A book titled “The Backwoods Teacher” by the late Edna Renfrow Justice was recently published by Bear Creek Press to benefit the Wallowa History Center. It is now available for local history buffs on everyone’s Christmas lists.

“Any teacher who ever taught a term in the backwoods of Oregon near the turn of the 20th century deserved a medal for courage above and beyond thecall. No matter how young and pretty she was, she had to be unsinkable to survive,” Justice said in her book, which tells about pioneer life on Lost Prairie and at the Lightle Flat School in particular.

Edna’s mother, Florence Williams Renfrow, was one of the teachers who taught in the rural area of Wallowa County, including the Lightle School where Edna was later a student. Included in the book is a 1917 school roster that includes the name of Edna Renfrow.

The 23-page book is for sale at the history center in Wallowa; call 886-9695 for more information. It can be ordered by writing to Wallowa History Center, P.O. Box 481, Wallowa OR 97885, and enclosing $5.95 plus $1 for postage.