Nancy Cramer has been involved in the Northeast community for decades. She attended Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri and graduated in 1952. She then worked at a newspaper for three months during the Korean War.

After her husband passed away, Cramer retired from her work as a teacher and elementary school counselor to take over her husband’s fire suppression business at 10th and Cleveland. She ran the business for the next 17 years.

She retired three months shy of her 80th birthday and decided to become a volunteer at the National WWI Museum, and she “was hooked.”

“I knew nothing about the story of WWI,” Cramer said. “That’s probably one reason I liked it is because I like to learn.”

Cramer has been volunteering there for nine years and has since written and published five books on WWI.

Her first book, “World War I: Student Guide,” came as the result of her assignment to create a math curriculum for the museum using stories from WWI.

“I got so excited from all the research, and I had all these stories left over, so I thought, ‘That would make a book,’ and that’s how my first book was born,” Cramer said.

While volunteering at the museum, she began helping people trace their personal histories and ancestors connected to the war.

After interviewing over 100 families, two books were produced from those interviews: “Unheard Voices, Untold Stories” volumes one and two.

She was also a member of the Northeast Chamber of Commerce for 22 years, serving as secretary for 20 years and president for two.

“I just love the people and I love the idea of the community,” Cramer said. “I was very pleased with Michael Bushnell’s mission that he has. I think the Northeast needs to be a community. I have real deep feelings for the Northeast.”

She is currently working on a memoir that will discuss how she dealt with the death of her 17-year-old son. Even though she said it’s taken this long to be able to write about the topic, she hopes it helps other grieving mothers.