How did this book come about? Actually, it's the brainchild of my adult children, who encouraged me to document the history of our family from before, during, and after the establishment of the Sims homestead in the eastern sector of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1881. This endeavor quickly expanded to tracing my life in the family tree with the hope that it might be helpful for my grandchildren as they approach the challenges of their teenage years and beyond. After all, they are my messages to the future.