Leatherman, J. C.: - Lyndell Leatherman was born into a parsonage in Baxter Springs, Kansas, then lived for a while in Joplin, Missouri, and then spent most of his formative years in Green Rock (now Colona), Illinois. Following his formal music education at Olivet Nazarene University (Kankakee, Illinois) and Illinois State University (Normal, Illinois), he moved to the Kansas City area and launched into a diverse career in church and school music, primarily serving as a music editor for various publishers. Lyndell and his wife Barb, an artist and quilter, raised three children and are now happily involved with their four grandchildren. In his free time Lyndell enjoys maintaining an 1880 Queen Anne Victorian house and garden. In the parlor-which features a Chicago Cottage pump organ, an M. Schulz & Co. player piano, an Edison phonograph, and an RCA Victor floor radio-his longtime fascination with antiques intersects with his passion for old-timey music. Inspired by his late father, Rev. J.C. Leatherman, who often quoted and wrote poetry, Lyndell compiled Erstwhile Friends and Simpler Days, featuring his father's poems enhanced by stunning photography solicited from old and new friends. The book honors his father's humble beginnings, his Midwest values, and his godly legacy.