Elma (Martens) Schemenauer is a first-generation daughter of Russian Mennonite immigrants. She spent her early years in a farming community between Elbow and Davidson, Saskatchewan. This community and her Mennonite relatives’ stories later inspired her 1940s novel CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS, published in October 2014 by Borealis Press of Ottawa.
After high school in Elbow, Elma attended Briercrest Bible Institute (now College) at Caronport, Saskatchewan. She graduated with a diploma in Christian education. Later she attended the Universities of Saskatchewan and Toronto, earning a BA in English and psychology, and qualifying as a teacher.
Elma started her teaching career in Saskatchewan. Then she taught English in Nova Scotia under the auspices of the Mennonite Brethren Board of Missions and Services. From teaching she moved into a publishing career in Toronto, where she enjoyed years of writing and editing.
The many books Elma has written include:
-YESTERCANADA: HISTORICAL TALES OF MYSTERY AND ADVENTURE, factual book published by Borealis Press of Ottawa
-UGANDA, factual book published by The Child’s World of Chanhassen, Minnesota
-WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A FRIEND, values storybook published by Grolier
Elma enjoys speaking about history, writing, and other topics.
Elma and her husband, Robert, live in Kamloops, British Columbia. There she writes, edits, and walks on mountainsides dotted with sagebrush and ponderosa pine. She thanks God for His many blessings and trusts Him for the future, whatever it may bring.
For more information, please see Elma’s website, http://elmams.wixsite.com/elma .