Noah Johnson Daily Press Karen Wils speaks to a packed Escanaba Library during her author talk on Tuesday. Over 40 people attended, requiring staff to put out more chairs.

ESCANABA — On Tuesday night, a local author and Daily Press columnist held an author talk at the Escanaba Library.

Karen (Rose) Wils spent the past 30-plus years writing her Riverside column in the Lifestyles section of the Escanaba Daily Press. She is a lifelong north Escanaba resident. Not only has she written for the Daily Press for over the past three decades, she is a staple at the Escanaba Library, serving for 35 years.

Tuesday, she discussed what inspires her writing and shared photos of her family, interests, and life.

“In the near future, God willing, I’m going to retire from the library. And I’d like to continue writing, and people have inspired me to write different kinds of things, and I’d like to hear what they have to say and just share some of my ideas and pictures and stories with them,” Wils said.

Before Wils spoke to the crowd – over 45 people – Library Director Carolynn Stacey spoke about Wils and her writing, saying her columns make the reader feel at home.

“Karen’s newspaper columns are often about family, tradition, local history, or the natural world. Topics that are always right in step with U.P. culture with what we experience and what we value. One of the things I appreciate especially about Karen’s writing is how she reminds her readers, that it’s the simple things in life that matter,” Stacey said.

Wils began her talk by thanking everyone who attended the event, including various family members and friends.

“I don’t see myself as an author. I’m a storyteller, and that’s what I like to do is: tell stories,” she said.

She said her love of storytelling started when she was young when she would get together at a family member’s house for sweets, coffee, and story-sharing.

“They would talk about parents and grandparents and hunting and fishing and just so many things. That’s where I got my love of storytelling and that’s why I started writing the column for the Daily Press,” Wils said.

She explained she found inspiration for her columns in the world around her, especially nature.

“I try to write my columns about family, nature, history, and humor,” she said.

She said her parents inspired her and encouraged her, saying her mother taught her and her siblings how to read and helped with homework.

Her dad was the creative, outdoorsy type, always hunting, camping, or fishing.

He would tell Wils and her siblings stories he made up before bed, specifically a story about a mischievous dog that would get into all sorts of ‘silly things.’

“Dad could just tell a story like that and entertain us till we went to sleep and mom got a few minutes break,” she said.

Wils comes from a very large family, who still get together in a rented venue big enough for all 60 to 80 family members.

She spoke about her love of nature, saying she always enjoyed being in nature to hike, swim, or admire the beauty of the outdoors.

Wils always has her camera ready to snap photos, saying the pictures also inspire her writing.

“Watching the birds, the ducks, and the animals certainly has been a theme of many of the columns,” she said.

Her pictures include shots of owls, birds, ducks, flowers, rivers, rabbits, raccoons, butterflies, weasels, squirrels, and even a bobcat.

“Wildlife inspires me,” she said.

She said her favorite wildlife animal is the snowshoe hare, a rabbit that turns white in the winter and back to a brown coat in the spring.

“They are so versatile. They’re so beautiful, especially in the snow. Well, beautiful any time of the year,” she said.

Attendees were treated to light refreshments at the event and were given a free poem by Wilz, her first work published when she was just in high school. A picture of a riverside during the spring is attached to the poem, which talks about the melting of winter and the emergence of spring.

She also asked guests to fill out a recommendation sheet for topics they would like to read about in her future columns.

“I hope to keep people talking and keep people telling stories, especially with their families and friends, and keep history flowing through verbal and written word,” she said.

She added that she wants the community to know about all the great resources the city and the county have, including the Delta County Historical Society.

“I just want to make people aware of what a vibrant community we have and what super assets we have in the community like the Daily Press – a daily newspaper. The library; oh my goodness gracious, if people only knew how many good things we have here at the library. People do use our library. It’s a great thing,” she said.

Friends of the Escanaba Public Library sponsored the event.

Wils’ columns are published every Friday in the Daily Press on page 6A in the Lifestyles section.