In the early 1960s, Cindy Ramsey was one of thousands of children who raised money to save the battleship North Carolina and bring it to Wilmington, North Carolina. Though her family was poor, her ...vizualizați mai multeIn the early 1960s, Cindy Ramsey was one of thousands of children who raised money to save the battleship North Carolina and bring it to Wilmington, North Carolina. Though her family was poor, her father made sure she and her siblings had money to take to school to help save the ship from becoming scrap. Ramsey grew up in Pender County, north of where the battleship now rests. Writing was something she enjoyed doing, though she never pursued it professionally until after she had married and raised three children. She graduated with a B.A. in English in 1999 and an M.F.A. in creative writing in 2006, both from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Through the years, she worked various jobs, from dental assistant to paralegal to wallpaper hanger. Ramsey began writing and editing the Pender Post in February 2002, then purchased the newspaper that fall. In 2001, she realized the impact of the money she and the other children have given to save the battleship when she attended the annual crew reunion. Ramsey spent time with former crew members and participated in living-history interviews. Though she was already working on another book project, listening to the crew talk about their time on the ship inspired her to turn her attention to Boys of the Battleship North Carolina. She spent five years researching, interviewing crew members, and writing. Some of the men she met in person, but others she knows only from phone conversations, emails, or letters. Ramsey sold the newspaper and moved to Columbus, North Carolina, in 2006. She is now retired from the state community college system.vizualizați mai puține