By Tony Nivens / Community Columnist

“I am scheduled to appear at the Chelsea Library on Friday, Nov. 9, from noon to 2 p.m. for a book signing,” said Ruby Y. Pruett, author of Daughter of the Noble Orphan.

Since Pruitt knows and influenced a number of people in her years at Chelsea, she hopes to see many of them for the event.

“The book contains a great deal about my experiences while living 11 years in Chelsea and teaching seven years at Chelsea School,” Pruett said.

On a previous visit back Pruett was thrilled, running into one of her former students.

“In the book, I tell of the young man who recognized me in a restaurant 15 years after I left Chelsea School. He rushed up, and following our reintroduction, remarked, ‘Mrs. Pruett, you are the only person who ever read to me my entire life, and now I am an insatiable reader.’ The book he was holding in his hand proved his remark.”

Pruitt went beyond the average teacher and was recognized in several news articles for her efforts for her students.

“For example, after discovering the book Now I See by Charley Boswell in the Chelsea School library I made an appointment with Mr.Boswell. He was left blind during WWII when his tank was struck with enemy fire.

“Some of my students interviewed him and reported the entire experience to their fellow students. We taxied Mr. Boswell to Chelsea’s Lloyd’s restaurant afterward, where he met someone. He was scheduled to play golf in Sylacauga that afternoon.”

Pruett didn’t stop there.

“I made arrangements for my students to visit the School for the Blind after we had finished reading the book, Light a Single Candle by Beverly Butler. This book tells of the difficulty a young person has making friends, dating, etc. after being stricken blind from a teenage illness,” she said.

Not a formally trained author, Pruitt has had success with her writing and acclaim for her current book which pays tribute to her mother.

“I wrote articles for the UAB Alumni Gazette while I was in school there, and I have published articles in The Birmingham News as a freelance reporter. My articles have also appeared in The Tennessee Genealogical Magazine, A Page in Time, and Christian Woman.”

“I wrote a bio of my mother’s life. She was truly an orphan, having lost both mother and father at an early age. I gave it the title of The Noble Orphan, so the title of my memoirs honors her.”

Pruett left a further influence on Chelsea students through her years with the PTA as well as junior high Beta Club, which she chartered.

If you would like to meet Pruett but are unavailable for the Chelsea Library signing she is also scheduled at the Shelby County Library in Columbiana on Thursday, Nov. 8, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and at the Columbiana Church of Christ on Saturday, Nov. 9, from 1-3 p.m.