Snell shares Arcanum author spotlight

 

There are only 2,062 people in Arcanum, which is in Darke County, on the border of Ohio and Indiana.

And yet there are two “famous” authors who were born in and grew up in Arcanum – Linda Coble Castillo and BJ alum Roger Snell.

Roger Snell

Neither is the most famous native of Darke County. That would be Phoebe Ann Mosey, better known as sharpshooter Annie Oakley, who was born in a cabin within two miles of Woodland, now Willowdell, which is 30 miles from Arcanum.

Roger wrote “Root for the Cubs,” which disputes that Babe Ruth actually called the home run against Cubs pitcher Charlie Root, despite the legend.

Linda went from cranking out three or four Harlequin books a year to writing a Kate Burkholder crime thriller series set in Amish country for Berkeley Publishing. One became a movie, “An Amish Murder.”

Arcanum began in 1849. The railroad arrived three years later.

Roger and wife Linda live in Frankfort, Kentucky with daughters Rachel and Hannah.

Roger, who survived immune system attacks on his cerebellum and brain that stopped his breathing when he felt asleep by turning to vitamins, minerals, nutriets and diet, administers a marketing program called Kentucky Proud that helps farmers transition from tobacco to alternative crops such as fruits and vegetables.

The article on Roger published in the Daily Advocate of Greenville, which is 10 miles from Arcanum and also in Darke County:

Arcanum produces another author

By Linda Moody, Greenville Daily Advocate

 

ARCANUM – Roger Snell, a 1977 Arcanum High School graduate, said he ironically released his second book the same day Linda (Coble) Castillo (a 1978 Arcanum graduate) recently appeared at the Arcanum Public Library, where he worked while going to high school.

“Both of us had Ms. Pallant as our creative writing teacher,” Snell said. “She is mentioned in my book and so is Linda.”

Snell said his memoir book, titled “Love Grandpa,” features Arcanum and Darke and Preble counties.

“Growing up in Arcanum, it mentions a few highlights….dozens of local names and a funny story in the midst of the rubble of his childhood home after the tornado,” Snell said. “As Mike Bevins toured my old bedroom, with no ceiling, insulation hanging everywhere, furniture tossed haphazardly, he said, ‘Looks the same as when you lived here.’ Dad, a long-time Arcanum letter carrier and then well-known at Arcanum Hardware, made national news with his description of the tornado as he stood in the rubble of the only home he ever owned.”

The key point of the book, however, is about his near-death experience in April.

“The book is inspiring, faithful, and covers a career as a reporter who won the Pulitzer while looking for the worst in people,” he said. “But I found the best in people when I became bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was surrounded by people who turned life’s tests into testimony. I devoted my life to changing the world. Instead, this wonderful world changed me.”

“Love, Grandpa,” his latest book, is on sale now.

“It is a memoir and a Christian non-fiction account of what happened when I reached death’s door in April 2017,” he said. “I spent 19 years digging for dirt and finding the worst in people, I learned to see the world differently when I became a bishop for the church. Soon, I was surrounded by faithful and extraordinary members who turned life’s tests into testimony, including my own daughter who lost her son 40 days after birth. I sought to change the world. Instead, this wonderful world changed me. My life transformed from demolition to construction.”

Snell has been writing as early as he can remember.

“I even typed up my own daily newsletter – back when we had typewriters – when I was going to Butler Junior High outside of Arcanum,” he said. “I wrote more than 3,000 stories, mostly investigative, and won the Pulitzer Prize while with the Akron Beacon Journal.”

Snell said his journalism career was inspired by Watergate.

“But my start was because of exceptional teachers at Arcanum High School and Butler Junior High,” he said.

Snell moved to Kentucky in 1998 and runs the ‘dating service’ for Kentucky Proud.

“That’s how one of my bosses described my job as one of the pioneers of the state marketing program helping Kentucky farm families find buyers and markets for their products at Kroger, Walmart, independent grocers, restaurants, and more,” he said. “I wrote both books between 5-6 a.m. each day and full-time on weekends.”

He continued, “I am a lousy missionary and very shy about talking about religion. But after what happened to me at death’s door, I am obligated to get a lot bolder about offering hope, love, and comfort to a troubled and contentious world. My wife grabbed both my hands when I was on my death bed, fell backwards with all of her strength, just to pull me up out of bed and into a wheelchair so I could write 800 to 1,000 words per hour per day. I did 100,000 words in 100 days. This book is the result.”

The 58-year-old author graduated from Ohio State University in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in political science.