Edna Campos Gravenhorst was born and raised in South Texas. She currently resides in San Antonio, Texas and St. Louis, Missouri.

Campos Gravenhorst is an author and historical researcher. She has been published in national newspapers and magazines and has been interviewed in print media, radio and television around the country. Her books include Ay, Mija and Ay, Mijo! Why do you want to be an engineer?, Te de Canela/Cinnamon Tea, Southwest Garden, Benton Park West and Historical Home Research in the City of St. Louis. She is working on her seventh book, Negreta; this work in progress won the Kate Chopin Silver Wings Writing Award for 2009. Other writing awards include International Latin Book Awards in 2007 and 2008, and a Kid Power Award in 2007. In 2009 she was awarded a Women on the Move Award by the University of Missouri-St. Louis, in 2008 she won a University of Missouri-St. Louis Women Trailblazer Award and in 2007 was named the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers National Star Honorary Member. She is a member of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture Organization, the Society of Latino and Hispanic Writers of San Antonio, Las Comadres and the Society of Architectural Historians-St. Louis Chapter. At Gemini Ink-the University Without Walls in San Antonio, she served as a Writer in Communities for Fall of 2009 and was a member of the Spring 2010 Faculty.

"I consider myself a story teller, there are still so many stories that haven’t been told."
Edna Campos Gravenhorst

Books:

Té de Canela/Cinnamon Tea
(Edna Campos Gravenhorst, 2004)



Being born in 1955 and growing up Mexican-American in the United States had its challenges. With one foot trying to step into American culture and the other foot trying to hold on to Mexican traditions, it was difficult to stand up straight! There was a lot of fear and shame, but there was also music and laughter. With the passing of a few decades things are so much better now.
As the tías and tíos used to say, "Mira como se pasan los años y como cambian las cosas. Look at how the years pass and how things change."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQqSGGiDH1c

Ay, Mija! Why do you want to be an engineer?
(Edna Campos Gravenhorst, 2006)



Recipient of two 2007 Finalist Awards, the Kid Power Award and International Latino Book Award, Ay, Mija is endorsed by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. This young adult book tells the success stories of twelve Latina engineers. The message to youth is, "The circumstances that you are born into, need not identify who you are going to be for the rest of your lives." Through education and determination these ladies have succeeded in non-traditional careers for women and especially Latinas.
http://www.utpa.edu/news/index.cfm?newsid=4155

Ay, Mijo! Why do you want to be an engineer?
(Edna Campos Gravenhorst, 2007)



Recipient of the 2008 Best English Young Adult Non-Fiction International Latino Book Award, Ay, Mijo is endorsed by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. This young adult book tells the success stories of twelve Latino engineers. Our Latino youths need role models they can identify with, who went through some of the same struggles they are dealing with today. Through education and by listening to educators and community leaders these men made the choices that led them to successful careers and financial freedom.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ay-mijo-why-do-you-want-to-be-an-engineer-58024367.html

Southwest Garden
(Arcadia Publishing, 2008)



The Southwest Garden neighborhood borders two internationally known St. Louis landmarks, the Missouri Botanical Garden, founded in 1859, and Tower Grove Park, established in 1868. The land for both the garden and the park was donated by their founder, Henry Shaw, a botanist and philanthropist. Both destinations are designated as national historic landmarks–the garden is one of the oldest in the United States, and the park shares the honor of being on the National Register of Historic Places with only three other municipal parks in the nation. The botanical garden is the best place to start a historical walking tour of the Southwest Garden neighborhood.
southwest-ghttp://www.arcadiapublishing.com/news/1552/new-book-offers-pictorial-history-of-arden-volume-has-more-than-200-photos-of-neighborhood

Benton Park West
(Arcadia Publishing, 2005)



By the mid-1860s, the St. Louis neighborhood of Benton Park West was already self-sufficient, boasting its own carpenters and dairymen, blacksmith and midwife. While it was a working-class community, many residents owned their own businesses and built beautiful homes that still stand today. The author takes readers on four separate walking tours of the historic district, highlighting such buildings as the 1860s Eyermann home, the stately Herold mansion, the 1893 Gravois Planing Mill, and the Cherokee Brewery.
http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/9780738534312/Benton-Park-West

Historical Home Research in the City of Saint Louis
(Edna Campos Gravenhorst, 2003)



This is a step by step workbook using the Three Nosey Broads' research methods to discover your home’s history. Edna Campos Gravenhorst founded Three Nosey Broads/Historical Home Research in 2002. To date 3NB has researched over 300 historic structures in the city of St. Louis for builders, architects, real estate agents and homeowners. In 2000 when Edna and Ted Gravenhorst were looking to buy a historic home in St. Louis, they wanted to know the history of the home they were touring. Most of the time the only information the real estate agents and home owners knew was that the house had been built a century ago. Edna saw a niche market and Three Nosey Broads was born.

Credits:
Original Photo By: Fedela Castro
Site Design And Photo Editing By: Wendy V. Brejot