Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel (December 22, 1918 – April 13, 2007) was a long-time resident of California's Central Valley.
When Wilma was 17 years old, in 1936, her father removed the family to California in the wake of the Great Depression and Dustbowl.
At age eight, she began to write on scraps of paper, envelopes, and grocery bags, storing them away for later publication.
Seeing her inborn talent, Hennion continued to publish her work in the newspaper which lead to her wider publication later on in life.
[4] McDaniel wrote with simple language and harsh imagery and was referred to as the "California Walt Whitman" by Gerald Haslam.