Life on the Prairie
Emily
Emily, her beliefs so strong,
Knew to bully others, was wrong.
She wanted no friend, left behind.
Please note this blog posts the first and third weeks
of the month.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Life on the Prairie
Prairie Girls
Emily
I’m
Emily Ealy, and I’m excited. My mum’s sisters are coming on the train to visit!
They will attend the last day of school activities with my family. In their
letter they spoke of a lady named Mother Jones they heard speak in Chicago.
Their letter said she worked to make coal mining safer. I’m anxious to see my
aunts and glad they will be here for the last day of school. I wonder if my
teacher will give me a souvenir booklet.
The End of the
School Year
By Collette
The end of the school year was both
hectic and exciting. At our high school students might be exempt from finals if
they had a high percentage in the class and good attendance. The office wanted
the names of those students on the same day as seniors’ grades needed to be
turned in to determine if they graduated. To say this was a little stressful
for teachers was an understatement because there was often a glitch.
That glitch was entering and extracting
grades from each teacher’s computer. Because the entire district used computers
to enter grades, there could be a problem with so many people using them at the
same time. Some teachers solved the problem by simply cutting off grades early.
Teachers were charged to have “meaningful activities” the last few days of
school. That translated as no movies were to be shown. I spent years coming up
with “meaningful ideas” for those days.
I stayed late at school at the end of
the year so I could have my grades posted, room ready for the summer and time
to say farewell to my colleagues before summer began. There was always a flurry
of meetings at the end, too. I had one principal who would tell us how many
days we had before it was time to return. Despite his remark, it was difficult
not to feel excited that I had those few days at home.
Unions and Labor Leaders
Unions and
Labor Leaders
By ColletteFollowing the Civil War and the tremendous influx of immigrants arriving on American soil, the population tripled, as did the need for workers. The coal industry was one of the first to unionize because of dangerous and horrible working conditions. The first union for coal miners was called the National Labor Union, and its existence was short-lived. The largest labor union was the Order of the Knights of St. Crispin. It was followed by the Knights of Labor in 1869. However, it was the American Federation of Labor formed in 1886 under the leadership of Samuel Gompers that proved the most successful.
The coal industry was known for its low wages,
hazardous working conditions, ethnicity and difficulty to organize. Basically,
those who fought for miners’ rights organized the workers mine by mine. There
were leaders in each mining region, but one of the more interesting leaders was
Mary Harris Jones. Emily might have come into contact with her, and she would
have been interested in Mother Jones’s passion: ending child labor in the coal
mining industry and factories.
The following provides interesting information about
labor unions and leaders.Traditional Irish Fare
Traditional
Irish Fare
By Collette
One of the most recognized Irish meals
in America is corned beef and cabbage. Below is a modernized version for the
crock pot.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
1 onion, cut into chunks 2 tablespoons sugar
4 potatoes, peeled and quartered 2 tablespoons cider
vinegar1 pound carrots, cut into chunks ½ teaspoon black pepper
3 cups of water 1-3# corned beef brisket with
3 cloves garlic, minced spice packet, cut in half
1 bay leaf 1 small head of cabbage, cut
into wedges
Place onion, potatoes and carrots into a 5 quart slow cooker. Combine water, garlic, bay leaf, sugar, vinegar and spice packet in a small bowl; pour over vegetables. Top with brisket and cabbage. Cover and cook until meat and vegetables are tender-8 to 9 hours. Remove bay leaf before eating. Serves: 6
One of the most well-known drinks is Irish coffee. Often called hot toddies and used to treat colds, there are many versions of this recipe. The following is typical.
Irish
Coffee*
8 teaspoons sugar ½ cup Irish
whiskey or Irish
4 thin strips of lemon peel, 1” long cream4 thin strips of orange peel, 1” long 4 cups strong coffee
¼ cup cream, whipped
Using four coffee cups, place 2 teaspoons sugar, one strip of each peel, 2 tablespoons of whiskey and one cup of coffee. Top with whipped cream. Serves: 4
*Recipe may be made without alcohol.
The 9:00 Train
The 9:00 Train
By Collette
My parents loved to square dance and
usually did every Saturday night. When my sister and I were older (ten and
seven), they dropped us off at the local movie theater, and we watched whatever
was showing one and a half times. Because there was a second showing at 9:00, I
watched for what I missed the first time. My younger sister often was asleep
when our parents arrived at 10:30 to take us home.
If the show was something my folks didn’t want us to see or when we were too young to go to the movies alone, we stayed with my grandparents. They lived outside the city limits and did not get the local newspaper delivered daily. They would wait for us to arrive, and then we went to town. The first stop was to get the paper at a local drug store. Next we parked anywhere on the main street of town. On Saturday night the stores were open late and many people were out and about down town. We sat in the car and watched people walk by on the sidewalk. Occasionally, someone would recognize our grandparents and stop to chat.
I remember not liking sitting in the back of the car watching people. (However, today I would say I am a people watcher.) We kept quiet because the good part of Saturday night involved what happened next. My grandparents would go to the local creamery (where farmers brought their milk to be sold), and we each got an ice cream cone, but I am not done with the excitement. We then went to the local station to watch the daily 9:00P.M. train arrive from Wichita. It was the highpoint of the evening.
I remember wanting to ride on a train so badly, but it didn’t happen until I was an adult. Of course my memory of that 9:00 train had it bigger and louder than it really was. Too bad my boys didn’t get to experience some of the simple activities we shared with our grandparents in the “good old days.”
Riding the Rails
Riding the
Rails
By Judy
My grandmother had four
sisters who lived out of state, just as Emily’s mother’s sisters did. “The
girls,” as we called them, came to visit the family in Kansas every two or
three years. They always rode the train and talked of eating sandwiches and
cookies in their seats on the train. Once in a while they treated themselves to
a meal in the dining car. It sounded like adventure to me.
When it was time for the Kansas family to visit the relatives in Illinois, we drove instead of taking the train. I have bad memories of sharing the back seat of the car with my brothers on hot summer days with the open windows allowing hurricane force winds to blow my hair straight out.
Because I didn’t have a train ride as a child, I wanted my children to experience one and made plans for the family to travel via rail from Kansas City to St. Louis. “You go ahead and take the kids. I’ll just drive and meet you at the station,” my husband said. “That way we won’t need to rent a car.”
“No, I’m not going. Why would
I want to take a train trip with these little brats?” my college-age daughter
asked. “Besides, I think I have to work that day. What day did you say you were
leaving?”
“Do you think I’ll get motion
sickness on the train?” my other daughter asked.
“Can I take my GI Joes to play
with so I won’t be bored? I’ll only take ten, I promise. Just enough to have a
battle,” my younger son said.
“I’m packed. When do we leave? Can I look for brochures on walking tours in St. Louis before we leave the station in Kansas City?” my adventurous son asked.
Despite discouragement from
the naysayers, I proceeded with my plans for a family train ride. At last, the
day for the trip arrived. My husband drove the van and arrived at the hotel
within minutes of our taxi from the St. Louis train station. My college
daughter worked that weekend as she had suggested she might. (She is older now
and appreciates time spent with her siblings…probably because she has three
children of her own now.) There might
have been a little bit of boredom on the trip, but I don’t have a memory of
major complaints. I’m happy to report, too, there was no vomiting on the trip.
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