It's been nearly 40 years since the deaths of Elmer and Berta Hader, a couple who spent their lives writing and illustrating hundreds of children's books, but their niece, Roseburg's Joy Rich, is making sure their legacy lives on in Douglas County schools.

“They were such wonderful and unique people,” Rich said. “It's wonderful to be able to have their books and art appreciated again.”

Three years ago, Rich, 89, started the Hader Connection, a nonprofit group dedicated to restoring and preserving her aunt and uncle's art and stories. Rich said she hopes the organization will spark a republishing of the couple's books, which tally more than 100.

This year marks the first time the organization has ventured into county classrooms to teach lessons based on the Haders' art. By the end of April, the organization will have connected with 15 schools. Program organizer Karen Tolley said the group has been “greeted with open arms” by teachers and students.

The Haders are best known for their award-winning story “The Big Snow,” which illustrates animals preparing for winter and finding food after a big snowstorm. The book won the Caldecott Medal in the 1940s. The award, given by the Association for Library Service to Children, is presented annually to the artist with the “most distinguished American picture book for children.”

After receiving a classroom copy of the award-winning book, kids in Carol Turner's third-grade class at Brockway Elementary School in Winston last week started an art project based on the Haders' 1932 picture book of the then-48 states.

The kids jumped around between their classmates' desks, comparing projects and sharing excitement as they illustrated their favorite things about their home state on a blank sheet of paper with an outline of Oregon printed on it.

“I've been to Disneyland twice, but this is the best day ever,” said Lauren Woodring, 8.

Tolley said she hopes to put together an art lesson that can be shipped out and used in schools across the nation.

Rich, who grew up reading the Haders' books, said she's had the time of her life presenting her relatives' work to students, especially because it reminds her of her childhood.

“We didn't see them very often because we lived in Oregon, and they lived in New York, but every time they wrote a book, they'd send it to us,” she said.

The Haders met in San Francisco around the beginning of World War I. Berta was a fashion illustrator for a newspaper, and Elmer was enlisted in the military and painting camouflage on equipment.

After the war, they married and moved to New York City to begin their lives together as serious artists. They built a stone house on a hill overlooking the Hudson River and used their surroundings as the inspiration for many of their works.

In their early years, they created children's pages for magazines, including paper dolls, action toys, finger puppets and peek-boxes, but a change in postal regulations banned these types of inserts. That's when the couple turned to book writing and illustration.

Elmer also illustrated dust jackets, including four John Steinbeck novels — “Grapes of Wrath,” “East of Eden,” “The Long Valley,” and “The Winter of Our Discontent.”

After Elmer died in 1973 and Berta in 1976, the couple passed on their life's work to family.

Recently, the new owner of the Hader home remodeled and discovered a hidden room that was filled with the couple's original work.

Rich now has most of the Hader cache in her possession and says she is enjoying sharing it with the world.

“I think my aunt and uncle would be delighted,” she said.

• You can reach reporter Anne Creighton at 541-957-4211 or by email at acreighton@nrtoday.com.