Icenhower noted that this is the second book he has had published. He has also written and had several of his plays published.
Icenhower grew up in Greensboro and worked in finance before he retired. He said his interest in writing started in the early 2000s.
“I saw a play that made fun of people of faith, which I didn’t like, and I decided I wanted to write a play,” he said. “It seemed like a natural progression into theatre.”
Icenhower said his wife, Katie Jo, who has a master’s degree in theatre, went into directing and choreography, while he went into playwriting.
Icenhower explained that “The Kernersville Christmas Caboose” was written as a fundraiser for the Kernersville Museum. With The Depot being part of the Kernersville Museum and the red caboose outside, around Christmas time, he thought it would be a great time to come up with a local fiction story.
Icenhower explained that the book is about a boy that runs away, goes back in time and learns the true meaning of Christmas.
“It was fun imagining going back in time through Kernersville through a boy’s eyes,” he shared about what he enjoyed most about writing the book.
Icenhower began writing “The Kernersville Christmas Caboose” around September 2021. He noted that Josh Hammond, collections manager for the Kernersville Museum, designed and assembled the book and did all the pictures, while Katie Jo painted the picture of the caboose on the front cover.
If interested in purchasing “The Kernersville Christmas Caboose,” copies are available at the Kernersville Museum for $10. All profits from the sale of the book go to the Kernersville Museum.
