Why Ajax Rock?

Two little Simpkins girls, looking for something to do one summer day in the 1950s, unknowingly paid tribute to their parents' finest virtues when they claimed Ajax Rock as their own. Peck's sense of adventure and Roena's sense of order and purpose meshed perfectly when those two little girls claimed a neighbor's ordinary rock as their own, then set out for home, only to return with a big bucket of water, can of Ajax and scrub brush to clean the rock they would sit on while they pondered the next adventure or held hands and told secrets.

We didn't realize it then, but we had extraordinary parents who encouraged us to dream and explore -- as long as we cleaned up after ourselves! In these pages, I hope to keep alive the memories of Mom and Dad and to recapture the simple wonders of growing up in a family where "Grandad made eight," living under one roof with one bathroom (remembering to be grateful for that toilet in the basement!) and where we began our journeys armed with Dad's spirit of adventure and wisdom and Mom's sound advice and a reminder to be prepared when we walked into the woods.

Dad always wanted one of us to write a book, and he thought that his world right there in Athens County was the place to start. What could be more interesting, he thought, than home? And once again, he was right!