The historic Doss Lange’s Mill on the homestead where my Momma grew  up.

Comfort author Mae Durden-Nelson was inspired to write her first book to answer a young relative’s questions about their ancestors. Her own mother-- “Momma” -- lived in a time when young Texas families worked hard to meet life’s basic needs. Children today, who cannot imagine a world without television and running water, learn what it took to survive in the Texas Hill Country during the Depression. Vintage photos aid the reader’s imagination. [All photos by Bill Nelson, Retired Architect.] I  Just Called Her Momma [2003] was Mae Durden-Nelson’s first book.  She had no idea then that she would follow this book with a series of Texas historical novels that center on Comfort’s history.  (The Momma book is not part of this series.)

For years, librarian Mae Durden-Nelson wrote annual puppet shows, pageants and plays for students, one of which was published in Plays Inc. Magazine. She was Society Editor and columnist for the KERRVILLE DAILY TIMES until the librarian position opened at CISD. She compiled a history of the Immanual Lutheran church in Comfort. Retired since 1997, she remains active on education and library boards. She has been an active  member of SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers & illustrators), the San Antonio chapter, since the mid 1980s.

Son Of Defiance was Mae’s next book. This blending of fact and fiction--”faction” -- tells the story behind the Treue Der Union monument in Comfort, Texas, where a period U.S. flag stands at half-staff in perpetuity, honoring the brave men who stood up for their beliefs against a hostile majority.

Mae’s husband Bill Nelson contributed photographs for the series, photos of ordinary household items from the period. (See “Momma’s Kitchen.”) We learn that the Langes of Bernstein, Germany, arrived in Indianola in 1854 to travel by oxcart to Central Texas.

The series continues with Genesis, Beginning Again - 1866 when, just after the Civil War, revolutionary ideas foment within the small German Freethinker community of Comfort.

When Saints Go Marching was commissioned by St. Boniface Episcopal Church in Comfort, and tells the story, in picture and oral history, of the pioneers who carried forth the Christian faith in a community that today lives in harmony.

Mae is available for book talks and signings. Reach her at:

Mae Durde-Nelson was a 2007 nominee of the Comfort Heritage Foundation.

Luncheon at The Peach Tree in Fredericksburg honoring author and Linda Lich visiting from Hawaii. All retired teachers from Comfort ISD, they are, left to right: Virginia Milner, Linda Lich, Mae Durden-Nelson, Ginger Derr, and Kathy Masser.

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