Fireflies in a Jar: A Book of Poetry

Although Lena Ogilvie Byler has published many songs, this is her first book of poetry, and it has been a labor of love to put her poems into print. Poetry can now be added to the long list of things she enjoys, including (in no particular order) gardening, sewing, song writing, oil painting, guitar, piano, her church, and her family.

Lena Ogilvie Byler grew up in Arkansas and raised her children, Donna and Jamie, there. In 1983 she married Jerry Byler and moved to Alaska where he was a principal in the school system on Kodiak Island. They spent their first summer commercial fishing. After a year in Kodiak city, they moved to the remote fishing village of Larsen Bay where they lived in a house on the beach until retirement. Upon retirement they moved back to Arkansas where they began building a house on her old home place. They organized the southern gospel quartet, Heritage, and traveled throughout the southland doing church concerts, fairs, etc. They spent one summer under contract at Silver Dollar City, performing at the gazebo and in various theaters in Branson. They were regulars at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View for many years. They made several recordings in Nashville, recording over 20 of their original songs with Lena writing the lyrics, while Jerry, being a gifted piano player, wrote and arranged the music. Jerry died in 2007 while on a hunting trip in Alaska. Lena now lives on the old home place, studies piano and guitar, writes and paints. Her daughter, Donna, is married to Rob Stanley Ernest, and she has one son, Aaron Hutsell, who is married to Amy Deem. Her son, Jamie Kelley, is married to Debbie Williams.