Born To Write:

Older Americans often come from whistle stop towns painted by Norman Rockwell. Kyle Keyes grew up in Clayton, a South Jersey borough first founded as Fislerville. Clayton had a small urban district with street lights, but no indoor plumbing. Farmland and outhouses were a sign of the times.

Clayton was so small, that Keye's aunt doubled as his Sixth Grade school teacher, who once said that Kyle lived with his nose between the bookends. She must have known something.

Keyes went to Temple Tech for concrete and steel design in 1956 and 1957. He never became an engineer, but still has a red, tinker toy motor and his World War II, Erector Set.

The early Sixties found Kyle in the U.S. Army where his top sergeant would daily bark, "You just say morning, trooper. I'll decide if it's good or not !"

Keyes wholesaled bakery products to food chains for thirty years,and wrote odd items for local newspapers. He is widowed and currently lives in Florida. He has two children, Kathleen and Daniel. Grand children are now grown and too old for tales about railroads and yesterday's America. This leaves Keyes no option but to write books.

Se la ve.

PS: Should you need a book autographed, Kyle can usually be found rooting through neighborhood trash cans, one block ahead of the recycle truck.