William C. Webster - Biography

William Webster was born on May 11, 1945, in Bennington, Vermont. He was raised on the family farm in Petersburg, New York, located just over the Massachusetts and Vermont borders. He enjoyed a childhood of work and play, gentle nurture and family stability. His elementary education took place in a one-room school where his only teacher through grade eight happened to also be his aunt. Since Petersburg had no high school he was sent to nearby Hoosick Falls where he earned a New York State Regents diploma while participating in the sport of his dreams, baseball. He went, almost by accident, to Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove Pennsylvania in the fall of 1962. Four years later he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and government. At age twenty-one he accepted a position as a public school teacher in the Delaware Valley School District in Milford, Pennsylvania. He remained in that district for his entire career, a tenure which lasted exactly thirty years. Much of that time he held the position of Social Studies department chairman. Early in his career he met and married Catherine Leonard, also a teacher. Together they raised their three children, Billy, Anne, and Tim. While he taught history, government and economics in the public school, he also formed and operated Webster’s Lawn Service, which remains in operation. In 2006 he completed the novel "One Year in the Life of Benjamin Thomas." Since its publication the story has found an ever-expanding audience. The book, based on Jeffersonian principles, appeals to people who yearn for a less hectic life in which one can experience the joy of family, community and nature. Currently Webster is completing a second book which will be a sequel to the first. He continues to operate his lawn service, steals away for weekends in New England with his wife, spends time with his children and grandchildren and continues to work and play on the family farm in Petersburg.