6FRENCH CREEK, PENNSYLVANIA, EARLY October 1968: “I want you to go,” Henry Balliett said. He was a large man with a large nose and a full though short-cropped beard. “It’s important,” he said, “that you set this example for the others.” He did not look at her as he spoke but looked at the edge of the picture window as if it held his grand design for the family. “Now this program, I want to know more about it.”
Henry and Norma Balliett of French Creek had six children. Linda, born January 1st, 1949, was the eldest. She was followed by Ruth, now 18; Joanie, 16; Cindy, 13; Lea, 11; and Henry Jr., 6. Henry Sr. was executive vice-president in charge of underwriting for the diminutive Penn-York Mutual Life Assurance Company of Pottstown. Norma, after a twenty-year hiatus, had returned to work a
