at Lenten breakfasts over the past twenty years.
Loving What Death Can Touch
I wrote this book about our son, Tyler, who died suddenly in 1985 at the age of 19 months.
