About the Author

Vickie Cleverley Speek is a former newspaper and radio reporter, feature writer, and columnist in Illinois and Michigan, recipient of four first-place awards from the Illinois Press Association, the 2002 Illinois State Red Ribbon Media Award, and recognition as a columnist from the Associated Press. In 2001 she received the Award of Excellence from the Illinois Historical Society for her historical research and writing on a Civil War theme. She has been a speaker at professional and community gatherings, including two presentations about James Strang during Museum Week on Beaver Island, Michigan. She is a past director of the LDS Family History Center in Morris, Illinois. She and her family live in Minooka, Illinois.