Kiski Township woman writes memoir of life ‘blessed beyond anything I could ever imagine’
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Cora Scott Cole found herself with a lot of idle time when the pandemic lockdown hit last year.
So she got busy writing.
Cole, 82, of Kiski Township, self-published a memoir, “Cora Lee, A Testimony,” earlier this year with Peaceable Publishing.
She’s donating 5% from the sale of each book to several Alle-Kiski Valley nonprofits and organizations.
“I write when it hits me, on a yellow legal pad,” Cole said of her writing process. “Then I transcribe it on my computer.”
Born in Parks Township to her late parents Guy and Leota France, Cole said her impending arrival was initially unexpected news.
“My mother thought she had a tumor,” Cole said.
A doctor’s visit around six months gestation confirmed her mother was expecting.
“The tumor wasn’t a tumor, it was a baby — me,” Cole said.
Cole’s 285-page softcover book provides details on her life adventures that included three marriages, multiple moves and various memories of her beloved Alle-Kiski Valley.
“You can’t take me out of these hills,” Cole said of her Western Pennsylvania roots.
“It began as a journal,” Cole said of her desire to publish her own book. “I wanted my grandchildren to see what living was like in the 1950s without cellphones and all things automatic.”
Cole’s book has 34 chapters and is suitable for all ages. It sells for $14.99 on Amazon and $15 at Vandergrift Public Library, Apollo Library, Victorian Vandergrift Museum and Historical Society and Teri’s Styling in Apollo.
Kelsey Lege, children’s program coordinator at Vandergrift Library, said the library hosted a book signing with Cole in July.
“We love it because it’s nice she’s willing to help and donate to the library,” Lege said.
The book’s cover photo depicts a 20-year-old Cora gazing lovingly up at one of her late husbands, high school sweetheart Richard Scott, while they were living in England.
“I’ve lived in 3 countries, 8 states and 33 houses,” Cole said.
One of the countries she resided in was Turkey.
“It was the most impactful because it was a different culture and way of life with a different language,” Cole said.
Her earliest memory of hometown Parks Township involved a beloved toy.
“Our old home was a cabin on a cliffside. I got my old baby buggy and was so happy,” Cole said.
She graduated from the former Apollo High School in 1957, where she wrote for the high school newspaper.
Cole graduated from Penn State New Kensington with an associate’s degree in medical laboratory technology in 1989, working at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison for nine years.
Other jobs include reporting for the former Buttermilk Falls newspapers, based in Vandergrift, and a brief stint freelancing for the Valley News Dispatch.
A published poet, Cole writes for the Victorian Vandergrift Museum and Historical Society newsletter.
She’s a member of The Rock Church Kiski Valley in Apollo and said her spirituality is a theme in her book.
“All throughout my life, God has made miracles for me and blessed me beyond anything I could ever imagine,” Cole said.