Under the North Star: White County Edition

Beginning with Mollie Ward's early life as a nurse, Part One of this book includes much history of White County, Indiana, in early 1900. Parts Two - Eight explore life after her marriage to Dr. Henry W. Greist and their journey to become medical missionaries in Alaska for seventeen years. This true story uses the individual journals of Doctor and Mollie as well as comments from their young son to tell of the remarkable experiences of this family during the 1920's and 30's at the furthest point north in Alaska. Although predominantly the story of their survival and their service and friendships with the native people, they also relate of occasional Arctic visitors among whom are Raold Amundsen, discoverer of the South Pole, and Charles and Ann Lindbergh who visit on their flight to Japan. Wiley Post and Will Rogers, attempting to reach their village, died within fifteen miles of their home, and the Greists were given the grim task of preparing the bodies to sent to the US. It is all true and presented by the three people who lived it--a family dedicated to helping the Eskimo at great risk to themselves.