The prize winner of Defiance, Ohio : how my mother raised 10 kids on 25 words or less / Terry Ryan ; foreword by Suze Orman.
Stepping back into a time when fledgling advertising agencies were active partners with consumers, and everyday people saw possibility in every coupon, Terry Ryan tells how her mother kept the family afloat by writing jingles and contest entries. Mom's winning ways defied the Church, her alcoholic husband, and antiquated views of housewives. To her, flouting convention was a small price to pay when it came to securing a happy home for her six sons and four daughters. Evelyn, who would surely be a Madison Avenue executive if she were working today, composed her jingles not in the boardroom, but at the ironing board. By entering contests wherever she found them -- TV, radio, newspapers, direct-mail ads -- Evelyn Ryan was able to win every appliance her family ever owned, not to mention cars, television sets, bicycles, watches, a jukebox, and even trips to New York, Dallas, and Switzerland. But it wasn't just the winning that was miraculous; it was the timing. If a toaster died, one was sure to arrive in the mail from a forgotten contest. Days after the bank called in the second mortgage on the house, a call came from the Dr Pepper company: Evelyn was the grand-prize winner in its national contest -- and had won enough to pay the bank. Graced with a rare appreciation for life's inherent hilarity, Evelyn turned every financial challenge into an opportunity for fun and profit. From her frenetic supermarket shopping spree -- worth
Record details
- ISBN: 0743211227
- ISBN: 9780743211222
- Physical Description: 351 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
- Publisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, [2001]
- Copyright: ©2001
Content descriptions
General Note: | Publisher, publishing date and paging may vary. |
Target Audience Note: | 990L Lexile |
Study Program Information Note: | Accelerated Reader AR UG 6.5 13 105984. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Ryan, Evelyn > Family. Ryan family. Prize contests in advertising. Defiance (Ohio) > Biography. |
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
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Livingston County Library - Main Library | BIO RYAN (Text) | 2600935126 | Adult Biographies | Available | - |