When the Meadowlark Sings: A Montana Memoir

by Nedra Sterry

Born in 1918 in Fort Benton, Montana, Nedra Sterry has crafted a powerful memoir of life on the Montana prairies and a childhood defined in equal measure by poverty and grace, hard work and family ties. The daughter of hailed-out homesteaders, Sterry grew up in a succession of very remote one-room schoolhouses in northern and central Montana, where her mother, a teacher, eked out a living.

Sterry married a wheat farmer and raised five children of her own on the Montana Hi-Line, and she learned young to take pleasure where she found in porcupine hunts, Saturday night dances, well-told stories, and the meadowlark's song. Clear-eyed and decidedly unsentimental, Sterry traces her family through the homesteading boom, the Great Depression, World War II, and the postwar advancements brought by rural electrification. In doing so, she offers remarkable insight -- and a woman's perspective -- on family, work, and life in 20th century Montana.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, History

232 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2003

Reviews

[Valerity (Val) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful look back at how it was growing up in Montana back in the early days. Before there was electricity and indoor plumbing. This book was written by the daughter of a school teacher who had several children she raised on her own and often had to hunt for work from one year to the next, moving them along with her. It was all a huge adventure and struggle and makes for quite a story as they do all they can to get by. The story then goes on to tell about the girl growing up and marrying a young man who also taught school for a while, then went back to help his folks on their farm during the war and after. Then as the parents became aged, they ended up being the ones to take it over and had their own large family.

This book appealed greatly to me, as my father's own early family homesteaded in Kalispell, Montana. My late father, aunt, grandmother, great-grandmother and her twin sister and 2 other sisters all were born there on the farm. My parents took us there as kids on a vacation once to see it, and I still have memories of the beauty of the place with the mountains in the background and the pond in the front. Some of us kids were to sleep in the hayloft of the old barn and were telling ghost stories when suddenly the big yardlight on the pole outside went out that had been shining in through the open upper hayloft door of the barn. You never heard such a howl go up until the adults came out and rescued us kids from that spooky old barn. But the taste of the cooking and baking those ladies did was out of this world and made us forget all about it the next day. That was the first time I ever heard of huckleberries and picked them.

They outlived all of their husbands and stayed on the farm into their 90s, when my grandmother moved them to Oregon where she was currently living to look after them. They all worked hard, ate healthy farm food that they grew themselves, and they all lived to their mid-nineties, as did my grandmother. The homestead remains in the family to this day, with the original house having been modernized. It's always made me a fan of reading pioneer stories and watching westerns and reading about them. So all of this made reading the book about other Montana pioneer families really enjoyable and I'm going to continue looking for others too.

[Amber Plant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not a typical book. It's a collection of memories from the author's childhood, which occurred all over rural Montana. I thought this book was charming! My grandma (who just turned 100) was the born a year after the author and also grew up in rural Montana. I still love hearing her childhood memories even though I've heard them dozens of times. My only issues with the book is that the first half didn't go in chronological order and had a lot of characters so it was a little confusing. This book will make you appreciate the modern age we live in!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was…fine. I really enjoyed many of Nedra’s stories of growing up in Montana, but I struggled with the toxicity of all the men in her life. Luckily I get to write an entire paper on that for my Montana History class.
Really though this was her life and appreciate her sharing it with us. This was an intimate view of growing up in the one state that didn’t have a roaring 20’s, continued to suffer exponentially during the war, and struggled to regain footing afterwards as well. A state of vast geography and harsh winters and unforgiving farmland that just barely kept Nedra and her family alive.

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wouldn't I love to have a memoir such as this from either of my parents or any of my grandparents!

The author grew up in the same generation as my parents and so experienced many of the same things they did but from her different perspective and experience. Like my mother's parents, her mother taught in remote dry farm one-room schools in the northwest -- her's in Montana and my mother's in Idaho.

One comes to appreciate the work and sacrifice, the hopes and dashed hopes, of those who settled the last of the great west and lived through the depression and World War II. We have hardly imagine it now, with the government assistance programs, the infrastructure of roads and utilities and education.

One also appreciates the conveniences and comforts we enjoy today. Any memoir prompts me to consider what I would include in mine.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not written by a professional writer, but none-the-less was quite enjoyable. It's nice to read a book that is just written in plain speech, without the author trying to be poetic or flowery. Just a woman writing about her life, growing up in Montana in the '20s & '30s, her own marriage and having children, and ending with her later years. She led a very interesting life, and I found this a very good read.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of memories. A wonderful bridge from the past to today. The honesty of the telling is overwhelming. I really liked the quote Nedra opened her story with "Without stories, in some very real sense, we do no know who we are or who we might become." by William Kittredge, Hole in the Sky.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Nedra's stories of her life. In part, it made me think of my mother who also grew up with school teacher parents, moving from school to school in the Idaho winters. The kindle version has some scrambled chapters, making a section of the book confusing to follow, but I'm rating this on the storytelling, not the formatting.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a collection of memories of growing up in in the 20's and 30's eastern Montana and along the Hi-Line. Nedra's mother was a single mom who supported her family as a one room school teacher. Talk about a hard life! I loved reading about all the places in MT that I love.

[Robert Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 Stars,
This book has a really special place with me in a way that very few, when reading historical books, feel and that is because it takes place across the state I have lived in my whole life and more closely across the towns and areas and people I have lived with all my life. I have never felt more understanding and personally in the setting of a book than with this. On top of that personal connection with place I find that the beauty of the people is not lost on me either, a warm appreciation for my people has been fostered.
While these so incline me to favor this book however, I do think that it has some fair flaws that need to be addressed. It is obvious that this was not done by a “professional writer” as we expect our novels to be done by today. The structure and format seems to need a little more editing as well as the repetition of vocabulary. Chronology was my biggest confusion as we often bounce back and forth between times, 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Regardless I recognize that it’s incredibly a woman wrote this so late in life and with such life. If you can look past these flaws, especially if you are from Montana, this is a must read.

[IrishFan · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book was left in my little free library and I thought it looked interesting so I set it aside to read. It was good, but not great. The stories were written well enough and told me about the author's life, but I didn't like how it went back and forth in time. Since the stories were sort of stand alone, I wonder why they weren't put in chronological order? Was a little bit off putting. overall an enjoyable quick read.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was like listening to my grandma tell me stories when I was a kid. All over the place, but it makes sense, it always made sense to me. The trials that our grandparents and great grandparents dealt with just to survive are epic, compared to our worlds worries today. Great book!

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this - made me think of my grandmother who taught in a small school in Montana and of the hardy, resilient people who homesteader here.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt like I was present in Nedra's life.

[Marjorie O'Rourke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A memoir about growing up in rural Montana during the 1920s and '30s. The story follows her from living with her single mother, who was a teacher, to the death of her husband in 1997.

[Becky Hawkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read! It's a series of memories/stories from Nedra's life living in Montana. It left me wanting to know more details.

[Maddy Malm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't seen writing this beautiful and enthralling in so long!

[Maddie Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t usually rate memoirs because they are vulnerable and real stories….. but this one was SO GOOD. I felt like I knew her through her storytelling

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for my class on Montana History. It is well written and is a great insight into how the life of an ordinary girl changed alongside the modernisation of Montana and America in the early 20th century. Nedra doesn’t shy away from talking about the good, bad and ugly and the result is an authentic look into the complicated but meaningful journey of her life. The ending is pretty sad but it does justice to the authentic nature of the book.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always been fascinated by pioneers and life on the frontier - something about self-reliance or isolation, maybe? This is a great look at coming of age along the Montana Hi-Line. The pages just turn themselves.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting out, I thought this book would be a little dry, but once I picked it up, the pages seemed to turn themselves. I felt such a personal connection to Nedra. My grandparents were children in the Depression and parents of young children during the war years. I also grew up in Montana, daughter of a single parent, teacher mother. My husband is a farmer, like Nedra's husband, and we're raising our family on the highline in North Dakota. I felt like Nedra and her family were members of MY family.

I enjoyed the way she writes through her own eyes in her various ages. For example: when she writes about when she was 4 years old and her sister Betty Lou was born, we get the story from the confused perspective of a little girl who doesn't understand why her mother can't take care of her when she's injured.

I highly recommend this book. It's well-written and touching.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. A simply told story about a simple everyday Montana life. But for someone who also lives a simple everyday life it was an excellent read. I am a working mom and so was Nedra Sterry, but our lives could not be more different due to the luxuries we have today. That is what makes this such an interesting read.
I love reading history about the amazing state that I call home. It's interesting to learn how people lived in the past. How raising children, cooking dinners, doing laundry etc where done so differently than they are today.
This book was simply written, in a "I'm just telling straight" fashion, but this does not make the story of Nedra's life any less interesting. Even though it was a different time, as a woman, you can relate to her trials and tribulations. I found myself smiling, laughing and crying right along with her.
This book is worth the read.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir held my interest for so many reasons. It covers the era of my grandparents and parents in Montana, where I have some connection. It demonstrates just how much changed in that century and I found it compelling.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable memoir about a woman's life on a Montana farm. Makes me glad I don't farm and grateful for electricity and running water.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story because it was a true story and it gave me an insight into early Montana life.

[Laura Christoffersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful story of growing up in Montana. It makes me want to visit the places and see these sights with my own eyes.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really fantastic! I can't believe it was on my bookshelf for over a year before I finally read it.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't like memoirs

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling and well written. A great choice for Montana history buffs.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hardships that families lived through in the early 20th century never fails to amaze me.