The 1920’s, in northeastern Montana, were not for the weak and
pampered!
Anna, aged 96, fondly recalls following her father as he
drove the horses pulling the plow that allowed she and her sister to plant in
the irregular grooves left behind. Wheat, wheat and more wheat along with cows,
pigs, chickens, ducks and two small vegetable gardens that sustained the family
and contributed a few coins to moms purse on market days were all they had in
those days.
Survival and hard work were what made so many of our generations
grandmothers so remarkable.
So many of their stories are left untold as few questions are
asked by their kids and their kids kids kids…
In winter Anna took part in the endless canning of meat for the
summer months. During winter, the freezing weather took care of keeping the
meat safe to eat. During summer they canned everything they would need for
winter. Canning took up a great deal of their time, as they had to stay a step
ahead of the seasons and the needs of the growing family.
School took place in a one-room school that rotated from one
ranch to another. It was very basic with an emphasis on reading.
No electricity, a coal fueled kitchen stove, a potbellied wood
burner to keep the ice off the inside walls, two outhouses fifty yards down wind
from the house were the high tech luxuries that held families together.
Christmas was a very special time of year for everyone within
thirty miles of Anna’s home. About nine miles away from the ranch was a
Lutheran church that had ministered to the many Norwegians who had accompanied
her mom’s immigration twenty-four years before Anna’s arrival.
On Christmas all the families would dress in their best outfits
and travel to the church in horse drawn sleighs or in glued together working
automobiles belching out scary noises along the roadway. Families arrived early
in the morning for a special service, play and program that focused on the
kids. The church was gaily decorated with a huge Christmas tree garnished with
candles burning brightly. Two men kept a close eye on the tree as well as
replacing candles as they burned down.
Each child received one present. Usually the present was
functional but occasionally a doll would show up instead of new boots, gloves,
sweaters or trousers. Sometimes a boy would receive a pocketknife that spoke of
his maturity to the assembled crowd or proud adults.
Food was traditional with every family offering cookies, pies,
ham, chicken, duck, homemade wines, and liquors for all to enjoy. Anna recalls
one Christmas when a family arrived with a huge crate recently arrived from
Norway. Everyone gathered around it as it was opened. It was full of small hand
made gifts, jellies, and canned treats for the whole community.
The midday meal was followed by games, song and dancing until
everyone was tired or famished or both tired and famished.
As the day darkened a final meal was served which an emphasis on
desserts, candied fruit and hard candies hidden for weeks from the kids by
anxious moms.
Everyone snuggled under a ton of blankets as they rode home. The
horses had bells attached to their harnesses to ring out Christmas to the
darkened snow covered fields bordering the road.
“Those were the best
Christmases ever!”
M Barrett Miller
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