Raymond Bruzan, an award-winning educator, spent 42 years teaching high school and college sciences. He grew up in Southern Illinois, graduating from Mount Vernon Township High School. His university degrees were earned from Southern Illinois University, Illinois State University, and the University of Illinois, Springfield.
Pamela (Hills) Bruzan graduated from Newark (New York) High School and Syracuse University before moving to Illinois. She spent decades writing, first for Central Illinois newspapers and later, for engineering and architecture companies through her firm, Sangamon Valley Writing Associates.
Once they both retired, Ray and Pam began to research the history of Rochester, Illinois, their home for nearly 50 years. Spearheading creation of The Orange Judd Historic Walking Tour Guide to Rochester's historic homes in 2015 led directly to more detailed investigations of the people and events that make up the history of their adopted Rochester community. It's those people and events that now appear in Cotton, Violins & Shots in the Night / A Timeline Visit to Rochester, Illinois.