Willard Carpenter

I first met Willard in his role as a business owner. Having begun publishing The Boyertown Bulletin with our April 2012 Edition, he placed his first ad with us in our May edition.

Working on subsequent editions of The Boyertown Bulletin, I quickly got to know Will, not just as the maker of Gilbertsville’s finest sandwiches & Owner of Johnny’s Hoagies, but as an Army medic & nurse, as well as a local Unit Commissioner for our local Boy Scouts of America troops.

Although our circles had not crossed until then, it was immediately evident to me that Willard is one of the few who dedicates himself to the service of others.

To know Will, one would probably not think of him as an author. He is a husband, a father, a Christian, veteran, a business owner, and a servant. He has led a life of bold & diverse experiences that immediately capture one’s attention.

Getting to know him more deeply, I’ve learned that Willard has an unexpected artistic & creative side—something that might be considered uncommon, given his life’s works.

Will’s greatest inner strength is his expression and creativity. His life’s works give a credit to his writing that few other fiction authors possess. This generates a vivid degree of realism above & beyond other works of fiction.

Living in a Pennsylvania Deutsch (German) community in southeastern Pennsylvania, Will quickly developed an interest in the simpler culture. Learning more about its history, he quickly learned the “old-fashioned” ways of other German protestant sects, particularly branching out to the plain people, Amish and Mennonites.

It is within the structure of these cultures that he ties together his interests, and constructs some of the most vivid works of Amish fiction.

Upon reading Will’s first book, Prodigal, which was first published at about the same time as the first edition of The Boyertown Bulletin, I was immediately struck by the quality of the story line, and immediately expressed my desire for him to join The Boyertown Bulletin’s staff.

Since that time, he has been integral to our publication, frequently covering some of the most difficult topics in our modern society. Willard is not afraid to discuss some churches’ departures from The Bible, nor is he afraid to cover the importance of fatherhood & family—all of which are topics that our society attacks every day.

It is on this note that I leave you to enjoy this compilation of Willard’s works, as they were printed in The Boyertown Bulletin, and encourage you to follow his example by going boldly down your own path, whatever that may be.

Eric Eidle, President and Editor, The Boyertown Bulletin

Written as a forward for "The Path that May".