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A little hope from our ancestors


The weather is cloudy, cold and most of us are stuck at home due to COVID-19 with the children.  The boys and I are so sick of being around the house, or in the house all the time because it is cold.  I looked out the window of the house the other day into the foggy, grey exterior and it made me wonder how the pioneer women(homesteaders), my ancestors made it through.  The homesteaders also had to deal with pandemics, keeping a household going, homeschooling their kids old school (literally).


Miss Mary Longfellow holding down a claim west of Broken Bow, Nebraska, circa 1880s
Courtesy Nebraska State Historical Society, RG2608-1953-a
The homesteading women lived with death, plagues of sickness or insects, poor living conditions and sanitation, etc.  I could go on and on about how their life was different and worse than ours.  They didn't have anything compared to what we have, and I don't say that so we feel guilty for our feelings of frustration or anger at our current situation.  I say that so we can take pride in how far we have come, and hope that we can make it through this time.  We will get through this!

We need to pull up our big girl britches and walk one foot in front of the other Every. Day.  Will you have moments when you don't think you can make it another step? Yes!  Will you have moments when you lock yourself in a closet with a really unhealthy snack?  Definitely!  Will you have moments you question your sanity? Probably!

But each and everyone of us have an ancestor in our background that has gone through a time similar to this, no matter your background, and they survived and learned to laugh about it.  So will we.  And if you listen really close you will hear them whispering, "It will be ok sweet girl, keep going you will get through this and have the biggest laugh ever."  Write everything down, we need to share this with our grandkids so they will have hope in the future.  Because guess what life is going to throw them curve balls too, and they are going to need to have hope from their grandparents and great-grandparents about how rough we had it and survived to tell the story, and laugh. 
Uriah and Mattie Oblinger with daughter Ella, circa 1870s
Courtesy Nebraska State Historical Society, RG1346-1-2
So here is a laugh for you(hopefully), a letter written by Mattie Oblinger a Nebraska homesteader.  And I feel like I could have written this letter myself this week.

"My plants are looking nicely. I have not made a garden yet, will make some tomorrow if it does rain. It has the appearance of rain this evening. I would have made some this last week but the ground was not ready and Uriah wanted to finish his wheat. I feel like killing my old hens. They will not go to setting [laying eggs]. I expect when they do take a notion to set, they will all want to set at one time. I have made two table clothes & two shirts for Uriah &one for my self out of our wagon sheet. . . .

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