Smith Earle Sloan - Almost pioneers : one couples homesteading adventure in the West

Guilford, CT

Helena, Montana

An Imprint of Globe Pequot Press

Copyright 2013 by John J. Fry

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, PO Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437.

TwoDot is an imprint of Globe Pequot Press and a registered trademark of Morris Book Publishing, LLC.

Layout: Casey Shain

Project editor: Lynn Zelem

Map by Melissa Baker, Morris Book Publishing, LLC

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Smith, Laura Gibson, 1891-1973.

Almost pioneers : one couples homesteading adventure in the West /

Laura Gibson Smith ; edited by John J. Fry.

pages cm

Includes index.

E-ISBN 978-0-7627-9715-8

1. Smith, Laura Gibson, 1891-1973. 2. Smith, Earle Sloan, 1890-1985.

3. Frontier and pioneer lifeWyomingLaramie County. 4.

PioneersWyomingLaramie CountyBiography. 5. Laramie County

(Wyo.)Social life and customs. 6. Laramie County (Wyo.)Biography.

I. Fry, John J., editor. II. Title.

F767.L3S65 2013

978.7'19dc23

2012046529

To Paula

Again, and always.

C ONTENTS

Preface

by John J. Fry

I teach history to undergraduates. I dont often require them to read the scholarly introductions to the historical books I assign. They are happy that they have fewer pages to read. I want them to encounter the source directly, without being told what to expect or what it all means. They need to learn how to figure it out for themselves.

As a result, I have decided against providing a lengthy introduction to this work by an Iowa woman who homesteaded with her husband in Wyoming. Laura Smiths prose is direct and understandable. She has an excellent ear for description, narrative, and dialogue. The book also displays a good feel for suspense and a well-timed sense of humor. Above all, Laura is an entertaining storyteller. There is not much reason for me to provide extensive background; instead, I will provide as little as possible so that the reader can listen to Laura tell her story.

Laura Gibson and Earle Smith were born in rural central Iowa in the 1890s. They met in high school and were married in Chicago in 1911. From 1913 to 1916, they lived on a 320-acre homestead in southeastern Wyoming. They then moved back to Iowa, where they lived most of the rest of their lives. Sometime later, Laura wrote this memoir and named it Almost Pioneers . Laura and Earles hopes, dreams, and motives are revealed slowly over the course of the book.

I have provided footnotes that explain some of the people, places, and events they encountered, along with some comments about historical context. However, I have placed my broader interpretation of the text and its significance in the afterword. I realize that I run the risk of readers not reading most of what I myself have written, but I hope that after you have read her book, you will be interested in discussing it with someone. At this point, let it suffice to say that I believe this story of one familys experience in the West is in fact the story of many Americans. It reveals truths not only about the several thousand dry farmers that moved to Wyoming in the early twentieth century, but also about the hundreds of thousands of families who moved west during this countrys history. Additionally, however, the Smiths are representative of all Americans who are willing to go backward to go forward, willing to launch out into the unknown in order to move closer to realizing their dreams. Laura joined dozens of other American women who wrote about their experiences as a way of remembering them, understanding them, and sharing them with others. I hope that you enjoy reading her book as much as I enjoyed working with it.

I would like to place my thanks at the beginning of the book to show my gratitude to all who have enabled me to bring Lauras manuscript to publication. First and foremost is my wife, Paula, to whom this book is dedicated. She took care of our family when I made research trips to Iowa and Wyoming. She helped me in a myriad of ways as I worked on the manuscript, taught full-time, and served a variety of nonprofit organizations. Her talents are many more than I can describe in a short space, and I thank God for placing her in my life. I also thank my childrenDeborah, Stephen, Benjamin, and Danielfor sharing me with this project. And I thank God the Father for giving me every spiritual and physical blessing in my Lord Jesus Christ, including the incredible opportunity to serve Him by teaching and writing.

Thanks are due to Cathy and Michael Wheatcraft for their assistance on the Iowa end of things. Michael is the son of Laura and Earles son Bertel Smiths second wife. Cathy and Michael found the manuscript when they bought Berts house after his death. They donated it and other items from Lauras life to the Iowa Womens Archives, where I first read it. They also provided me with background information on Laura and Earle. Thanks to Michael and his brother William Wheatcraft for their support of the project. Thanks to Alan Andersen for providing the initial editing of the manuscript during the 1980s, and for his encouragement.

In Wyoming, many thanks to Dean and Ruth Vaughn and Clyde and Frances Caster for hosting me, for taking me to the locations described in the book, and for answering dozens of my questions. And thanks to Phil Roberts of the University of Wyoming, who was a source of many insights about the history of Wyoming, and of encouragement to stay with the project. Thanks to Phil, John Miller, and Alan Andersen for graciously reading the entire manuscript and making many good suggestions. Any errors are my responsibility, not theirs.

Historians cant do what we do without the assistance of librarians and archivists. Many thanks to the staffs of the following, in alphabetical order: the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming, the Ames Historical Society, the Cook County Clerks Office, the Drake University Law School Library, the Iowa State University Library, the Iowa Womens Archives at the University of Iowa, the Laramie County Clerks Office, the State Historical Society of Iowa in Iowa City, the State Library of Wyoming, the University of Iowa Law School Library, and the Wyoming State Archives. Thanks also to the American Heritage Center, the Chugwater Museum, the Iowa Womens Archives, and the Wyoming State Archives for granting me permission to use their photographs. Finally, thanks to Barbara Mayes Boustead, a climatologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / National Weather Service, for sending me extensive weather data for Chugwater.