Ellen Gray Massey Explained

Birth Date:	14 November 1921
Death Place:	Lebanon, Missouri, U.S.
Birth Place:	Nevada, Missouri, U.S.

Ellen Gray Massey (November 14, 1921 – July 13, 2014) was an American writer and schoolteacher.

Massey was raised near Nevada, Missouri, and spent some time in Washington, D.C. She received a bachelor's degree in English at the University of Maryland before moving back to Missouri, settling in the Lebanon area. She oversaw a class of high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors who produced Bittersweet, the Ozark Quarterly magazine.^[1]

Massey also gave hundreds of talks about the Ozarks.

Works

Massey wrote many books, including the following titles:

• Papa's Gold (2013)
• Footprints in the Ozarks: A Memoir (2011)
• Morning in Nicodemus (2009)
• Her Enemies Blue and Gray (2008)
• New Hope (2004)
• Family Fun and Games: A Hundred Year Tradition (2001)
• The Burnt District (2001)
• Borderland-Homecoming (2000)
• Music of My Soul (1998)
• And Tyler, Too? (1998)
• Home is the Heart (1998)
• A Candle Within Her Soul (1995)

Awards

Massey's writing won a number of awards,^[2] including the 2014 Western Writers Spur Award in the juvenile fiction category with Papa's Gold.^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Massey. Ellen. Bittersweet. Springfield-Greene County Library. Springfield-Greene County Library. December 2, 2016.
2. Web site: Blades. Debbie. Award-Winning Author. Ellen Gray Massey. December 2, 2016.
3. Web site: Western Writers of America Award Winners. Western Writers of America. December 2, 2016. October 19, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231019071040/http://westernwriters.org/winners/. dead.
4. Web site: Blades. Debbie. Ellen Gray Massey. Ellen Gray Massey. Debbie Blades. December 2, 2016.
5. Web site: LDR Staff. Local educator, writer Ellen Gray Massey dies. Lebanon Daily Record. Lebanon Daily Record. December 2, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20140716151255/http://www.lebanondailyrecord.com/news/local/article_e873e5f6-0adb-11e4-85fe-0017a43b2370.html. July 16, 2014. dead.
6. Web site: Howerton. Phillip. Interview with Ellen Gray Massey. Encyclopedia of Ozarks Literature. Missouri State University. December 1, 2016.