Category Archives: The Great Depression

Crossing the Plains: Dust, Dempsters, and the Homestead National Monument

Posted on May 13, 2018 by JP in B-town

During our recent sojourn to the Great Plains, land of big skies and prairie, we enjoyed driving “blue highways,” which took us past countless windmills, abandoned farmsteads, and cattle. About four miles east of Red Cloud, Nebraska, we stopped to … Continue reading →

Posted in environmental history, family history, Immigrants, Kansas, Nebraska, The Great Depression, Travel, women's history | 1 Comment

The Road to Red Cloud

Posted on May 6, 2018 by JP in B-town

I never lived in Kansas, but I grew up with a deep appreciation for the state  my grandparents left in 1957 when their farm became part of Fort Riley. A regular correspondent, Grandma kept in frequent contact with neighbors and … Continue reading →

Posted in family history, Kansas, Nebraska, The Great Depression, Travel, Willa Cather | 4 Comments

Plum Pudding Time

Posted on December 23, 2016 by JP in B-town

I was rearranging my bookshelf the other day, and rediscovered my mother’s cookbooks. For many years they stood on the bottom shelf of the built-in cupboard in her farmhouse kitchen. Well-worn, their spotted and yellowed pages contain her handwritten notes … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, cooking, family history, Kansas, Mothers, The Great Depression, World War II | 2 Comments

The making of a feedsack quilt, part 1

Posted on May 23, 2015 by JP in B-town

This Memorial Day weekend I’m thinking of my mother. There’s a reason.  It started when I was going through things in the basement and I re-discovered my mother’s collection of feedsacks. For years I’ve been talking about making a quilt … Continue reading →

Posted in Mothers, Quilting, The Great Depression | Tagged | 2 Comments