<I>The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio</I> introduces Evelyn Ryan an enterprising woman who kept poverty at bay with wit poetry and perfect prose during the 'contest era' of the 1950s and 1960s. Standing up to the church her alcoholic husband and antiquated ideas about women Evelyn turned every financial challenge into an opportunity for innovation all the while raising her six sons and four daughters with the belief that miracles are an everyday occurrence.