Four Lines A Day – The Life and Times of an Imnaha Ranch Woman, is a book I read before moving to Wallowa County in 2016. It is a fascinating, uplifting story of courage, fortitude, and constancy in remote Wallowa County. The book’s author, Janie Tippett, brought life to the diary kept by her fiend, Mary Marks, who faithfully kept a diary over decades, writing at least four lines each day.
Soon after moving to Wallowa county in 2016, I was in church on a Sunday and happened to ask someone if they had ever heard of a local author named “Janie Tippett.” I was told, “That’s Janie right there in the next pew.” I introduced myself and ever since we have been good friends and weekly Scrabble adversaries. Janie has read voraciously for decades, written extensively on farm and agricultural issues, and worked hard to make a living at ranching, cooking, growing food and animals. Janie has served in a wide range of positions serving the community while helping lead (for many years) the writing organization known as Fishtrap. Janie has been a friend, mentor, and encourager to many authors.
Later in the Fall of 2020, four volumes of Janie’s writings will be published. Janie is an important encourager, product tester, and friend to WVCP. Janie’s children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren are the kind of people we at WVCP strive to make proud every day. These are the hard-working, honest people that make America great.