Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden

This was a fifty cent find at the Santa Clara Library. It's the story of two young women who move west to become school teachers in rural Colorado in 1916. It's fascinating, mainly because it's TRUE, and so many things about life then were so different! It was written by one of the teacher's granddaughters, and is infused with direct quotes from their letters home. 

The author did tons of additional research about the technologies of the period, and goes into great (and sometimes boring to me) detail describing it...the railroads, the mining, the towns. What was most interesting to me was the way the people lived. The teachers boarded with a family, shared a bed upstairs, and rode horses to school. They fought the cold, snow, and ice. They met the local people and became integral to the community. What they ate, how they danced and partied, were all very interesting and charming. They were indefatigable! Always cheery, despite the hardships.

I loved too, the descriptions of how they taught, how their classroom was set up, and what their students were like. I usually don't like nonfiction as much as fiction, but this was fascinating. I am somewhat fed up with made-up stories of famous people like Mrs. Lewis (C.S. Lewis' wife), Marjorie Post, etc., This author let her subjects speak for themselves. They are the real deal, and very admirable! 

I found it a little hard to keep track of who was who, but I decided to just let the story drift on and enjoyed what each person was doing. I also liked the many photographs that  helped bring the milieu to life...

It also made me very grateful for my comfy life. And maybe I would benefit from a little more hardship...