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BOOKS / PAPERS |
I am a daughter of the Middle Border that Hamlin Garland writes about. I often write about women and family issues, no matter if I am writing poetry, essays, or creative fiction. Because of my interest in family history, I began to research my German-Russian heritage years ago. Unfortunately, I learned more about my ancestors’ neighbors than I did about my own line. After I started collecting data, I realized that many of my family members had settled in Odessa Township, Yankton County, Dakota Territory (South Dakota), between the years 1872-1876. Not only was this one of the first German-Russian townships to be settled in the 1870’s, but some of my ancestors were also instrumental in leading others out of Russia and into America. I realized that very little had been written about this first settlement and its historic characters. Steppes to Neu-Odessa: Germans from Russia Who Settled in Odessa Township, Dakota Territory 1872-1876 (1996, 2002) was my attempt to put some flesh on skeletons, showing how these pioneers eked out a living on the wild, unbroken prairie. |
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| Steppes to the Neu Odessa | ||
| Postcards from
the Old Man |
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| Harvesting Their Stories | ||
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| About the Author |
A Daughter of the Middle Border Garland writes about my earthy grandmothers who left eastern hamlets to follow their wander-lusting husbands across Dakota prairies. These petticoat farmers produced the manna, feeding the men who grappled with the land. But their own hunger was harder to stave off without churches, schools, and McClure's. North of Yankton, my youthful father tired of treeless plains, left the rise and fall of the coteau. Hankering after richer pastures, he drifted east, sinking his spade in Minnesota's fields. Years later, I, like my grandmothers, trekked to Dakota to work alongside my spouse. We tilled the land in a different way, reclaiming their inheritance of Canaan's blessings. While home for now may be inside this Harvey Dunn landscape of azure skies, green-gold desert, and pasque flowers- I feel Twain's anchor, Old Man River, tugging at my veins. (c) 2002 Stupnik |
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| Contact the Author | ||
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 Heritage Books |
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