Clara, the Little Girl from the Prairie was born July 4, 1931 in Garfield County, Nebraska. She grew up in the prairie of central nebraska. Farm life, dust storms and the Great Depression are among the forces that shaped her childhood. She has a distinct Danish heritage, her father was born in Denmark and her maternal grandparents were both born in Denmark. These are stories of her early childhood and the changes in her life as she left her home on the prairie to become a "Career Girl". A chance meeting with a young man from Indiana led to an eventual change to "Career Mom". From that chance meeting, they have celebrated 58 anniversaries of their wedding. She raised four sons and has eight grand children and two great grand children.
Clara, the Little Girl from the Prairie
By C. Robert WolfeAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2009 C. Robert Wolfe
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4389-6794-3Contents
Introduction...............................................................viiChapter 1 Home on the Prairie.............................................1Chapter 2 Danish Roots....................................................13Chapter 3 Then Came the Depression Years..................................17Chapter 4 Life Lessons From the Prairie...................................25Chapter 5 Teen Years......................................................31Chapter 6 The First Days Of Her Life As A Career Girl.....................41Chapter 7 Their Destiny...................................................45Chapter 8 Now The Serious Planning Begins.................................55Chapter 9 Beginning Their Marriage Journey................................61Chapter 10 Now The Two Are Three...........................................71Chapter 11 At Home In Nebraska and At Home In Indiana......................75Chapter 12 Bob and Clara's Family Grows....................................79Chapter 13 Following The Job...............................................87Chapter 14 Career Change...................................................95Chapter 15 The Annual Return to Nebraska...................................103Chapter 16 Realities of Life...............................................107Chapter 17 Transition Years................................................109Chapter 18 The Long Road Home..............................................113Chapter 19 Marie's Retirement Years........................................115Chapter 20 New Generations.................................................119Chapter 21 New Adventures As Grandparents..................................121Chapter 22 Australia Calling...............................................125Chapter 23 Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall..............................145Chapter 24 Lisa and Kristyn................................................151Chapter 25 An Invitation to a Wedding - in Australia.......................155Chapter 26 Retirement......................................................175Chapter 27 Just The Two Of Them............................................185Chapter 28 Free to Travel..................................................191Chapter 29 Canadian Rockies................................................201Chapter 30 Home Is Where the Heart Is......................................221Chapter 31 Indomitable.....................................................227
Chapter One
Home on the Prairie
Much of that portion of the United States of America west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains is known as the Great Plains. It is also known as the prairie. Prairie lands tend to be gently rolling hills with little or no woodlands.
These are the conditions of the central part of Nebraska. Compared to the states east of the Mississippi River, much of the prairie is sparsely populated. Towns are smaller and farther apart from other towns. Lands in between are farms and ranches.
The rolling hills of the prairie have practically no trees on them. Those trees that are seen are those alongside rivers and streams, in cities and towns and usually around farm homes. Trees around a farm home are usually planted as a windbreak. Most often these windbreaks are planted on the north and west sides of the property.
These were the conditions in southern Garfield County, Nebraska when on July 4, 1931 a newborn was received in the Peter and Marie Rasmussen farm home. A neighbor, Mrs. Nelson assisted in the delivery of this child. It had rained and the doctor was bogged down in the muddy country road. When Peter was certain that Marie and the newborn were OK and Mrs. Nelson would stay with them, he proceeded to harness a mule to help get the doctor's car out of the mud. With the help of the mule, Peter delivered the doctor. The doctor examined Marie and the newborn and found everything was well. He left instructions for the coming weeks.
The baby was finally named Clara Belle Mae. She joined her brother Kenneth who was four and a half years old and sister Charlotte who was three years old. Marie wanted to name the baby Patricia, but Peter's Danish accent made it difficult to pronounce that name. Then it was considered to call her Clara Mae. Marie's youngest sister, Clara protested, saying there was already a Clara in the family. Clara Belle Mae was the compromise.
The Rasmussen household had a distinct Danish Heritage. Peter was born in Hundsland Sogen, Aarhus Amt., Denmark August 27, 1886. He immigrated to the USA in 1905 at age
Peter was the oldest child of a large family; he had ten siblings, five brothers and five sisters. His father farmed and also worked as a well digger. Peter grew up in the rural area of Aarhus Amt., near the large port city of Aarhus. Denmark is a relatively small country with a seafaring history. Land was at a premium and the prospect of a young man being able to acquire land of his own severely limited the options.
Each male citizen was conscripted at age eighteen for three years service in military service. This was usually in some distant colonial possession of Denmark. When Peter reached fifteen years of age, he spent long hours thinking of his future. He did not want a military career and prospects of becoming a land holder were most unlikely. Some of his friends had already immigrated to America in search of land and opportunity. The more he contemplated this, the more tempting it sounded to him.
He saw a poster at the post office encouraging young men to sign up for a two year period of working on a ranch in Nebraska in the middle of America. His travel expenses would be paid by his employer in exchange for a two year work agreement.
It meant leaving his family and friends and familiar environment to pursue this opportunity. After much thought he decided he would take advantage of the offer. He signed the contract and embarked on the biggest adventure of his life!
His ship was bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He had heard tales from friends about Ellis Island and he wanted nothing to do with that option. He proceeded from Halifax to Montreal where he changed trains. He entered the United State at Detroit Michigan. After processing there, he resumed his trip to the small town of Elyria, Nebraska. His employer operated a ranch near there known as the Stuttgart Ranch.
Elyria is about ten miles north of Ord, the county seat of Valley County. He found the Bethany Lutheran Church, a congregation made up almost entirely of Danish immigrants. It became his spiritual home and social center.
Marie's parents were Hans P. Hansen, and Kjistine (Oleson) Hansen. Hans P. Hansen was born in 1864 in Denmark and immigrated to Kearney County Nebraska. Kjistine Oleson, was born in 1868 in Denmark. Her family also immigrated to Kearney County Nebraska. H. P. and Kjistine were married in Hildreth, Nebraska in September 1890.
Marie was their firstborn, arriving November 5, 1892. Shortly after Marie's birth, they moved to a farm near Ord, Nebraska. They were living there when this handsome 18 year old Peter Rasmussen began attending Bethany Lutheran Church. H. P. and Kjistine were charter members of that congregation. It was known to all as the Danish Church.
Peter was invited to the Hansen home after church services and it felt good to be in a family setting again. He regularly received mail from his brothers and sisters in Denmark. He shared this news with the Hansen family. While visiting there, he helped with chores and odd jobs around the farm.
This was a pattern that continued for two years as Peter fulfilled the two year contract at the Stuttgart ranch. When his contract ended, he travelled through much of the rangeland of western Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado. He made one trip to the state of Washington where some distant relatives lived. Most of his time was spent on ranches in Wyoming.
The United States entered WWI in 1917. Peter and his friend Bill Petersen enlisted and were assigned to Fort Knox, Kentucky. The Army took advantage of his range life experience and they were assigned to a cavalry unit with a primary duty of breaking horses for cavalry units. While at Fort Knox, Peter contracted flu in the great influenza epidemic of 1918. He was all but abandoned to the dying when his friend Bill Petersen intervened. Against odds, Peter recovered and returned to active duty until the end of the war. He returned to range lands of Wyoming upon his discharge.
Although Wyoming had become a state in 1890, it remained sparsely settled. Sublette County was the last county in Wyoming to be incorporated. Peter lived there and voted in the election of 1921 to incorporate the county and make Pinedale the County Seat.
From time to time, Peter returned to the Ord area for brief visits. The H. P. Hansen home was his home away from home. He regaled the family with tales of his life in the rangelands of Wyoming.
Twenty years after he first met the Hansen family, Peter and Marie were married and lived on a farm in Garfield, County Nebraska. When Clara joined the family on July 4, 1931, the country was already in the early stages of what became known as The Great Depression.
Weather extremes can make the prairie a challenge at any time. Add to this the unknown factors of the depression and the challenge became much more daunting.
The natural state of the prairie is grassland. This invites cattle ranching. Ranches with thousands of acres of grazing land can sustain large herds of beef cattle.
During WWI farmers were encouraged to increase wheat production due to the additional demands for food items to support the U.S. Military. In some cases, virgin prairie grass land was tilled for the first time. The soil proved to be fertile but the soil was light. Most of this began in 1917. Marginal rainfall was always a factor. With adequate rainfall, good grain crops were the result. More prairie lands were opened to farming.
By the early 1930's thousands of acres that had been prairie were now committed to farming. When drouth conditions settled in, there was insufficient rainfall to produce a crop. Winds are the constant companion of prairie lands. With the lack of rain, the winds were drying out the soil and because it was light, a gust of wind could lift soil particles into the air then drop it in some other location. Wind driven dust clouds created drifts almost identical to wind driven snow in winter. Roadside ditches would drift full with the rippling patterns usually seen on drifted snow. However, unlike snow, the drifted dust did not melt.
By the mid 1930's dust storms had become a major fact of life on the prairie. It was a vicious cycle. Drifting soil smothered newly planted fields. The native grass which held the soil in place was gone; crops suffered from insufficient rainfall and grain crops could not hold the soil in place. Hot dry winds would gather soil particles into dark foreboding clouds. Dust clouds joined and it seemed to form a wall of dust clouds which marched across the prairie. As these storms became more frequent and far reaching, the region became known as the "Dust Bowl". Many farms were abandoned as they were engulfed in a tidal wave of dust. Weather beaten remnants of farm houses and outbuildings were still seen in remote areas in the late 1950's into the 1960's. They were ghosts of the hopes and dreams of earlier settlers of the prairie. Farming and ranching can be demanding and challenging, especially in the Central Plains. Weather extremes can be challenging and can make crop farming a gamble. Winter presents special challenges to the rancher and the well being of their herds of beef cattle.
The Peter Rasmussen family endured the oft times harsh nature of the prairie. Those who farm or ranch do so because of a love for the land and the feeling of independence it can give. It is hard work but the prospects of a successful crop or a good year with livestock are the incentive to persist.
Many who settled on the prairie were immigrants. They had come to America seeking opportunity. Many Scandinavians were among those who chose the prairie. It was their opportunity to have land of their own. Their densely populated homelands provided little prospect of ever having land of their own. They were willing to invest their labor to establish farms and ranches.
It was this spirit that inspired Peter to leave his native Denmark at age 18 and seek opportunities in America. He had contracted to work on a ranch north of Ord, Nebraska. His contract called for a work commitment of two years in exchange for his passage from Denmark to America. He subsequently brought two brothers and a sister from Denmark.
In the rural areas, all farms had at least one windmill. This was used to pump water for livestock and to fill cisterns for household use. In early Twentieth Century many of these windmills were constructed with a wood frame supporting the wind wheel on top and the pumping mechanism. Constant prairie winds provided the power to make the windmill an invaluable staple on the farm and ranch. In the event of thunderstorms which can be violent, the rotating wheel of the windmill was locked down lest it spin out of control and cause damage.
Clara's Grandfather H. P. Hansen, died of a heart attack induced when he was struggling to lock down his windmill as a storm approached. He died in March before Clara was born in July 1931.
Chapter Two
Danish Roots
Danes, who were planning to immigrate to America, would often organize companies which would negotiate land acquisition. The result of this was usually a concentration of Danes in the general area. Between Ord and Grand Island, there are two such communities, one is the town of Dannebrog and the other is Dannevirke. Another company settled in Kearney County, near settlements known as Minden and Hildreth. Clara's maternal grandparents were a part of the Hildreth community.
This pattern was repeated many times in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and nearby states in the expansion years. The relatively inexpensive lands of the prairie were a magnet to immigrants seeking opportunity.
Peter Rasmussen maintained close contact with his siblings and other family and friends in Denmark. Letters, postcards and greeting cards were the most frequent methods, but he did make three additional voyages to Denmark. He sent and received formal photographic portraits from family and friends in Denmark. These links helped maintain contact with friends and family. Many years later Clara would inherit this trove of formal portraits. It is sad to say they are mostly unknowns - not one word of identification appears on most of the portraits. Several postcards and greeting cards carry brief messages - in Danish. They were treasured at the time but are now enigmas.
Peter ultimately brought two brothers, Anders Christian known as Chris and Martin and a sister Christina to America. His brothers settled in Valley County near Ord. Christina married Chris Sorensen and they moved to Thermopolis, Wyoming. They operated one of the many "spas" in the area. It consisted of thermal springs and an associated hotel. Outsiders came to this area seeking therapeutic benefits from these springs.
Many Danes had settled in and around Ord, Nebraska. The Danes of the area were like one big family. When there was a funeral, they all came. When there was a wedding, they all came. The church was central to the social life of the Danes.
Most were members of Bethany Lutheran Church which everyone referred to as "The Danish Church". Following worship service on Sunday, many Danish homes hosted one or more families from church for a pitch in meal. Traditional Danish meals were served. Most conversation was in their native Danish language. The church was the connecting link for social life. For several years, services were conducted in Danish. With the ascension of the second generation the services were conducted in English.
By the time Kenneth was to start school, he had to learn English as he had been raised in a Danish speaking household. As the youngest, Clara did not get the full indoctrination in Danish. Because Kenneth and Charlotte were in school, household discussions were now in English. This made practical sense but her grandmother Kjistine Hansen was disappointed that Clara did not speak Danish. Clara was never as close to her grandmother as Kenneth and Charlotte and she felt it was due to the fact she did not speak Danish. Clara was in first grade of elementary school when the teacher asked her to name her grand parents. She said "I do not have grandparents". The teacher said, "Of course you do - your grandmother Hansen". Clara had known her only as Bedstemor (Danish for Grandmother).
After the death of H. P. Hansen, Kjistine moved into a home they had bought in Ord, Nebraska. She and her unmarried son, Martin lived there until her death in July 1940. Clara was nine years old when her "Bedstemor" died.
The Danes of the farming community near Ord were a close knit group. They kept Danish culture alive. They were patriots of their new country and many served in United States military services. They considered themselves 100% American.
Chapter Three
Then Came the Depression Years
Farming and ranching is hard work and always subject to the whims of nature. The spreading effects of what was to become a world wide depression eventually reached the Central Plains. Farmers and ranchers always operate on a narrow profit margin and the depression further compounded the matter. Money from cream and eggs, produced on the farm became the principal cash income. Basics became extravagances! As if this was not enough, dust storms further challenged those living on the prairie. Blowing dust invaded farm buildings and it was virtually impossible to keep it out of homes. The blowing dust was stifling to man and beast.
These were formative years for Clara. She was a tom-boy and wanted to be involved in whatever her dad was doing. She was not yet a teenager when she assumed the chore of riding out before breakfast to gather the horses for the days field work. She did not take time to saddle her horse, she rode bareback! If Kenneth was nearby, he would give her a boost onto the horses back. If he was not around, she would lead the horse to a nearby fence, and then climb the fence to get on the horse.
She helped her dad and brother when they mended fences on the farm. One day when they were mending fences, her dad was bitten by a rattlesnake. She watched in awe as her dad took his pocket knife and cut an "X" over the area of the bite to drain the poison. Kenneth and Clara helped him as they returned to the house for further treatment. That treatment was administered by Marie and the children.
It was a week before Clara's dad was able to resume his usual workload. This was the week Clara learned how to milk cows! Everybody did a little extra to make up the difference of her dad not being available.
When she was about ten years old, she had been studying first aid in school. These are valuable skills to have as one never knows when the need for such skills will occur.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Clara, the Little Girl from the Prairieby C. Robert Wolfe Copyright © 2009 by C. Robert Wolfe. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
