Kristin Ruggaber has been called many things in her life, daughter, wife, mother, homemaker, and storyteller, to name a few, but not always in that order. As a kid growing up in Northwest Indiana during the 50’s and 60’s when the region was still still mostly rural, before growing into an endless sea of suburbs for an ever-expanding city of Chicago, Kris was like any normal child of her time digesting a steady diet of Gunsmoke, Maverick, I Love Lucy and of course, the show that put them all to shame, Bonanza. On the back of her own horse Gypsy, Kris would dream of the old west, fantasize about being part of it, and imagine tales of a bygone era where life was simpler than it was in the bustling technology-cluttered modern days of the second half of the 20th century. As it does for all, time marched on, technology evolved, life changed, children of her own were born, grew up, moved on, but one thing stayed the same, the romance of the old west. After settling west in Virginia City Nevada and then later in Southern California, Kris and Mike have settled in, “at home” and strangely, back in time back in Indiana.

Dr. Michael Ruggaber is an Episcopal priest and marital and family therapist from Northwest Indiana. He received his Doctorate in Theology from The Gregorianum Pontifical University in Rome, Italy. He and Kris have been married for 45 years.