Inez Dockter was born in 1936 in a farmhouse two miles north of Venturia, North Dakota. She writes: "As a nine year old, I looked back at the harness, to make sure it was sure on Queen, the large work horse, who was hitched to a black buggy, before my five year old sister and I got in, for the two mile ride home from our rural one room school house. My formal education ended at eighth grade. Picking up dried cow (pies) manure for fuel, to melt snow on the cook stove, for the families Saturday bath (all used the same water). Seeing buffalo wallows in the pasture while bringing cows home for milking. Picking rocks and setting up grain sheaves in the fields. Butchering hogs for winter's meat supply. This wasn't the later part of the 19th century... it was 1946."
Dockter shares this text at the introduction: ;'"Why am I writing this?", I ask myself. Right now it feels like it will be a lot of hard work and I hope I will change my mind before this is finished. The main reason I am motivated is to leave something behind for my children, grand-children, and maybe great-grandchildren because whatever material goods I leave behind will not be worth much...
"I had the opportunity to spend a little time with my paternal grandfather, Gottlieb Dockter Jr. Also, as a young adult I spent quite a bit of time with my maternal grandmother, Katharina (Katie) Helfenstein Esch Ritter. Because of my setting this down on paper, when I am no longer on this earth, my heirs may have answers to some of the questions they never got around to asking."
Comments about the book:
"Unlike a slow bumpy prairie road, Inez's well-organized memoir reads fast and smooth while sharing pleasant and unpleasant tidbits of growing up on a German-Russian North Dakota prairie farm during and after the Great Depression. Her disappointment of not being able to attend high school and the agony of losing her childhood/teenage best friend due to an alcohol-related car accident are poignant memories that blurred my eyes. Her love of attending a one-room school, being confirmed in the Reformed faith, and her wedding are special memories shared along with descriptive narratives of never-ending everyday repetitive hard work. This 131 page book will satisfy your craving for German-Russian soul food. Kudo to Inez."
--- Gwen Schock Cowerd, creator of Germans from Russia Food and Culture Facebook Page.
" Every ND student & historian should read this book. This is an entertaining easy read about the labors & love of prairie farm life as recalled by an adult child of hard working German Immigrant's. The balance of what could be seen in today's times as harrowing farm labor, with delightful moments and strong family values contribute to an overall of contentment in this autobiography. This should be a must-read for students in the Dakota's and other prairie states as an enjoyable history lesson. It encompasses the not so long ago portrayal of small farming by an intelligent, creative woman who was constrained by harsh winters and educational boundaries. This may leave readers asking them-selves, was it really the Good Old Days?”
---Terri Nokleby, Delano, MN.
"Prairie Girl Memoir is an outstanding book. It's very strength is because it is a primary source document. In these terms it is a gem and a find. Also, the world of the depression years in North Dakota could have been 1880,a world familiar and very distant from what we know. I was an academic sociologist with a focus on American subcultures and unique social groups."
---Whitney H. Gordon, Tempe, AZ.
