The Story Behind "The Amish Nanny's Sweetheart"

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We're getting close to the March 1st release of "The Amish Nanny's Sweetheart," and some readers already have their copies!

This story is close to my heart. I loosely based the hero, Guy, on a real person – my grandfather. I never met the real Guy, who passed away several years before I was born, but his story is one I had to share.

I had a couple helpers as I worked on developing Guy's character. 

One was an essay my grandmother wrote for a college class. She had attended college before her marriage, but at that time only needed a limited number of classes to earn her teaching certificate. After my grandfather passed away in 1951, Grandma went back to college and earned the additional credits she needed to return to teaching.

In the essay, she talked about Grandpa's childhood and the boy who grew up to be known as "Daddy" by his five children. Her love for him gave her a special insight into his formative years.

Grandma in the late 1950's

But the best source of information was Grandpa, himself. He kept a journal from the time he was a young man - just a day book filled with short entries - but it was an invaluable record of his day-to-day life. I'm in the process of transcribing the collection of journals, and his entries let me learn to know Grandpa in a unique way.

Grandma and Grandpa's engagement picture

Born in 1902, Guy’s life changed dramatically when he was seven years old. His mother gave birth to a daughter and died of complications soon after the delivery. Faced with raising three very young children on his own, their father placed Guy and his younger brother in an orphan’s asylum and put his newborn daughter up for adoption.

Grandpa Eugene, Orville, and Guy

It was a hard life for a young boy. When he was old enough to do farm work, he was hired out to farmers in the area as an indentured worker. Abuse of various forms were part of his life, while the father who had left his sons in the orphanage traveled from job to job, never able to provide a home for them, but never signing away his parental rights. 

Grandpa Eugene (aka "Slim") is the man standing
at the left with the suitcase in his hand. He was
a "traveling man."

From 1909 to 1926, Guy lived and worked in thirty-two different homes.

The orphanage where Guy and his brother grew up

But, as in every story of redemption, God stepped in. 

This is from my dad's telling of his father's story: "When he was 20 or so years old, he found a steady job with {the couple who were the inspiration for David and Verna Mast} who lived on a 400 acre farm south of Topeka {Indiana} in Noble County. They needed someone to look after their fences, do chores around the farm, and to drive their car. Guy lived with them and worked on the farm...Guy's relationship with the {Mast's} was nearly that of an adopted child, a son that they did not have. {Verna} became a second mother for Guy and 'grandma' to his children."

The couple who inspired David and Verna Mast

Early in his young adulthood, Guy dedicated his life to serving the Lord. He met my grandmother, they married, and had five children, including two sons who became ministers.

The year after Guy’s death, Grandma wrote, “He wanted love and respect, but most of all he wanted a home and security, something he hadn’t had since his mother died.”

And what happened to the rest of Guy's family? The father who left the boys in the orphanage and the baby sister who was adopted out of the family?

Grandpa Eugene and his second wife
(Notice Grandpa Eugene's Plain clothing!)

Orville, Ruth, and Guy at their reunion in 1926

Those are stories for future books!

"The Amish Nanny's Sweetheart" is the story of a lost boy. A boy who longed for a home, a place to belong. In the story, Guy found that home.

In real life, there are children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren who can testify that yes, Guy found his true home.

Guy in 1929 with his oldest son, my dad

I hope you get an opportunity to read Guy and Judith's story!

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com.