December 18- Christmas Stories

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Marie-Pierre Baltz, is a native of France. Her twelve years of Montessori education gave her a strong sense of independence and the desire to experience the world. Her supportive parents encouraged her to pursue her studies and practice of languages, as well as her interest for dance, music, theater and writing. She attended the Catholic University of Lille, France where she majored in foreign languages (English, Spanish and German), and traveled through Europe, Canada and the US. as an interpreter for her “Haute Couture” father’s business. A shift of interest brought her to the US in 1969 to study the Montessori philosophy of education, taught in Cincinnati and came to Joliet Il in 1973, where she met her husband Joseph M. Baltz, an actor, a framer, and a photography teacher.  Their two artistic children, Emilie and Timothee, are her constant inspiration. Now retired, Marie-Pierre feels that elder hood opened up exciting new avenues, and her stories from both sides of the Ocean could make you wonder where lies her center of gravity!

Nan Clinton is the second child, oldest daughter, of seven siblings. She attended elementary through graduate programs in Catholic schools. Throughout her career as a Montessori teacher, high school teacher, and school administrator, she has many stories to tell that are playful, hilarious, and entertaining. 

Along with the whimsical side, and life experiences they are both sad and wise. Nan believes that storytelling is the bond that reconnects…stories convey the humanness in all of us.

Amy Curtis was an early participant in the Inspired! live lit storytelling classes and told her first story in 2019. She believes stories express our common humanity and connect us to one another. Amy paints, feeds her backyard birds, is curious about almost everything and enjoys a good book and a good cup coffee above most all other things.

She is a local real estate agent and a Lockport resident.

Barbara Eberhard is the producer and host of STORIES R Us. She taught photography at the University of St. Francis and was staff photographer at the Philip Lynch Theatre for over 30 years She was the director of the children’s theatre Eberhard and Friends. Barbara is a member of artitude and Chicago 

Society of Artists.You can view her work at barbaraeberhard.com

Meredith Morris has a background in journalism and public relations. She is currently a family advocate in senior living and working toward certification as a death doula. Meredith lives in Lockport with her husband, Don, and cat. She is grateful to Stories R Us for bringing out her inner storyteller. While she loves to learn, meet new people and try new things, it’s guidance and deadlines of Barbara and friends that help her put experiences into words.

Katie Ward began telling stories in 2019 with Art Inspired Live Lit classes in Lockport. She loves telling and hearing others’ stories and felt that she had found her tribe when she met others who seemed to feel that same way.  Katie has lived long enough to retire from two careers, one as a teacher of hearing impaired students and another as a choreographer & teacher of children’s dance.  Those experiences as well as those of an early member of the Boomer generation seem to have provided her with ample material to mine for stories.