Jim

I'm an American whose chief connection with Shire becomes clear at the end of this note.
 
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, I grew up 25 miles from the city on the dairy farm my father was developing. We lived 100 yards from my grandmother who inhabited the old family place, originally built before the Civil War, and reconstructed as an inn (we would say Bed and Breakfast today, though all meals were provided) in the 1930's. It was a fascinating place full of old artifacts and even older stories. There was always plenty of work for an oldest son on a farm, but I became a voracious reader, a lover of history, and better at schoolwork than physical pursuits.
 
After a brief stint at an Episcopal prep school, I got my degree from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and converted to Catholicism just before entering their predominantly Methodist Divinity School. After graduating with a M.Div. in 1973, I took a job with a Catholic parish in nearby (one hour's drive) Greensboro, and have worked in religious education and formation here ever since.
 
I married while in college, the wonderful Miss Karen Goeller from the other side of the world - New York! We have three grown children, Joe between two daughters. The older one and the two grandchildren live near us; the younger teaches near Washington, D.C. Joe ran away to see what Wales was like, met and married a fair maid of Kent. He settled with her in Oxford, giving us a wonderful excuse to come to England now and again, and be introduced to the loveably quirky world of Shire Books.