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For years, Morris-Amos has collected information about Peter Ballingall, a 19th-century "mover and shaker" and philanthropist who adopted Ottumwa as his home.
All those facts she's gathered are like tumblers in a padlock - the right click, or combination, opens the story.
"Now I know where to start," she said.
Morris-Amos also said she has been "waiting for the path" to publish Ballingall's biography.
She's ready for the journey and the evidence fills her shelves and table space.
"The evidence" consists of 18 three-ring binders filled with information about Ballingall "and things around him." Six more binders are about Ballingall's brainchild - the Ottumwa Coal Palace, an industrial exhibition that gained national attention during its two-year run, 1890-91.
Morris-Amos has another 11 binders that contain articles about Wapello County history and she also wants to include Ottumwa history in the biography.
During her research, she transcribed several years of Ballingall's diaries and examined 116 years of probate records and 170 years of newspaper and magazine articles.
Morris-Amos believes Ballingall is the "most caring, most persevering 'mover and shaker' that ever planted his feet in Ottumwa, the River City of U.S.A.
"He was a fascinating person, a good person and he continues to be good to Ottumwa," Morris-Amos said.
"Continues to be good" is a reference to the Ballingall Trust and other financial arrangements he made that still fund various community efforts in Ottumwa.
Ballingall and Morris-Amos "met" when she was an Ottumwa High School student. She and her girlfriends would "walk down the hill" from OHS and "cut through" the Ballingall Hotel, which was on the southeast corner of Main and Green streets.
"I saw Peter's picture there. That was my first exposure to him," she said.
The picture in the city's grand hotel piqued her interest but schooling, rearing a family and "everything else" put her curiosity on hold for years.
In the 1970s, Morris-Amos created the Eastgate Gazette, which included local history articles.
When she was researching a different topic she found an article about Ballingall's death.
"There was so much to it. In school, they didn't teach much local history," she said.
Morris-Amos read about the Ballingall Hotel and recalled seeing his picture there.
"I feel like I've known him a long time," she said.
Morris-Amos enjoys writing and considers it fun. In 1991 writing returned to her life and soon she created Rippling Waters Review, another local newspaper.
But, Ballingall has her full attention these days. She said his life was spent "in the pursuit of making the world a better place for future generations."
Morris-Amos said Ballingall had no children. However, she said that's not entirely true.
"Ottumwa became his home - the place where he wanted to spend the rest of his life," she said. "The citizens of the city were his children. He looked after them, worried about them, helped and supported them in all aspects of life when needed."
Cindy Toopes can be reached at (641) 683-5376 or via e-mail at cindy@ottumwacourier.com.
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