BY TERI R. WILLIAMS | PHOTOS BY DAPHNE WALKER
the art of
storytelling
Hometown Living At Its Best 13
LYNN SKINNER LOVES TO TEACH AND
TELL STORIES, BOTH OF WHICH LED HER
TO WRITE TEN CHILDREN'S BOOKS THAT
TEACH CHARACTER BUILDING, CREATIVE
THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING.
"M y grandmother Flora Snooks and her
sisters founded the Garden Club in
Ailey in 1929. It’s one of the oldest
Garden Clubs in America,” said Lynn.
“She was part of a very large family
with many siblings, and they all lived right in this area.
It was always a happy place for me to come,” which was
the explanation for why it was the place she and her
husband had chosen to spend the years of their retirement
in 2009. It also explained why it had become the perfect
environment for Lynn’s gift of storytelling to flourish.
In addition to the time spent with her grandmother in
Ailey, Lynn was also her grandmother’s traveling companion.
From the time she was about five years old, she spent two
weeks every August in the mountains with her grandmother.
Lynn was not the only grandchild, but Flora Snooks was
Lynn’s only living grandparent, which may have been the
reason she was the one her grandmother chose to take.
Whatever the reason, Lynn always understood that the
opportunity came with a responsibility. Her grandmother’s
eyes had grown dim with time, and it was Lynn’s
responsibility to make sure she didn’t stumble or fall. In a
sense, she became her grandmother’s eyes. In return, Lynn
was given the gift of seeing the world through the eyes of a
woman who understood and valued the beauty around her.
Lynn traveled with her grandmother every summer until she
married—except for that one year she traveled to Europe
between her junior and senior year of college. It was a
decision that would prove pivotal.