Clovis resident Martha Hardwick taught at Grady schools for 23 years.

Stanley and Martha Hardwick at Hardwick's first book signing in Ruidoso in 2005. Hardwick wrote a children's book called “Cow Kids Live on a Ranch” when she was a kindergarten teacher.

Hardwick and her sisters and mother Helene Hammond.

Clovis resident Martha Hardwick grew up on her family ranch, Lee Hammond Ranch, northwest of Clovis. She lived on the ranch in the summer and in Clovis during school. She graduated from Clovis High School in 1965 and went off to college at Oklahoma State University. Hardwick said she wasn’t planning on coming back. But she did and now is a big fan of Clovis.

“If I didn’t live here, I’d move here,” she said. “It’s the best place in the world to grow up.”

Hardwick said it’s hard to explain why Clovis is such a great place.

“It’s so great to see friends from high school every week. Thereís a group of us who raised our children together and we still get together for coffee every week. You know lots of people. There are just so many memories. Clovis is just a great place,” she said.

In her spare time, Hardwick is a photographer, cooks, travels, does digital design and spends time with friends. Hardwick and her husband have traveled to five countries and 39 states and counting in their RV.

Tell us a story about your childhood. It was the best! I grew up on a ranch with a fun family, three sisters and three girl cousins!

Do you have a favorite joke? Yes, but can’t remember it!

One movie I could watch over and over again is ... I watched “Julie and Julia” eight times and now I love “The Help.” I saw it the day it came out in Portland, Maine, Boston and Clovis. I will buy the DVD Dec. 6.

What was your most embarrassing moment? At Disneyland with my sisters, aunt, mom and cousins, I came out of the bathroom with toilet paper stuck to my shoe. A cousin waiting on the bench laughed loud and pointed!

Tell us about a time you cried. Tell us about a happy time. I laugh and cry every day.

Who is your favorite entertainer? My friend Robin Isler! She tells great stories and we laugh! The night before my birthday, she met the King of Zambia, South Africa at Walmart and helped him print photographs. Amazing!

What is your greatest hope? That I never grow up!

When I get in my car, the first thing I listen to is... music. I listen to music all day!

Who’s invited to your fantasy dinner party and why? The Pioneer Woman, on her ranch in Oklahoma and I would help her cook! Fun!

If you won a $1 million lottery, what would you do first with the money? Get my picture taken with the big check!

In an alternative life, I would have been a... bottle of Heinz ketchup so I could make pople happy! I love Heinz ketchup. Growing up, my mother bought Heinz ketchup and hairspray by the case with four girls in the family!

What would you like printed on your gravestone? Her life was filled with joy and laughter, family and friends.

What is your theme song? “Will You Still Love Me When I’m 64?” The Beatles.

What’s your idea of a perfect day? Get up at 5 a.m., have a creative project to work on all day, laugh and visit with friends, cook a wonderful dinner!

The most unique place Iíve ever traveled is to... Botswana, Africa on photo safari! I took more than 1,800 digital photos!

What’s your favorite TV show, past and present? “Murder, She Wrote.” We tried to find where they lived in when we were in Maine and found out it was Universal Studios in California.

One of my favorite childhood toys is...my tiny tears doll and many stuffed animals that slept in my room!

What do you like about your job? I had the best job in the world! I loved my Grady kids. Still do. I taught at Grady for 23 years. It was a great life.

Tell us about your greatest individual accomplishment. I survived raising four boys! And they turned out great!

If you had four hours of unplanned free time, what would you do with it? Watch “The Help” one more time!

My friends and family call me... Marmie (my grandmother name.)

Make up your own questions and then answer it. What was your favorite family trip? Two of my three sisters studied the genealogy of our families. They found relatives on both sides that we had never met. We rented a little motor home and we picked up the third sister in Borger and spent the first night by the cemetery where our grandmother Hammondís family was buried in Oklahoma. We went on to Kansas to meet new cousins and on to Iowa where we met others. We lived and cooked in our little ìhome away from homeî and drove 2,500 miles. We made wonderful lasting memories!

After a long, hard day, I love to... sit in my favorite chair while my husband cooks a wonderful meal. He loves to cook, too!

Who is your hero and why? My heroes have always been cowboys starting with my grandfather, my dad, my boys and their dad!

If I had an open plane ticket to anywhere, I would go... back to Africa.

What is your favorite taste? What is your favorite smell? Good food!

Tell us about a time you were afraid. My sister and I were chasing UFO lights across the ranch at night. It was scary and we had a gun!

My favorite bad-for-me food is... warm, maple donuts! We used to go to Spudnut Shop once a week in our car pool on the way to CHS and get warm Spudnuts. Yum!

— Compiled by FNM Correspondent Liliana Castillo