North Dakota Books

Book review by Ingeborg Wallner Smith, Western Springs, Illinois

We first meet Gottlob Lerch, the son, at age eleven, as he is lying in the grass, dreaming, herding cattle on his father's homestead on the Great Plains of North Dakota. He is unhappy with his fate. In Russia, from which the family has recently immigrated, the land was fenced in, and poorly paid farmhands were available to herd the cattle. The author, Mr. Urban, sets an idyllic scene with bees, honey, flowers and oxen.

After the birth of three daughters, Gottlob Lerch finally had a son. He was so happy that he cried out, "Praise God", (in German Gott Lob), and that, naturally, became the son's name. He was not named after his father, but to thank God that the son had finally appeared.

Now that he has emigrated from Russia and is homesteading in North Dakota, the welfare of his son and heir is the most important thing to Lerch. While sons-in-law can shift for themselves and make their own way, the son must have it easier than the father, and should start out with his own house on his own acreage. The free land available in North Dakota fit right in with Lerch's plans, and was one reason the family left Russia.

This is a homesteading story with a twist. This homesteader is not only an immigrant from Russia, but is the descendant of the German farmers invited to Russia by Catherine, the Great, to populate and cultivate her new southern lands. After numerous broken promises over the years, many Russian Germans left for the American Great Plains. A number of them went to North Dakota. The best-known descendants of these Russian Germans in the U.S. have been the bandleader, Lawrence Welk of North Dakota, and Tom Daschle of South Dakota.

"Lerch wa a proud countryman, massive and gnarled like an oak. He could count up his forefathers unto the fifth generation, and was convinced that man's destiny was to cultivate the land and to preserve it."

He not only has to cope with the usual problems of most homesteaders, he has the language problem and needs to get used to unfamiliar laws and customs, including a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages. No beer garden here. We get the flavor of the difficulties encountered on the prairie, with drought, hail, snow and disaster, not to mention misunderstandings within the family, and with the bank and the real estate salesman. We hear about the even harder struggles of earlier homesteaders; in South Dakota one heated with cow dung. North Dakota is lucky to have brown coal, or lignite.

Interwoven with the happenings on the farm and within the family, is the story of the founding of a Lutheran congregation together with the neighbors. There are many crises in both stories. Lerch shows himself to be a hothead and to have a great hunger for land. There are discussions about what to expect of a pastor, where to build the church and preacher's house, who will join and what about synods. We also hear about their arguments and irritations.

The author's prose is beautifully compact. It contains humor and is charming with an old-fashioned lilt. The farmers speak colloquially among themselves; with the preachers their language is more formal. The main character, Gottlob, Sr., is fully developed, his wife, Christine, less so; we are fairly well-acquainted with the son, Gottlob, Jr., but scarcely get to know the girls at all. We know the neighbors better than we know Dora, Jakobine and Marie.

Like many a man today, Lerch gets himself into hot water by overextending himself in land deals. As in all good stories, we have suspense, tragedy and near-tragedy. The plot resolves itself in a happy ending.

While this story seems to be about the elder Gottlob, the fates of both Gottlobs, father and son, are intertwined. Each has his crisis and overcomes it. In the end they "go off into the sunset together."

Sometimes a book about the olden days transports us back to simpler but harder times. Having hoed thistles in the cornfields of my father's Wisconsin hobby farm, I felt right at home with this story and found it fascinating. I would recommend it to both older and younger readers because of it univeral themes: family feeling, greed, competitiveness, ambition, piety. They obviously won't have any personal memories of the 19th century, but will enjoy the book because they like interesting stories from long ago. Gottlob Lerch, the book, is relevant today for its inward truths: "It is better to get rich slowly," and: "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." How true! Small acts cast long shadows.

This is a charming short piece, a novella, long out of print, probably found in someone's attic. It was written in Mr. Urban's native German, apparently in the late 1800's. He is obviously familiar with his subject. Perhaps, like Gottlob Lerch, he was also a "German from Russia."

Book review by Carol Just Halverson, St. Louis Park, Minnesota

There once was a person who grew-up in North Dakota and dreamed about traveling to places with a different landscape of mountains and valleys, lakes and trees and bustling cities where excitement waited at every turn. That person left the prairie in search of place, found a new geography and settled down. After a few years, memories of the broad North Dakota horizon with it's trademark golden grain fields and stands of sunflowers in tall salute beckoned that person to listen once again for the distant call of the Western Meadowlark.

Whether you are the person longing to revisit the North Dakota prairie, or you are lucky enough to live there, plan to read Philo T. Pritzkau's recently published novel, Growing Up in North Dakota: A Memoir.

Pritzkau, retired Professor of Education at the University of Connecticut, is the son of German-Russian immigrant parents who homesteaded near Burnstad, Logan county, North Dakota in 1886. Born in 1902, Philo T. Pritzkau's first twenty years were spent on his parent's homestead and, while the text is written in the 1990's, it is the memory of Pritzkau's prairie youth that supplies every detail in this narrative of life in the first decades of the 20th century on the North Dakota prairie.

Anyone with the mildest curiosity about rural life at the turn of the century will not only enjoy, but can expect to learn a great deal from this memoir. Pritzkau doesn't assume his reader knows or understands farm or ranch life and painstakingly describes every step of rural life as he knew it. He includes details of the planting to harvest cycle, identifying various crops and their planting sequence, the haying and raking process, threshing, hauling, storing and selling grain, care of livestock, breaking horses, bartering eggs and cream, and the importance of the family poultry, garden and canning regimen. I value my rural North Dakota roots and the experiences of my ancestors more after reading Pritzkau's first person account of farm life.

Pritzkau doesn't stop there. He pays homage to both parents of their role in shaping his life, their support of his desire for higher education and keen interest in local and national politics. He also writes about his rural school experience and the mentors within his community who encouraged him to learn the critical thinking and debate skills that prepared him for a life-long career in the academic community.

Lest you think this memoir paints a portrait of a charmed life, think again! Pritzkau does not "sugar coat" rural life. He tells of year-round hard work from dawn to sundown, but there is no "poor me" message here, rather a dignified acceptance of his life as it happened.

The Pritzkau household was a dedicated partnership with a firm commitment to the land and each other. Father Pritzkau's dreams for his farm were balanced with mother Pritzkau's conservative opposition to debt, mirroring many successful farming endeavors across the prairie where partnership meant husbands and wives had a voice in the decision making process.

My favorite chapter, "Building the Granary" takes the reader from father Pritzkau's earliest dreams of a new granary to the finished product that remains standing today. While describing in detail the building process from start to finish, Pritzkau emphasizes the teamwork required by the entire family and the pride the family took in the finished product. He writes, "the basement walls are as strong today as they were when built over seventy years ago. That granary is really a monument to Dad's determination to build something that would last."

Root cellars, butchering, food ways, repairing harness, religion, hilarious tales of early family automobiles all await Pritzkau's readers. It is no surprise that his daughter, author Patricia Pritzkau MacLachlan, most famous for her novel Sarah, Plain and Tall and made-for-television movie of the same name, credits her father as the inspiration for many of the prairie stories in her own writing.

Perhaps all who read this book will be inspired to identify and share their stories and like the author will feel the life and landscape of the prairie in their soul. Philo T. Pritzkau shares his soul in Growing Up in North Dakota: A Memoir. It is good reading.

Carol Just Halverson, storyteller, writer and oral historian, grew up on a farm in LaMoure County, ND. Her company, LIFETIMES, a video-communications business, helps others identify and document their family stories.

As in most fiction dealing with Collins, you should really have a basic factual grounding about him before you read this novel. Fitzgibbon does not/not follow factual details in his book. However, the atmospherics ring completely true to what I've read about Collins, given that the author is engaging in speculation about how Collins may have felt and thought. Well-written, lyrical in many places, I couldn't put it down. However, if you like pragmatic, factual treatments, you may not like this as much as I did.

This book is not written in a particularly sprightly style and yet I found it a work fascinating in the extreme. It starts at the very beginning , and I am sorry it only goes up to 1966. The chapter on the Non-Partisan League (1915-1923) was the most interesting. And Bill Langer had a fascinating career, the account of which was made more attention-holding for me because I used to go to the Senate gallery when I was going to law school in Washington and listen to his orations. Unforgettable, since unique. This is a great and memorable book.

This is a terrific book! Anyone who has ever lived in a SD small town should have this on their coffee table. From the stars over Capa, a sheep show in Howard, & children on a swing in Millboro, to a wedding in Henry, bagpipes in Scotland, and an outdoor theatre in Redfield, Latza does a marvelous job of capturing the essence and spirit of life in a small town.

"Honoring the Grandmothers" is a slim book, barely bigger than your average sized pamphlet. Edited by Sarah Penman, a video and radio commentator living in Minnesota, the book is a collection of musings by four Dakota/Lakota grandmothers about traditional Indian knowledge and customs and how they relate to today's fast paced world. Penman captured the stories on tape over a period of years, working hard to overcome many obstacles to get the stories to us, the reader. There is little commentary on the stories; Penman allows them to speak for themselves. Two of the grandmothers have since passed away, but their words do continue to speak about maintaining dignity and culture in a world that likes to forget about the Indians and their way of life.

Celane Not Help Him is the first speaker presented in the book. Celane did not have an easy life; she lived in poverty for most of her life, with little formal education. Her family lost their property when the United States Air Force confiscated it during WWII for use as an artillery range. Celane is the granddaughter of Iron Hail, a Lakota who survived the Battle of Little Big Horn and the Wounded Knee massacre of 1890. Celane provides an oral history of Wounded Knee that is both enlightening in historical terms and depressing in an emotional sense. It is hard to read Celane's account, as her speaking skills do not land easily on an English-speaking ear. It is best to read the account straight through, and then think about it for a time. When this is done, Celane comes across as clear as a star in the sky.

The next set of stories comes from Stella Pretty Sounding Flute, a Wahpekute-Hunkpati Dakota. The Dakota people, like most Indians, had difficulties dealing with the burgeoning white population of America in the 19th century. After years of declining fortunes, an 1862 uprising in Minnesota brought down every bit of force the American government could muster on the Dakotas. The Dakota did not disappear, but scattered throughout Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota. Stella does not concern herself with these events as much as she does with the traditions she learned from her own grandparents. Her grandmother passed on skills and knowledge that no school can teach. Stella discusses the loss of the Black Hills, the traditions of pipe carrying, and spiritual beliefs.

The third storyteller is Cecilia Hernandez Montgomery. Cecilia is part Mexican, part Oglala Sioux, and part firecracker. This is one tough dame. Cecilia spent time in a Catholic school (back when they REALLY used the ruler), studied music, and worked herself dizzy at a series of low paying jobs. Cecilia really came into her own when she started a career as an activist in South Dakota, working hard to improve the living conditions of poor people (all poor people, not just Indians). She sits on many boards, committees, and still pounds the pavement when problems arise. She did all of this into her seventies and beyond, not only exploding the myth of the lazy Indian but also causing irreparable harm to the conception that old people cannot do anything of value.

The last narrative comes from Iola Columbus, a Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota. Like many other Indians, Columbus spent time in an Indian boarding school, where military discipline combined with strict adherence to corporeal punishment attempted to erase the "Indian" from the Indians. Columbus's story is different from the others because she went on to become the first woman elected to tribal chair in the state of Minnesota. She later founded a grandmother's society, where women elders can gather to share traditional knowledge with new generations.

"Honoring the Grandmothers" is really a book about the elderly and their marginalized role in American society. This is occurring not only in white society but in Indian society as well. A couple of the grandmothers lament the fact that their knowledge is not passed on, but disappearing as older members of Indian tribes pass away. In short, the same mentality (of the doddering old fool who is well past his/her prime) that leads whites to toss the elderly into nursing homes happens in Indian society as well. The elderly are rich sources of knowledge and culture in every society. We ignore them at our own peril.

A nice and quick story from Native American lore. Wonderful illustrations and simple storyline make it a great read for young-un's. This would be good fire-prevention fodder for fire prevention week and firefighters reading to kids.

This is a valuable book (resource) for budding entrepreneurs. It seems to try to cover all the bases for starting a small business, but it can't do them all well in the space available between its covers. The book is only 288 pages long. If you are in the planning stages of starting a small business, then I highly recommend you get a copy of this book. Read it, study it, and outline it. There are helpful checklists to help you grasp the subjects. You will come up with a plethora of keywords and terms that you will want to google to find Web pages giving more detailed (and maybe more current) information.

I am a SCORE counselor (Senior Corps of Retired Executives) who typically does face-to-face counseling sessions three nights a month. It would really be neat if my clients would read this book BEFORE they came to their session with me because they would pretty much be "educated customers" ready to ask educated questions. Our sessions would be so much more beneficial.

My favorite chapters were:

1. Initial business concerns
2. Your business' structure
3. Business start-up details
5. Sources of business assistance (SCORE is mentioned here)
7. Your smart business plan (and a good sample plan is included)
8. Obtaining the financing you need

The book is weak when it comes to how the Internet can be used in corresponding, hiring, and marketing. But this is just one example of how googling keywords and concepts found in the book will make the book more complete. Don't treat the book as authoritative on the law. It isn't. Nor was it ever intended to be. It is light on tax information as it relates to small business.

I was particularly impressed with the material presented in Chapter 2: Choice of Legal Entity. That subject is sorely ignored in most small business books, and it is critically important. It is a subject I regularly must spend a great deal of time discussing at my SCORE sessions. This book does a pretty good job on the topic.

Chapters 4 and 9 through 12 are easy to find fault with. The topic of each could fill a book. But having these topics covered definitely will help a budding entrepreneur know some of the issues they raise.

I would have liked the book more if Chapter 6 (marketing) had been less superficial. When I read it I got the impression that the author was more a public relations expert than a marketing expert. I generally categorize public relations as a subset of marketing. Marketing includes advertising, public relations, and a whole host of other promotion techniques. I did not get this message when I read the book. I also would have liked the book better if the Internet, email, and Web sites had been discussed more. But there are many books on those subjects. Therefore, I can't complain too much about the limited discussion of computers.

When you read this book it may feel a little like it was produced on an assembly line. Maybe it was? There are 51 versions of this book sold; one for each state and the District of Columbia. Content is king, and this book has it. 5 stars!

Excellent resource for anyone just beginning their walk. Although in some respects, all ceremonies will vary from Spiritual Leader to Spiritual Leader, this book gives a basic and authentic over-view of the Traditional Lakota ceremonies which does not violate the sacredness of them. It gives a novice an idea of the protocols and what might be expected. The author lived many years on the Rosebud Reservation and is a former Chairman of the Rosebud Medicine Men and Pastors organization.

"Iktomi and the Boulder" is the first in a series of stories about the trickster of the Lakota retold and illustrated by Paul Goble. Iktomi (pronounced "eek-toe-me") is the hero, so to speak, of a series of humorous stories. The trickster is a universal character in North American myths and legends, known by different names in different parts of the country. The common denominator is that Iktomi is always trying to get the better of others, but usually ends up being the one who looks foolish.

In this first story Iktomi is out walking along dressed in his best clothes, so that he looks like a real chief. The problem is that as he continues on his long walk under the hot sun Iktomi starts to wish that he had not put on so many clothes. While resting in the shade of a great boulder he comes up with the idea of leaving his blanket on top of the boulder so he does not have to carry it any farther. But he tells the blanket he is doing this so that the blanket can help the boulder keep the hot sun off of him. This sounds like generosity on Iktomi's part, but as soon he notices a storm cloud is coming he wants the blanket back. The thing is, the boulder is not happy with Iktomi taking back what he has given, and he goes after our hero. Who can possibly help Iktomi against an angry boulder?

Young readers will enjoy the ways in which Iktomi proves to be too clever for his own good. In story after story Iktomi proves himself to be a mischief maker who I always up to no good and getting himself into trouble. There are older stories about Iktomi in which the Creator entrusts him with those aspects of the Creation that people seem to be mistakes, such as earthquakes, floods, disease, flies, and, of course, mosquitoes. But Goble is focusing on those that make a point about Iktomi's behavior, even if the moral is never explicitly stated.

Goble does a couple of new things with this series of books that are different from his other retelling of Native American tales. Throughout the book Iktomi's thoughts are printed in small type and the text sometimes changes to italics so that the reader can let their listeners make comments about what Iktomi is doing. Goble usually asks a question that puts Iktomi's actions in a different light or point out his, um, inconsistencies (e.g., animals are almost always laughing at Iktomi). Goble actually wants listeners to make rude remarks about Iktomi, to really get into the spirit of the story. He also points out that at some point the storyteller should lift their forefinger for silence so that they can go on with the story.