A native Kansan, Beth was raised in North Topeka and spent most of her childhood summers at her grandparent's farm in Clay county. The lessons she learned during her youth were atypical: her dad taught her how to pour concrete, her grandpa taught her how to toss hay bales, her grandmother taught her to sew and her mother taught her how to cook.

Her photography was self-taught. Beth received an Instamatic camera as a Christmas gift when she was ten, and the wages earned as a waitress purchased her first 35mm camera at ages 16. In high school she roamed school events, snapping photos and then developing them for the school newspaper. Photography continues to be a hobby business for her in the form of modeling portfolios and natural images.

Beth likes to point out that her online career started on a “cold and snowy Kansas night... I ran next door to my neighbor's house, where I saw a wondrous site - a new souped-up 486 HP computer, with AOL version 1.1; from that moment on, I knew my life changed...”

As dramatic as it sounds, that is how she became interested in the Internet. She bought a computer, took classes at Washburn, and then took a risk by leaving a steady job and accepting a position at a local web design company. Of course, six months later they shut down and moved to Kansas City!

She was employed in Topeka media for many years, and used her online, photography and "schmoozing" skills to enhance the listener experience.

Her creative energy continues to abound via photography and writing, plus doing research and sharing stories during historic tours. As for concrete and hay bales, those skills have not been needed for quite a while!