Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart

At a Laramie boomers' reunion in October of 2010, Lona brought each of us a copy of this slim little book. She loved it and wanted to share it with us. As I read it, I understood why Lona loved it so. This homesteader is a lot like Lona! She's resourceful, brave, and a very hard worker.

I love the fact that these are a real woman's words describing her real experiences. It gave me a greater appreciation for all of my creature comforts! This woman was also incredibly brave and generous as she interacted with her neighbors and her harsh climate. In one chapter, "Among the Mormons," she encounters a polygamist group and the description is lamentable... It does give a glimpse, though into their lives and shows perhaps some of the reasons the practice was discontinued.

Here's an excerpt showing how this pioneer spent her days: "I have done most of my cooking at night, have milked seven cows every day, and have done all the hay-cutting, so you see I have been working. But I have found time to put up thirty pints of jelly and the same amount of jam for myself. I used wild fruits, gooseberries, currants, raspberries, and cherries. I have almost two gallons of cherry butter, and I think it delicious... There was a tang of sage and of pine in the air, and our horse was midside deep in rabbitbrush, a shrub covered with flowers that look and smell like goldenrod. The blue distance promised many alluring adventures, so we went along singing and simply gulping in summer."

That description is SO Wyoming! It probably stood out for me, because after living ten years in Laramie, I knew what she meant about "gulping" in summer! It's entirely too short there, so you savor every moment. A truly joyous book, rich desciptions, and wonderful real people as characters. This is a treasure. I only wish she had written more letters so we'd have a deeper look at her life and thoughts.