Blurb:
Sitting at the kitchen tables of twelve women in their eighties who were born in or immigrated to Montana in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, between 1982 and 1988 oral historian Donna Gray conducted interviews that reveal a rich heritage. In retelling their life stories, Gray steps aside and allows theses women with supposedly “nothing to tell” to speak for themselves. Pride, nostalgia, and triumph fill a dozen hearts as they realize how remarkable their lives have been and wonder how they did it all.
Some of these women grew up in Montana in one-bedroom houses; others traveled in covered wagons before finding a home and falling in love with Montana. These raw accounts bring to life the childhood memories and adulthood experiences of ranch wives who were not afraid to milk a cow or bake in a wooden stove. From raising poultry to raising a family, these women knew the meaning of hard work. Several faced the hardships of family illness, poverty, and early widowhood. Through it all, they were known for their good sense of humor and strong sense of self.
...Okay, it's me here, Kimber An. We're staying on the family homestead here in Montana right now, so I've enjoyed burying myself in state history.
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I've posted a bunch of times on my old blogs how much I enjoyed watching Frontier House a historical reality show which put three modern families in 1883 Montana.
There's also a great book with all the details, like what they had to pack and why.
Two of the consultants on the project, Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith wrote the Forward for NOTHING TO TELL. The title is ironic. There is plenty to tell and anyone who is fascinated by pioneer history or Montana really out to get this book. Here's another great book by Peavy and Smith-
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The trouble with history is most of us were taught to hate it through either a recitation of facts about a bunch of old dead white guys or we were throttled with politically correct revisions of it. The truth will set you free from that, but you've got to go digging for it.
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The basic truth of it is these were real people who lived, just like us.
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The ranching women who were interviewed for NOTHING TO TELL had much to teach us about humility, hard work, and enjoying life without iPads and Netflix.
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I encourage anyone who is curious about how people really lived to pick up this book.
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The heroes of history, like Davy Crockett and Lewis and Clark, are only a small fraction of it. The rest of it was made up of folks like us, men, women, and children just going about the hard work and fun of daily life.
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It was fun to read these ladies tell their stories and talk about going to school in this town or to the store over there and I would think, "I know where that is! I've been there before." And history comes alive.
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Much love, Blog Buds
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