Ninety-year-old Jake Mosby is the grandson of slaves, a lifelong native of Prairie County, Arkansas, and one of the only African Americans selected as Arkansas’ Farmer of the Year. Jake has lived in the east Arkansas delta region all his life and has endless stories about growing up in this fertile area of the state where rice, not cotton, was king.
Sharing his story with others has been Jake Mosby’s lifelong dream. But, it wasn’t until the 86-year old, on his way to a relative’s funeral, met an amazing woman by the name of Mary Ann Campbell, who listened to his story, then urged him to contact her friend Janis F. Kearney, and follow his dream. It was just the push Jake Mosby needed.
As narrator of the Jake Mosby Story, the energetic former rice farmer paints a riveting story of a childhood in which he is thrust into becoming the breadwinner of his household at the age of 11, of his family’s struggles to survive and his eventual meeting and falling in love with the beautiful girl with the beautiful voice, Frances, who would change his life forever. The Jake Mosby Story: A Man for All Seasons, as told to Presidential biographer Janis F. Kearney was published in 2017. This new memoir chronicles the life and memories of Jake Mosby, a Korean War veteran whose experiences spans eight decades - from the racially charged Jim Crow 1920’s, to the unlikely election of America’s first Black president.
Mosby tells of his and Frances’ decision, early in their marriage, to adopt his younger siblings who were orphaned when both parents died one year apart. I suddenly felt the responsibility to work extremely hard and take care of my family…there were so many feet under my dinner table. These included his and Frances’ own children.
Jake Mosby remembers with great reverence, his time as a soldier, and his deportment to Korea marked by getting lost in the faraway land, the only thing saving him, he recalls, was his bag full of O Henry chocolate bars and his good memory - he could sing a Korean song he’d learned in basic training.
Jake Mosby is a master storyteller whose amazing journey is worthy of telling and worthy of sharing with readers of all ages.