The woman who wrote the book was inspired by the time of propserity in America between WWI and the beginning of the Great Depression. Women gained the right to vote during these years, and the invention of the automobile brought an end to the isolation of rural areas. The radio became a regular fixture in American houses, bringing music, entertainment and news to the masses. During these years, there was a women's magazine called The Farmer's Wife.
According to the book, the perception of farm women by city women in the 20's was that they lived a life no one would want, full of drudgery and lacking social and educational opportunities. The magazine had over 750,000 subscribers and in 1922 they asked readers to submit letters answering a question about whether they, based on their own experience as a farmer's wife, would want their daughter to marry a farmer . The magazine received over 7,000 answers and 94% of them said that yes, they would want their daughters to marry a farmer and they had eloquent and well thought out reasons why...
The book proceeds to share some of the letters and the author of the book designed quilt blocks based on each letter. The letters are quite beautiful, with the women emphasizing how much they loved working as an equal with their husband and being able to eat every meal as a family. They spoke of how they loved being able to work outdoors, growing flowers, fruits and vegetables and cooking with produce they gathered that very day. They also often spoke of how they were able to have beautiful houses filled with books, musical instruments, and modern conveniences such as telephones and appliances just like their "city sisters" had and how social activities such as theater, choirs, and clubs were available for rural families just the same as city families. A woman from Grand Forks County in ND wrote of how her children had a school like she always wanted to have growing up, with a bus to pick them up, "smart little readers" for every student and hot lunches every day.
This all relates to my Ancestry.com research because most of my ancestors were farmers and, of course, farmer's wives. The wives of the 1920's would be the women who are my great grandmothers and I think three of the four of them were farmers' wives. My Grandpa Harold's parents lived in Duluth, MN, and owned a store but the other three were farm families...the Lunds lived in Northern Minnesota (they eventually had other exploits including a hotel and cafe but that was after the 1920s) and the Skjoitens and Bjerkes lived near Hatton. In Justin's family, I am pretty sure they were several farm families as well. I know his Grandma Irene's parents (The Bylins) were famers and I imagine the Askim great grandparents were as well because they still are. I will have to ask him for more details I guess! In her family history book, Irene described remembering her mother driving the car and talking on the phone with her friends during the long winter months.
I also visualize my great grandmother Myrtle (Bjertness) Skjoiten, a farmer's wife, posing for a professional photo in her beautiful wedding dress in the early 20's. It was a fashionable slim fitting ankle length dress with a sheer overlay of beading that looked pretty expensive!
I think of the photos that hang and the walls of my old high school which opened in 1908, where the early classes, mostly composed of women, are shown posing for their graduation pictures wearing long white dresses. And of course there are the confirmation photos at churches, featuring teenagers posing with somber looks on their face after spending months memorizing scripture verses to prove that they could be adults in the church.
I imagine the young wives of the 1920's, whose own parents were born in Norway or Sweden, becoming proud Americans and embracing a new life and building on the life their parents started after overcoming the hardships of being immigrants. Many of them probably spoke the language of their parents as well as English and possibly taught their own children both.
I know everything wasn't magical and perfect for these women. Of course there were many hardships and what was considered a modern convenience then doesn't compare to the conveniences we have now and there had to have been quite a bit of isolation that remained during the harsh months of winter but regardless of the difficulties they must have faced the women seemed very optimistic and proud of their lives and families. Thinking about this stuff is one reason why I am so fascinated with history!
Of course, I grew up on a farm starting when I was second grader, and I spent those years eating every summer meal with both of my parents and I helped my mom can jars full of pickles with cucumbers and dill that we grew in our garden, and I picked apples while sitting in the bucket of a tractor and I spent hours reading books and magazines and played piano until the old piano wouldn't hold a tune anymore. And when I was a teenager I sat at the computer and downloaded music while watching the Real World on MTV and ordered clothes from Abercrombie and Fitch and Old Navy online before those stores finally came to ND. And of course there was the best part of live on a farm...kittens and puppies which were all beloved and given names like family members! I agree with the women in book...growing up on a farm can give you everything you could want!
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