The Ohio Connection

Lois Lenski was born in Springfield on October 14, 1893.
When she was five years old, her family moved to Anna.
Since Anna had no secondary school, Lois commuted to Sidney for high school.
In 1911, Professor Lenski received an appointment to Capital University, his alma mater and the family moved to Columbus.
Lois attended The Ohio State University where she majored in Education, with a minor in Fine Arts.
Lois Lenski drew on her childhood experiences in Ohio when writing her first two autobiographical books, Skipping Village in 1927, and A Little Girl of 1900, published in 1928.
Skipping Village is Lenski’s literary name for Anna.
In recalling her Anna years, Miss Lenski wrote, “Anna, Ohio, in the early 1900’s was a perfect child’s town—it offered all a child could enjoy and comprehend.”
Her book, Bayou Suzette, published in 1943, won the Ohioana Book Award.
In 1952, the public library in Sidney made Lois Lenski their representative author during National Book Week. She wrote a special story, “My Ohio Childhood,” to accompany the book display.
In 1953, Lois returned to Springfield to celebrate her 60th birthday.
Because of her ties to Capital University in Columbus, she donated many original manuscripts, drawings and letters to their library in 1969, where they are housed as a special collection.
A commemorative marker was dedicated to Lois Lenski on November 6, 2003 in Anna. The marker is at Anna Community Branch Library.