Writer, Speaker, Publisher
“My career was in aviation, my avocation is reading and writing and my passions are gardening and sustainable living.”
Rose Marie Kern entered the Air Traffic Control Academy in 1983 and Rose began writing articles about all facets of Air Traffic Control in 2004. During her 34 year career, first with the FAA and later with Lockheed Martin, Rose received numerous awards including National Air Traffic Specialist of the Year in 2008, and the President’s Volunteer Gold Service Award in 2014.
Rose has written articles for pilots about Air Traffic Control, Aviation Weather, ATC History and other components of the National Airspace System. She wrote monthly columns for seven national or regional aviation publications and has written two books on aviation: Air to Ground 2020 is a reference work for beginning pilots and Stress is Relative, a memoir about what it was like for a single mother to enter the world of ATC and succeed. It is both a personal and historical text which covers the profession while it was in the process of rebuilding, after 15,000 controllers were fired in 1981 and extends through her retirement in 2017.
Her first book, however, was a unique kind of cookbook. The Solar Chef is written for people who want to cook using only sunlight and a solar oven. Written in 2003, the Solar Chef is in its 7th edition and is the most widely sold book on solar cooking techniques in the world.
With a B.A degree in Non-Profit Management from the University of New Mexico, Rose Marie has worked with non-profit organizations since she was 20 years old. Currently she is President Emeritus of the SouthWest Writers and past president of the New Mexico Solar Energy Association. She has run numerous fund raising events for church groups, girl scout groups, theaters, and many other charitable organizations.
Rose is also a New Mexico Master Gardener. She has written numerous articles for magazines such as Backwoods Home, Countryside, and Mother Earth News. Her latest book The Competently Quirky Parables of an Eccentric Master Gardener has already received accolades from the writing and garden communities as she gives insights into alternative lines of thought about living lightly on the earth while combating squash bugs. Creating Microclimates for High Desert Gardening is a great reference for anyone wanting their plants to survive temperature extremes at high altitudes.
For more information about Rose, along with short stories she’s written go to her website: www.rosemariekern.com.
* * * * *
The Trails and Trials of Father Theodosius Meyer
“The Trails and Trials of Fr. Theodosius Meyer” was created from the memoirs of a Franciscan Missionary sent to New Mexico in 1915, the year after it became a state. He served nearly 40 years during the era of the “Wild West” and left his mark by building or restoring catholic churches throughout the state. He was an outspoken advocate for bringing together communities, and served as chairman for the annual “Fiestas de Santa Fe” – blending the music, arts and cultures of Hispanic, Native American and various white ethnic groups.
Rose received Fr. Theo’s memoir from her mother’s cousin, Leo Meyer, who felt that his uncle’s story deserved to be heard. Leo also provided family photos and related information. Rose researched and found over 160 news articles either about Fr. Theo, or written by him between 1914 and 1951.
“What I was most impressed by, when reading Theo’s memoir, was how this boy who was born and raised in Indiana, undertook his assignment to a very undeveloped area of the U.S. with courage, conviction and a good sense of humor. ” Rose says. “When he first arrived in New Mexico, Fr. Theo served areas where roads were still mostly dirt, walking, or when possible, riding, for miles between small groups of Catholics building homes in dusty eastern parts of the state. He learned to speak Spanish and was not afraid to stand up to bullies. He not only advocated for community and road improvements, he rolled up his sleeves and built many bridges himself. ”
2026 – awarded Rose Kern first place for her work in publishing this book in the National Federation of Press Women’s Communications contest.
For more information or to purchase the book click here.
- * * * * *
The Competently Quirky Parables of an Eccentric Master Gardener
Some people plant a few flowers. Some grow veggies in summer. Maybe they have a little spider plant or bamboo in the office.
I am not exactly one of those people. My philodendron extends from one pot on a shelf across three walls in my dining room. The Maple sapling in my front yard cries when temperatures top 100 degrees. Starbucks baristas across the city save coffee grounds for me. Plant catalogs choke my mailbox and, yes, this 67 year old Master Gardener owns a tractor.
I can get somewhat obsessive about it all. My husband has grown accustomed to my insistence that vacations must be planned around key times for vegetable garden harvesting. I write two page long watering instructions for house sitters in the fervent desire that leaving for a week won’t destroy the charm and beauty of my home environment.
I’ve been told my unusual methods of approaching the challenges of the garden are effective, and I’ve given lectures for gardening clubs on various aspects of gardening from creating microclimates in high desert areas to vacuuming squash bugs. My friends smile and call me eccentric, fellow gardeners acknowledge me as competent and my kids just think I’m kinda quirky.
Quirky Book Wins 1st Place!
Rose’s unusual take on gardening won first place in the New Mexico Press Women’s Communications contest – Humor Division. It will now be eligible for the National Press Women’s competition. Comments from the Judges who awarded a 1st place certificate read: This book is both practical and charming. I enjoyed the warm tone and your passion for the subject matter. Clearly there is a great deal of expertise behind the gardening advice, which any serious gardener will treasure… Overall, this would be a delightful addition to any home gardener’s library.
From Fil Chavez, author of “Unused Towels”
MAD MAD MAD . . . with lots of really good advice!
I am not a serious gardener, I am more of a “Well, I tried but …” Nonetheless, this is indeed CRAZY MAD HUMOR … i.e., “squash bugs …. Horniest critters in the insect world … Live in a constant state of post-coital euphoria … take a cold bath.”
and it gets better! It is definitely worth getting the book. Thanks, Rosie!
For More Comments from prereaders click here.
♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣
The Secrets to Creating Microclimates for High Desert Gardening
Did you know that the US Department of Agriculture updated the hardiness zone map which guides farmers and gardeners as to the expected first and last freeze dates in every area of the country? Seed companies, greenhouses, and farms large and small have been trying to guess the coming seasons for centuries and they base their annual planting and harvesting around these dates. We have all been noticing the changing weather patterns as the global temperatures have been slowly rising.
For individuals who enjoy growing, harvesting and preserving their own fruits and vegetables, their are ways of modifying yards and gardens to protect our plants most of which do not require going to the extreme of buying a greenhouse. Rose Kern lives a mile high in central New Mexico, where it is imperative gardeners learn to take notice of how our location – geographically, and vertically – affects plants. At this altitude the cushioning layers of atmosphere enjoyed by sea level dwellers is greatly reduced. Newbies to the area are surprised by how quickly they can get a sunburn even in mild temperatures – and don’t realize that the increased levels of solar radiation can also burn their vegetables when combined with the increasingly hot temperatures.
The Secrets to Creating Microclimates for High Desert Gardening covers basic weather patterns for the American southwest, and how to identify the microclimates all around us. It gives ideas and advice on methods for protecting our home gardens using both commercial products as well as readily available and inexpensive options. It includes case studies of four properties located a varying altitudes from 1,000 ft to 7,500 ft. above sea level.
Author, Rose Kern is a veteran Master Gardener with certifications from the National Weather Service. She’s given lectures on Microclimatology in New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona for the USDA Master Gardeners program.
This full color book is available on Amazon in both print and ebook form.
Stress is Relative
When a young, divorced mother of two just trying to make ends meet sees a report on the evening news about how the FAA is rebuilding the Air Traffic Control workforce after the infamous strike of 1981, something grabbed her and set her on a path that forever changed her life.
Receiver of three national awards for her work in the field, Rose Marie Kern’s memoir highlights the ups and downs of a 34 year career where she worked within all branches of ATC and developed deep friendships within the general aviation community. It follows her adventures beginning with the Air Traffic Control Academy through those during turbulent times as the Federal Aviation Administration rebuilt its controller workforce. Along the way the reader catches a glimpse into how the perception of women in the job has evolved over the last three decades.
Click Here to Order either the Paperback version or ebook version of Stress is Relative
********
Air to Ground 2020
2020 sees the culmination of two decades planning and implementation of new computer systems, procedures and an air traffic surveillance system that is now satellite based with RADAR as backup. Air to Ground 2020 highlights the new changes and offers an easy read full of information on the FAA, Air Traffic Control, TFR’s, NOTAMs and much more!
Many pilots have commented that it would be great to have all her insights together in one place – so here it is! A great overview for all pilots and particularly for student pilots or those who just want to know more about the National Airspace System. Click HERE for more extensive information including a full table of contents.
Click Here to Order the Air to Ground ebook via Amazon
Click Here to order the Paperback version of Air to Ground.
The nation’s most popular solar cooking manual – a very different kind of cookbook!
There are hundreds of cookbooks in the world, which require grills, stoves, microwaves, or campfires. Solar Ranch presents a cookbook full of recipes that use a different source of heat – the sun.
“The Solar Chef” is a southwestern recipe book full of recipes and instructions for cooking delicious meals using only sunlight and a solar box cooker. The author, Rose Marie Kern, a longtime member of the New Mexico Solar Energy Association, has collected recipes from Texas to Arizona. Kern’s book won honorable mention in the National DIY book competition and was featured in the Journal of Sustainability.
For more information click here.
