In August 1992, Ryan Pearce turned 13 and his grandfather, Warren Higgins, began a tradition that would carry on until Ryan entered adulthood. Every Wednesday for the next five years, Higgins composed and mailed a letter filled with life lessons and infused with insight to his eldest grandchild. In the five years leading to Ryan’s eighteenth birthday and the last letter, Higgins never missed a week, not one. And that’s how Higgins’ book, The Wednesday Pen: a Grandfather’s Legacy to His Family, was born.

In  this day and age when we travel, relocate, or change jobs we can lose track of family, friends, and distant relatives. We don’t mean to; it just happens in the speed of life. Past generations enjoyed the opportunities of communicating with family and neighbors because they lived conveniently close.

Higgins is a case in point. He was confronted with just such a dilemma when his promotion and subsequent job transfer took him many miles away from his first grandchild. His grandson, Ryan, was just turning thirteen and Higgins had been looking forward to continuing a close relationship with him during those often stressful teenage years.

That’s when he came up with the idea of writing Ryan a weekly letter. It didn’t matter about the subject; it would be a chance to “grandfather” him on a regular basis. He chose to write every Wednesday, offering just a few words of encouragement or family lore or thoughtful tips and ideas. He decided to write on a small memo pad for two reasons. First, it forced him to keep his messages short and succinct. Secondly, he realized a teenager’s attention span would be limited, even for a note from his Grandpa.

Condensing his “thought for the week” to that small notepad size proved to be challenging. However, as time went on, he realized the wisdom of that decision. It made it doable for Higgins, and enabled a teenager to stay in touch with his Grandfather.

Little did Higgins know he was staying in touch with his daughter, Ryan’s Mom, as well. She read each one, and kept them all, not knowing exactly what she was going to do with them. However, it soon became clear.   The Wednesday Pen: a Grandfather’s Legacy to His Family could become not only her father’s legacy to his other grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but an anthology of traditions, wisdom and teachings that other families could use as well.

She compiled and edited the letters, indexed the book, and found a publisher so that these timeless lessons could be shared. Since it’s publication, the book has found it’s way into reader’s hearts. One fan wrote, “Thank you so much for sharing this book. After reading a few pages, my thought was “what a treasure you are. Truly, you are a gift to America.”

Yet another reader shared, “After reading The Wednesday Pen: A Grandfather’s Legacy to His Family, you may also find yourself motivated to pass along your own short story or lesson that might encourage a young person, at just the right time in their life. Warren Higgins’ weekly investment in writing momentary musings to his grandchild offers timeless lessons his readers can share with others. His daughter, Ris, has lovingly edited and indexed the book so that we can quickly find a gem. You may. Pick up The Wednesday Pen, it’s worth it.”

You can buy The Wednesday Pen: a Grandfather’s Legacy for His Family at thewednesdaypen.com or from his daughter, Ris Higgins who lives here in Bozeman. She can be reached at 406-581-6159 or ris@leadership-outfitters.com.   She is offering the book locally at a special price of $10.