Women Behind the Plow honors the contributions of the women who worked in fields, raised families and live on farms in a time before electricity. The stories are heartwarming and humorous. Combined with the photos, these women paint a picture of life before the internet, cell phones and even electric lights. Imaine working on a farm without lights, good roads, big box stores and a dozen children.
The 12 inch by 12 inch hardcover book is filled with the full interviews and more than 400 photographs collected to create the photo exhibit of the same name.
The women featured in the book who live in Emmons County, Logan County and McIntosh County, south central North Dakota, in the heart of German-Russian Country, include: Helen (Iszler) Frisch, Mary Ann (Were) Lehr, Alice (Rohrich) Kramer, Mary Ann (Schumacher) Gefroh, Violet (Eiseman) Diegel, Arlene (Wagner) Kramer, Irene (Mastel) Brindle, Rosina (Kemmet) Thurn, Frieda (Thurn) Ketterling, Alice (Woehl) Buerkley, Elizabeth Gross, Lorraine (Meidinger) Kaseman, Lillian (Schwind) Sayler, Ida (Schilling) Meidinger, Trieda (Stroller) Grenz, Eldena (Becker) Rau, Eva (Fuhrer) Schmidt, Christina (Kagle) Wagner, Christina (Werner) Sayler, and Eleanor (Kautz) Plater.
Book review by Anna Marquardt, Angelo State University, San Angelo, Texas, April 2018
“Arbeit macht das Leben süß.”
Through the use of photography and life anecdotes, Sue B. Balcom is able to create a narrative of what it was like for the women behind the plow in the North Dakota counties of Emmons, Logan, and McIntosh. Each woman has a story to tell and Balcom is able to portray those stories through the wonderful photos attached to each chapter. The women in this book share their memories of farm life and the hard work they put into each and every day. This book doesn’t read like a novel, but instead, like an afternoon spent in the company of these strong women hearing their stories and reveling in the nostalgia. The German Russian women featured in this book make the reader feel as if they know these women. There is a sense of community and family portrayed in this book that brings readers along for the journey and integrates them fully into the community of German Russian life. This is a fascinating and incredible book that captivates audiences of all heritages and backgrounds. Remembering these stories brings us a rich knowledge of the past and a remembrance for the future.
Comments about the book:
“This book is a great gift of love. Buy it, read it, cherish it; and buy it for your daughters and granddaughters. These collected stories, a must-read for the next generation of Dakota Germans, or those who have their roots on the prairie, reveal a deep strength and dignity of the prairie women, who alongside their men, labored in their garden and their fields and on the haystacks; tough, generous women to whom we all owe so much.” - Ronald Vossler, author, former University of North Dakota English Professor, Wishek, North Dakota
“The efforts by the Tri-County Tourism Alliance, and author Sue Balcom, continue the important work documenting and celebrating the Germans from Russia. The true culture of a community can be illustrated in everyday life by everyday people. Women Behind the Plow is a perfect example of everyday life that often goes unheralded but in reality was and still is the heartbeat of the family and community.” - Claudia Berg, Director, State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck
“These large families and insatiable work ethic proved up quarters of land, and made a new home for themselves. It did not come easy, it was unyeilding work, but men, women and children alike rose to the challenge, spending long hours doing backbreaking work. Work became something to be conquered, and then something to be proud of, and then something to be grateful for. Women Behind the Plow chronicles that experience, so different from our own. It is a powerful story these women tell in their own words and pictures form the past. It is a story not be be forgotten.” - Carmen Rath-Wald, President, Tri-County Tourism Alliance
“Women Behind the Plow celebrates the beauty, perserverance and family life of these prairie women in Emmons, Logan and McIntosh counties. As daughters of Gemans from Russia immigrants to America, they share the historic traits of their ancestors – loving family, hard work and Christian faith. This impressive new book is a living tribute to these mothers and grandmothers who stand tall as our unsung heroes in our Germans from Russia community on the plains of the Dakotas. The Tri-County Tourism Alliance has published a lasting tribute to these wonderful women and their legacy for their families and to their rural communities.” - Michael M. Miller, Director and Bibliographer, Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, North Dakota State University Libraries, Fargo
"A hundred years ago, women's work included hitching up a team of horses and muscling a two-or four-bottom plow across a field. The pivotal role farm wives played in agriculture at the turn of the century is illustrated in a new booked entitled "Women Behind the Plow." The book explains how pioneer mothers and daughters got their hands dirty and calloused during planting and harvest seasons.
It took team work to put a crop in the ground when animals were used to drag plows back and forth untold times, to seed hundreds of acres of wheat, barley or oats. "It wasn't easy but it worked," said Violet Diegel, Wishek. Violet Diegel remembers her sisters didn't enjoy taking turns holding the reigns when it came to using horsepower. When Frieda Ketterling was ten years old, she was assigned the task of getting teams of horses ready to do a day's work. "Take the harness and put the collar on first and put the harness on their backs, close all the belts and hitch them to the wagon, Oh yeah, we always did that," said Frieda Ketterling, Wishek.
Alice Kramer says horses, were used every day for a lot more than just plowing. "They cut hay with horses, we used to rake with horses, we hauled all the hay home with horses," said Alice Kramer, Linton. Alice, Frieda and Violet are three of the 20 farm wives featured in a "Women Behind the Plow."
"These women contributed so much to the growth of the state in the early homestead days, yet you never really heard anything about them, they don't brag about what they do, they don't even think their contributions were worthwhile, so we decide to give them the credit they deserve," said Sue Balcom, Author. In addition to lending a helping hand during planting and harvest seasons, women were responsible for many other daily chores like cooking and raising children. "I remember I had a child and I'd have to run back and forth to the house to check on her, she was in her crib, and I was out in the barn milking cows," said Diegel.
"Women Behind the Plow" took three years to write and features more than 400 vintage photographs that illustrate what life was like before electricity and tractors reduced the work load for families living on a farm. The North Dakota Heritage Center debuted a temporary photo exhibit in conjunction with the publication of "Women Behind the Plow"." - Cliff Taylor, KFYR Television, Bismarck, ND, 7 May 2017
About the author:
Sue B. (Kaseman) Balcom lives along the Missouri River north of Mandan, N.D.. It has been her dream to be a writer since she learned to read. In grade school, she wrote poetry, which her mother proudly saves. The penciled words and Chieftain tablet pages have since faded. In 2001, she began working as the editor of the Mandan News. Under the wings of a former News editor and friend, Ken Rogers, Sue began diligently polishing her skills as an editor, photographer and writer.
