Dream Chasers of the West: A Homestead Family of Glacier Park

by B.L. Wettstein

Dream Chasers of the West is the true story of Clara Augusta Miller, an intrepid woman determined to create a new life for herself in the American West. In 1913, unmarried and alone at the age of thirty, Clara left Minnesota and headed to Montana to file a homestead on free land. Impervious to the dangers that awaited her, Clara thought she could find happiness with a piece of land and a Jersey cow, but life wasn't that simple. Clara settled on the remote southern border of Glacier National Park. It was a time when neighbors helped each other to survive, and when men were tough, but the women were tougher. In many ways, Clara's story is the story of countless settlers who were destined to leave their impact on the West, people who experienced despair and anguish, and whose graves lie largely unmarked and unvisited. B.L. Wettstein spent three years researching Clara's life and legacy, including oral interviews with people who knew Clara. Much of this fast paced book is based on Clara's remarkable letters to friends and family. It includes a collection of historic photos of Clara, her family, and the places she lived and worked.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2010

Reviews

[Elinor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The true story of a single woman who attempted to homestead in Montana. I say attempted because she never made it -- she married instead, and accompanied her new husband to an even more remote site in what is now Glacier National Park. The book is well-written, with some truly horrific incidents (such as having the entire roof blow off their house in a blizzard). Having said that, it tends to be a little dry in places as is often the case with non-fiction stories when the author is being faithful to events, dates, and places. Clara's story wasn't particularly uplifting, filled with hardship and heartache, but that is the case, sadly, for many who tried to make it in an unforgiving world.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for a pioneer/homesteader's story, and Clara Smiley is one tough cookie. Wettstein is a good storyteller for the most part who keeps the book moving forward.

[Jodie Toohey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Dream Chasers of the West: A Homestead Family of Glacier Park at a souvenir shop during my trip to Glacier National Park last month. I was intrigued by the back of the book description about Clara Miller who left Minnesota at thirty and unmarried in 1913 to homestead in Montana. The fact that it was a true story intrigued me more.

I've long time been a fan of the history of people and things - more of the development through time rather than politics. Clara Miller Smiley's story was no different. Though it's a biography, Clara's story (and her family's) is told like fiction. It's full of dialogue, description, and showing rather than telling. There are occasional paragraphs where the author writes an aside or wonders about what Clara may have been thinking at the time; though these asides weren't necessary, they were brief and didn't detract from my reading.

In the interest of avoiding spoilers, I will just say that Clara experienced joy in her life but also incredible hardship. She lived through the depression and worked in the new tourism industry, all while trying to find her true self and follow her passion. Clara, always a storyteller, dreamed of being a writer and publisher; maybe she didn't achieve literary fame but I'm certain she entertained dozens of people with her stories, usually a writer's goal anyway.

If you have been to Glacier National Park or are just interested in pioneering stories, you will enjoy this book.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up two books before leaving Glacier National Park; one a suspense novel by a local author and this non-fiction account of what it was like for a single 30-year-old woman to move from her oppressed family farm in Minnesota to homestead in Montana, near East Glacier. The hardships Clara Miller Smiley endured were unbelievable. Fire, drought, loneliness to name just a few. But, she persevered. She eventually married and this opened up a whole new set of challenges for her. There was happiness but again, much hardship. What was most heartbreaking for me to read was when she sent her children to Minnesota for what was to be a very short period of time but ended up being eight years. When her children returned, she did not know them nor could she relate to them. Wettstein does a credible job of describing what Clara’s life was like, through her letters and writings and in talking with her daughter, whom the author knew from childhood. The photos were also a very nice addition to the book and were well-documented with captions of who/what/where.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I live near the location of this homesteading biography, I didn't know much about the era. The subject of this book was Clara Miller who left her home in Minnesota in 1913 to homestead, by herself, in central Montana. After two miserable years of failure, she moved to Browning where she met her future husband, Glenn, who owned a homestead at the southern boundary of Glacier National Park. Their stop on the rail line was merely a 'slow-down'. The train slowed down to let them jump off - a discouraging beginning to her married life. Clara prevailed, had two children, and when the homestead failed, moved to East Glacier Park with her family and opened a store/inn. After a few happy years, Glenn died and the Depression forced her to send her children back to Minnesota to live with her sister.
Although Clara's life was melancholy toward the end, I found it interesting to have a glimpse into the early years of Montana and the Park at our doorstep.

[Margaret Desmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart-wrenching, eye-opening, inspirational. A vivid account of the hardships Montana homesteaders endured in the early 1900s. Many of the scenes brought tears to my eyes - rare for non-fiction. As the author drew most of her descriptions from Clara Smiley's writing, I'm left with the wish that Clara had been able to fulfill her dream of being a published author. Maybe that happened in her next life. I hope so. As I live 40 minutes from Glacier Park, I plan to visit the place where Clara lived and honor her spirit.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

After visiting Glacier National Park I was yearning for a description of those hearty settlers who struggled to make a life in the gorgeous but brutal land. Now there are roads, a beautiful park and a thriving tourist industry, but in 1913 it was a hard life and most could not stay on to survive the 9 months of winter, wildlife, wildfires and painfully hard work. I love this part the country and truly admire the pioneer spirit. This was a perfect book to understand and appreciate it.

[Dona · Rating 4 out of 5]

After visiting Glacier National Park I wanted to read more about it. This story is about Clara Miller and her wanting to be an independent woman away from her family in Minnesota. Tells of her homesteading near cousins in eastern area of Montana. She doesn't find the climate to her liking but meets up with a young man who owns property near Glacier National Park. She goes with him - settles in, has children, moves closer to town. Read of her adventures in the early years of 1900's.

[Rae Wetzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend gave me this book and I thought yeah OK, but my expectations were low. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. I love history, and historical fiction is my favorite genre, and this delivered! It read like fiction. The author did a nice job sharing the true and captivating story of Clara Augusta Miller Smiley and her family. Thank you for your research, B.L. Wettstein.

[Rosanna]

Wonderful book! It's about a 30 year old single woman who moves from Wisconsin to Montana in the early 1900's. She wants to own and farm her own land. Very interesting story of the hardships on the Montana land.

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

While interesting in the details of the physical hardships faced by these people, the book suffered, and suffered badly, from careless publishing. The copy I had was missing the last 20 pages of the final chapter. Oh, there were 20 pages there, but they were repeats of earlier pages. Perhaps the ending would have produced a better view of the main character, Clara, had the proper pages been included. This writer can only hope that my copy was an anomaly, and that other readers could get the 'rest of the story'.

[Florence · Rating 4 out of 5]

100 years ago this March, Clara Miller, a 30 year old unmarried woman from Minnesota boarded the Great Northern bound for Montana. She had grand plans of filing for a homestead and carving out a life for herself on the vast Plains of Montana. This biography, written by her great niece chronicles Clara's life, and gives us a look into ways past, a time when "Men were tough, and their women tougher."

[Carol Wakefield · Rating 4 out of 5]

A marvelous tale of an independent woman , Clara, and her attempts to homestead in the west. The author uses letters and interviews to bring Clara to life. Asa result the writing is somewhat stilted (maybe why clara was not able to sell her writings to publishers). However Clara lived just outside Gacier Park before there was much development and her story is amazing, both in the difficulty of her life and in her unwillingness to change that life when she had opportunity to do so.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this. A true story of an independent lady in the early 20th century. It would take a lot of nerve for a single woman in 2011 to take off for a new frontier by herself with limited means, but in 1915? The author writes a very interesting story with respect for her ancestor without the tendency to sugar-coat unwise or unflattering actions or traits. Now I really want to visit Montana!

[Candy Gross · Rating 3 out of 5]

The history is interesting because I live in the area she talks about, which is exciting. But it is rather dry and not very personal. It's hard to connect with the characters, but then again this is based off of a true story. It is written very matter of fact. I will leave it at that. Also I didn't finish it, I became too bored.

[Rena Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially because it takes place close to where I live. I'm looking forward to seeing the historical sites mentioned this summer.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this book. It really gives you and idea what living in the early 1900's was like. If you enjoy Montana History I would highly recommend this book.

[Kimb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing is amateur but the intent is sincere and the story is fascinating. I only wish it had a happier ending.

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting life led by a plucky lady! Makes one really glad to be living in modern times!