Julie Stenger MAKING MEMORIES — Local author Linda Lee Cermak Kocan published her first book, “Harvesting Memories,” about her times growing up on a Dillonvale farm. Proceeds will go to benefit two causes close to her heart. -- Julie Stenger

DILLONVALE — Coal mining and farming.

The two do not usually go hand-in-hand.

No, today’s younger generations might never know what life is like to grow up living on a working farm.

Nor will today’s youth ever experience the extreme difficulty of working inside a coal mine as their family’s main source of income.

But a woman by the name of Linda Lee Cermak Kocan understands. She perhaps knows better than anyone how the two can intertwine.

The 71-year-old who grew up in Dillonvale is able to attest to how her family lived in both worlds on a 150-acre farm during the 1950s and ’60s.

Unfortunately, there is no one else who can vouch for her cherished memories, as her parents, along with her older sister and brother, have died.

Cermak Kocan wanted to pass her intimate and heartfelt recollections on to her children and their children. She wanted to ensure they would know their family’s background and how it was a constant struggle every single day. And still, there was love. So much love for one another.

She sat down more than four years ago and began writing, penning memoirs as she found them.

Cermak Kocan vividly expressed on paper her memories about a way of life that has virtually disappeared from the American landscape.

She highlighted moments with family, the hard work they put forth from dawn to dusk, their faith and the community that shaped her into becoming the woman whom she still is today.

Cermak Kocan’s husband, Mark, began proofreading his wife’s memoirs. He thought to himself, “She really has something here.”

So, he broached the subject of her turning those pages of memoirs into a book of memories.

He believed her writings should be shared with the world … not just her children.

Soon, her labor of love had more than 70 memories down on paper. But she wondered if it would be enough.

Would she have enough memories to fill the pages of an entire book?

And even if she did, would anyone be interested in publishing her story?

Would anyone want to read about a young girl growing up on a working farm?

Would anyone want to read pages that discuss her father, Edward Cermak, who dropped out of school to work in the coal mines?

Was there an audience for learning how her father ultimately came to live a meager, but fulfilling life as a farmer who was dedicated to his undying belief that “the land will feed you?”

Would readers be interested to know her father’s dream came with a death sentence … Black Lung Disease from his years of breathing in coal dust while working in the mines?

Time will tell what readers think, as Cermak Kocan’s book entitled “Harvesting Memories,” has been released by Pittsburgh’s Dorrance Publishing Co. Inc.

“‘Harvesting Memories’ is a compilation of stories and maxims that can only be shared by a dwindling number of those among us who have experienced this rapidly-disappearing way of life,” Mark stated.

Cermak Kocan provides many stories — from the exultant to the tragic — told within the pages.

She takes readers back to a time that shaped her, sharing many truths that served her well, including that of a beauty queen, a wife, a mother, a grandmother and now, an author.

“All of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated equally to the Dillonvale High School Alumni Association and to the community of East Palestine, which suffered the tragic train derailment in 2023,” Mark commented. “This book is written in memory of Linda’s dad and mom, Ed and Anna Cermak.”

Why dedicate her book to her parents? Perhaps it is because their memory is always present in their daughter’s heart.

Perhaps it is because they were a couple who was married at the onset of the Great Depression and shared a prodigious workload and occasional hardship throughout several decades of farming.

Maybe it is because the couple never regretted their journey together, as the greater the difficulties became, the harder they worked together and learned to adapt.

Cermak Kocan may not be a formally-trained writer; however, she is an avid reader who loves when a book takes you on an inviting, gentle, authentically-warm and loving journey.

And that is exactly how “Harvesting Memories,” was written.

The author currently lives in the verdant countryside outside of Towanda, Pa. She resides with her husband, whom she married more than 52 years ago, and their 17-year-old cat, Sydney.

“Harvesting Memories” can be purchased through Dorrance Publishing’s online book store by visiting the website bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com. It also can be ordered through Amazon Books.

The cost is $20 for a paperback copy; $30 for a hardback copy or $15 for an eBook.

Cermak Kocan will hold a book signing from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 11 at the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County’s Dillonvale-Mount Pleasant branch, located at 192 Cole St. in Dillonvale.