Oak River Press exists to help Christian parents teach their homeschooled kids practical skills through Christ-centered curricula.
Oak River Press was founded in the Fall of 2021 by David & Susan Eyk after David lost his job. Rather than jump straight into a job search, the couple decided to pursue building a family business.
Susan taught English for three years in the public schools, before changing careers to follow God’s calling to work with refugees as a vocational trainer. When their son was born, she left that to become a full-time homemaker and homeschooling mom. She leads music at their church and loves studying Scripture and learning more about how God calls His people to build His kingdom through worship, doing justice, and walking humbly before Him.
David is an amateur naturalist and professional software engineer with more than a decade of experience in the publishing industry. He loves studying God’s creation as a gardener and orchardist. He’s spent decades thinking about the intersections of faith and science, and he’s really excited to share the fruit of it with others.
They both have B.A.s from Wheaton College, where they each studied English Literature, and Susan obtained her teaching license in Secondary Ed.
“Eyk” rhymes with “like”, and is derived from the Norwegian “eik”, meaning “oak”.
“Oak River Press” is derived from two Biblical images:
- from Isaiah 61:3, about how God’s people “may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified”;
- from Psalm 1, referring to the image of the righteous man, “like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”