"Roots Grow Deep And Strong"

The Belle Fourche Writers' Group has published its first anthology, "Roots Grow Deep and Strong." Conceived as a community education writing class, the Belle Fourche Writers' Group has grown into a community treasure. They host events such as public readings, writers' retreats and "Meet the Author Nights." Meg English helped found the Belle Fourche Writers' Group after retiring from teaching. She was born and raised in South Dakota and has taught language arts and writing in middle school, high school and college. She has authored an education column in the Black Hills Pioneer and writes a regular blog for Empowering Parents. Jean Helmer is a fourth generation South Dakotan and a veteran of classrooms and pulpits. Her work has been published in Beautiful Fork Magazine of the Prairie and Plains & Hills. English and Helmer talked about their first published anthology.