Kathy G. Widener
Kathy was born in Batesburg, SC, in 1951, the third child of Robert andSallie Hartley Gantt. She graduated from Pelion High School in 1969 and marriedJimmy Widener one month after graduation. They had three children: Melanie,Jason, and Paige. Eighteen years after graduating from high school, Kathy attendedUSC Aiken, majoring in history. In 1990, she received an Associate in Arts withhigh honors. College was more for self-gratification than the pursuit of a newcareer. She became an amateur genealogist in her early twenties and interviewedmany older family members, asking questions and taking notes. This, of course,was many years before personal computers and the internet. She always lovedstories told by older folks. Their lives and experiences fascinated her. Thosestories eventually led to her authorship of three books based on familymemories told by elders in her childhood. She remembered cool nights, a heavenof stars, and listening to the past sitting on the front porch. Decidingmemories are all important, she wanted them to be preserved and recorded.
