Life on the Prairie

 

 

Emily

 

Emily, her beliefs so strong,

Knew to bully others, was wrong.

 

To schoolmates, she was always kind,

She wanted no friend, left behind.

 

 

 

 

 

Emily: the Kind Suffragette, won second place in the Heart of America Christian Writers Network 2014 Writing Contest in the Children’s Story Division

 

Please note this blog posts the first and third weeks of the month.

 

Prairie Girls

Emily

This is Emily Ealy again. I go to Globe school. My teacher asked me to give an oral report on women’s suffrage. After preparing my report, I know I will always work to win the vote for women.

When a new boy started in our grade school, Billy tripped him and called him names. I didn’t know if I should tell the teacher or not. I did know, though, it was wrong to treat anyone unkindly. When our book is finished you can read more about my school, friends, family…and me.

A Souvenir

                 By Judy

 Like Emily, I attended a one-room school. Above is a picture of a souvenir booklet I received from my teacher on the last day of school of my second grade year. Each student received one. I don’t know how much the booklet cost our teacher, but as there were only nine pupils in the entire eight grades, it probably wasn’t much. Inside the booklet are several pages of poems, all with the general theme of giving our best and working diligently in order to have a successful life. The names of all nine students plus the names of the teacher and the school board members (one of whom was my father) are listed. I suspect I was not impressed with the booklet, nor was I able to read all the big words in the poems that long-ago day. Now, many years later, though, that souvenir booklet brings back happy memories of school celebrations, friends, and a favorite teacher. Thank you, Mrs. Woodward.

The History Fact

American Suffrage Movement

During the 1820’s and 1830’s, most American men were able to vote or hold public office. The property requirement for men had been lifted, and many men availed themselves of the voting opportunities. With the expansion of education which allowed more accessibility for women, they too soon sought the right to vote. A suffrage movement grew in the 1850’s just before the Civil War. Most females involved in the early years were abolitionists, as well. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were leaders at the forefront of the movement.

The abolitionists asked the female members to take a step back and work for the abolition of slavery before seeking the vote for women. They agreed thinking suffrage would be won after the war or when slavery ended. It would be nearly 60 years before suffrage legislation for women was enacted. Many of the original members of the movement were gone by 1920 when the 19^th amendment was passed. Carrie Chapman Catt was the leader of the second generation of suffragettes responsible for the final push of the passage of the law following WWI.

The sites listed below give more detailed information about women’s suffrage.

 

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_the_United States
www.history.com/topics/womens-history/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage
www.suffragist.com/timeline.htm
www.teacher.scholastic.com/activities/suffrage/history.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Irish Fare

Prairie Recipes

                                                       By Collette

A typical Irish main dish might be the following for Shepard’s Pie.

 Shepard’s Pie

1 pound ground beef                                            2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups mashed potatoes, hot                                4 cups frozen mixed vegetables,
4 ounces cream cheese, cubed                                  thawed
1 cup shredded cheddar                                       1 cup beef gravy

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground beef in a skillet and drain. Mix potatoes, cream cheese, ½ grated cheddar and garlic until well-blended. Stir vegetables and gravy into meat. Spoon into a 9 inch square baking pan. Cover with potato mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through. Serves: 4

The following simple recipe for beer bread would be delicious with any main dish.

Beer Bread

3 cups flour, sifted*                                                ¼ cup of granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder                                    1-(12 ounce) can of beer
1 teaspoon salt                                                        ½ cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix dry ingredients and beer. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Pour melted butter over the mixture. Bake for one hour. Remove from pan immediately and cool at least 15 minutes. Yield: 1 loaf

*Be sure to sift flour. Flour is compacted without sifting, and that changes the texture of the bread.

Teacher's Pet

Teacher’s Pet

                                                     By Collette

When my mother, her sister and brother were young, they attended a one-room school house not too far from where I presently live. They had the same teacher while they attended the school. This same woman (I’ll call her Mrs. C.) was my fourth grade teacher in the public school system, as well as, my sister’s and our baby brother’s. She knew my family well.

I remember Mrs. C. vividly. Since I was a quiet, shy little girl at school, I am surprised I wasn’t afraid of her. She wore flowered dresses, old lady shoes (like my grandma wore), had steel gray hair and wore glasses. I liked her as did most students who had her as their teacher. In fact I would say she was one of the most popular teachers at that grade school. There was a reason why.

My school had PTA meetings once a month during the school year. One or more classrooms presented a program. Since parents usually attended the school programs of their children, the auditorium was full. The school, however, took it a step farther. A traveling plaque was introduced. The classroom with the most parents in attendance got to keep the plaque until the next PTA meeting.

Mrs. C. took the competition on with a vengeance. The plaque lived in her room more than any other teacher’s room, and that was a fact. (I even remember which wall held the plaque.)  If we won, the day after the PTA meeting our class got candy if our parents attended. Now that may not sound like a big deal, but teachers did not hand out candy like they do today. Unbeknownst to the students, Mrs. C. had a running competition with another of my favorite teachers, Mrs. D. who taught sixth grade. Their classrooms were beside each other, and the story goes they didn’t speak to one another because of the competition for the plaque.

I have to confess, another reason I liked Mrs. C. was because I was one of her “pets.” Never having been one of those before (and probably not since), I was happy she took a genuine interest in me. Mrs. C. modeled teaching traits I applied to my teaching-not the competitiveness, but she showed me how to make contact with students in a positive way that made them feel special. Yes, I have even bribed with candy, too.

Up the Family Tree

 

                

 Happy Kansas Day!

By Judy

I live in Kansas. Oh yes, I know some people don’t think much of Kansas. But, those people probably have never taken the time to drive through Kansas.  And, let me tell you, time it does take. I don’t have an accurate actual amount of time it takes because each time I have made the trip, there have been a lot of variables.

The first time I traveled from one side of the state to the other side, I was in college. One of my roommates and I decided it would be a fun if we drove from Eastern Kansas to Western Kansas to visit another one of our roommates during the summer. Not only did I underestimate the amount of time the journey required, I underestimated the effect a landscape with no trees would have on me.

Oh yes, the Flint Hills were beautiful. The drive through the city of Wichita didn’t bother me. (I grew up in the country and didn’t have much experience with city driving.) Somewhere west of Wichita, I noticed the landscape was different. Gone were the trees. Gone with the wind perhaps? But no, the wind was still in Kansas.  I knew that because as I drove west, the blowing south wind kept pushing the car toward the ditch. Too, the car was not air conditioned and the wind kept smacking my hair into my face. At the end of a long, long day, we arrived at my roommate’s home, and the hospitality shown us was worth the drive.

I am much, much, much older now and do not remember how many times I have crossed Kansas in an automobile. I do remember one trip was on a commercial bus as I headed to work a summer vacation in Colorado. Another time a different friend and I experienced car trouble on a return trip from Colorado. We blindly trusted the unknown mechanic who replaced a hose, didn’t overcharge and wished us a good pleasant rest of the trip. Most Kansans are still trustworthy.

There was a family trip to Colorado, too. I had a tape of some of our family’s favorite songs, and by the time we were closing in on the Colorado line, every member of the family knew all the words to Lollipop, Mr. Lee, and Stand by Me. That was the trip, too, when the five-year-old talked his way across Kansas. Fifty miles from home, the talker finally fell asleep.

I’ve been in Dodge City at 10:00 o’clock at night and realized I had to be at work at 8:30 the next morning. Don’t underestimate the fun of driving across Kansas during the night in a van filled with teenage boys returning from a ski trip.

Kansas is a great state. It has hills, valleys, and a lot of flat land. It has farm, country, small town and big city folks. It is filled with good, kind-hearted, trustworthy people. It is home. Happy Kansas Day!