A daily farm diary that shows a woman who was unbelievably hard-working, a shrewd manager of her farm and home, steadfast in the face of pain and adversity, and both fiercely independent and strongly connected to a supportive community. This is a remarkable account of an average life.
These published diaries of Louisa “Lulu” Ehrichs Schwanbeck chronicle her life and work on her farm in Western Kansas spanning the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and World War II. Between 1935, when began her first diary, and 1938, she not only toiled against the stress of the Great Depression and the threats of the Dust Bowl but also suffered debilitating burns, a cancer diagnosis, and the loss of her husband. By 1940, she was a single woman in her early sixties overseeing the business and operations of a large, fully mortgaged family farm. As a farmer and a true Kansan, she faced these challenges head on with a powerful work ethic, strong determination, high spirits, and a strong community of support. Lulu had a verve for life and understood the importance of balancing work and play. Despite hard times and hard work, many of her entries ended with a simple note. “A grand day.”
This rare collection of diaries tells the individual story of one woman while also giving voice to the lives and experiences of countless women in twentieth-century rural America that have often been forgotten to history.