| The Challenge of the Prairie: Life and Times of Red River Pioneers Contributor(s): Drache, Hiram (Author) |
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ISBN: 0913163457 ISBN-13: 9780913163450 Publisher: Hobar Publications OUR PRICE: $18.86 Product Type: Paperback Published: August 2010 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | United States - State & Local - Midwest(ia,il,in,ks,mi,mn,mo,nd,ne,oh,sd,wi |
| Physical Information: 376 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Midwest |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The prairies are one of the greatest gifts to humankind, for on this fertile and wide-open lands pioneers built a civilization and a culture, which has fed millions. This book presents the challenges faced by the first settlers along the Red River of Northern Minnesota. Here homesteaders settled the unbroken lands of the frontier and experienced seemingly endless obstacles in their quest to conquer the soil. Women bore the brunt of the burden, but children and men were not exempt from the agony of daily drudgery. Though the homestead was free, failure was more common than success and the price paid in toil, sweat, tears and broken bodies was great. |
Contributor Bio(s): Drache, Hiram: - After serving in the Air Force as a combat navigator on bombing missions in the European Theater of Operations of World War II, Hiram Drache earned degrees at Gustavus Adolphus College, the Unversity of Minnesota, and the University of North Dakota. During his college years he worked in the family truck line and other businesses and later taught high school. He married Ada Nelson in 1948 and in 1950 the couple purchased their first farm. They were involved in farming until 1981 when the home farm was sold and the others were leased out. He started his career at Concordia College in 1952 and in 1991 became Historian-in-Residence. He has written fifteen books and has contributed to eight others. He has also written more than fifty articles chiefly on contemporary agriculture and/or agricultural history. That writing lead to a speaking career with over 1,000 engagements in thirty-six states, the District of Columbia, six provinces in Canada, plus Australia, Germany and Norway. |