A  journalist by trade and a history enthusiast by avocation, during the last four decades Mary Lou Montgomery has written stories that collectively form a unique history archive. From her earliest stories, written in the late 1970s, to a trilogy of family history books compiled in the early 1990s, to today's award-winning research stories published in the Hannibal Courier-Post, Montgomery is recognized and respected for her depth of historic knowledge and penchant for accuracy, plus her dedication to bringing history to light, one story at a time.