The Checkered Years: A Bonanza Farm Diary, 1884-88

by Mary D. Woodward

Mary Dodge Woodward, a fifty-six-year-old widow, moved from Wisconsin with her two grown sons and a daughter to a 1,500-acre bonanza wheat farm in Dakota Territory's Red River valley in 1882. For five years she recorded the yearly farm cycle of plowing and harvesting as well as the frustrations of gardening and raising chickens, the phenomenon of mirages on the plains, the awesome blizzard of 1888, her reliance on her family, and her close relationship with her daughter. She noted "blots, mistakes, joys, and sorrows" in her "olf friend." This Borealis edition brings back to print a valuable record of a frontier woman's life.

"Mary Dodge Woodward's personal record of her life on a Dakota Territory 'bonanza farm' adds new detail and texture to the histories of both women and the West. . . . [She] wrote about what she saw: The epic procession of reapers and threshing crews, the wildflowers and birds, the stupendous mirages that could make the wintry prairie an optical wonderland." —Elizabeth Jameson, from the Introduction

Genres: Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 1989

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The property near Casselton, ND that we purchased in 2012 to build our small winery on was originally part of the Dalrymple/Cass Bonanza Farm, so it was very interesting to read the account of someone who lived nearby during the late 1800s. It's hard to imagine how people survived the weather and everything the Red River Valley threw at them, all without modern conveniences.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book particularly since I have lived in the Red River Valley for decades.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting snapshot of a woman's life. I think I especially enjoyed it because she mentions some of my family members as her neighbors. Their lives would have been very similar.

[John Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I live in Moorhead, MN, which Mary D. Woodward, back in the late 1880s could see the lights from at the bonanza farm that her family helped manage during the last half of that decade. The farm was about eight miles west of Fargo and the same distance from Mapleton. I have been walking the different towns of Cass and Clay Counties and decided to read it now. Her granddaughter took her diaries from those years, edited them down to mostly once-weekly entries. They give us a strong flavor of their life on the farm, the weather, the books they read, and the various family members, who had moved up from the warmer climes of central Wisconsin. It was interesting to compare temperatures. On May 15th, it had been in the 40s when I was out walking near there, but in 1884, it was 94 degrees in the morning. She wrote with wit and includes her funny poems that fit the days and those of many other poets she knew. It was a very enjoyable read, especially for those of us who know this local area well.

[Amber Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely amazing read. The updated version with the 30 page foreward had so many facts about the region and era. The foreward was a bit dry for that reason but it added to reading Mary's words.

When finishing, I felt like I was saying good bye to an old friend! I have the highest recommend to read this book!

Thank you Mary, for your words and story!

[JuniorCocoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this interesting because I grew up in the area. I was able to connect a number of her stories to stories told by my family about similar times. Also fun to guess exactly where their farm was in conversations with my siblings.