Santa’s Daughter

Description

Patricia Yellig Koch has written an honest and compelling portrayal of a time and place where women in rural America typically married young and devoted themselves to their home. But Koch wanted more and so chose a different path, one defying the expectations of many. But each step in her life journey provided the experiences necessary to go forward. From hiding liquor from revenuers at her parents’ bar growing up in a small town in Southern Indiana to meeting presidents, senators and congressmen, her life has spanned close to a century and is a story of courage, trauma, transcendence, and resilience, of motherhood, marriage, career, and faith. It takes us into a world lost in time and into the life of a woman who was determined to forge her own destiny.

“To know Patricia “Pat” Koch is to love her and you’ll know her far better after reading her fascinating autobiography! This is one of those true stories that reads like fiction, with heart-warming tales from an enchanted childhood in Mariah Hill, Indiana, including what it was like to be the daughter of Santa Claus, to her teen years when phone calls from her boyfriend were answered by the bartender in her parents’ tavern, to finding the courage to leave her first love and study nursing, then changing course to become a nun. Spoiler alert! She altered her course yet again to become a wife, mother and equal partner with her husband in expanding the world’s first ever theme park. This is definitely a “must read!”

Kathy Tretter, Editor and publisher,

Ferdinand News and Spencer County Leader

Jane Simon Ammeson is a travel, food, and lifestyle writer and author of 17 books. Among her most recent books is Lincoln Road Trip: The Back-Roads Guide to America’s Favorite President, a Bronze winner in the Travel Book category for the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition. She has contributed to the “Best of” for USA Today and writes frequently for newspapers and magazines. Her blog, Travel/Food at janeammeson.com currently has 200,000 visitors.

How can I write a dedication to just one person? I’ve thought and thought about this and finally decided I couldn’t choose just one person to whom I would dedicate this book. Therefore, I dedicate this memoir to all the wonderful people who have influenced my life for all these years. I am reminded of a quote from my Daughter of Charity days: “So live that your life will be an inspiration to those who have been touched by you.” So many people have touched my life and I am grateful for every one of them. And so I dedicate the completion of these memories to all of you who have been part of them. There are many more memories I could have written about but that would have no ending. Thank you all for all you have done for me. I could not have done it without you. Pat Koch August 2022

 

NOTE: Proceeds of the sale of this publication to benefit Santa Claus Museum and Village