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Leora's Early Years: Guthrie County Roots
During Leora Goff’s early decades, she gathered the tenacity, optimism and hope she would need throughout her long life. When she married Clabe Wilson, they became forged into parents who would shepherd their own family through two more great eras of world and local history--the Great Depression and WWII.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 17, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 2, 2022
Leora’s Early Years: Guthrie County Roots is the third book I’ve read by Joy Neal Kidney featuring her maternal grandmother Leora Goff Wilson. What I’m finding particularly intriguing is that the three books tell the story of Leora’s life in reverse chronological order, starting with the trauma of losing three of her five sons in World War II (Leora’s Letters), then going back in time to the Great Depression when Leora and her husband Clabe struggled to keep their family housed and fed (Leora’s Dexter Stories), and now, in Leora’s Early Years, her childhood, extended family, and antecedents.
With each book, I have gained further insights into this remarkable woman’s life and character, how she could stay strong and well-grounded when faced with so much adversity and personal heartache. As a reader, I have the sense that I’ve been following Kidney’s own quest to discover the answer to this same question after learning of the death of her three young uncles in World War II. I am grateful to her for seeking out Leora’s story and sharing it with the world in three well-written and engaging books. Coming to know Leora through her granddaughter’s books has enriched my own life, and coming to know Guthrie County through these books means I no longer consider Iowa a “fly-over state.”
Leora’s Early Years is further proof that Joy Neal Kidney is a master story-teller. She seamlessly weaves creative nonfiction with multiple primary sources, including postcards, newspaper stories, photographs, and Leora’s written accounts of her earliest memories.
The book is a well-structured and enjoyable read. The majority of the short chapters discuss major life events for the family, such as births, deaths, and marriages. Other chapters chronicle major events for the country and their impact on Leora’s family, including World War I, the Spanish Influenza pandemic, and the Nineteenth Amendment. Interspersed throughout the book are lighter family anecdotes, such as “The Jail Escapade” and “Clabe Bobs His Wife’s Hair” (two of my favorite chapters). The book also gives a good sense what daily life was like for average families in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth.
In addition to highly-recommending Leora’s Early Years across a wide spectrum of readers, I also highly-recommend it for book clubs, libraries, and history courses. A list of thought-provoking questions is included in the back of the book to facilitate discussion.
With each book, I have gained further insights into this remarkable woman’s life and character, how she could stay strong and well-grounded when faced with so much adversity and personal heartache. As a reader, I have the sense that I’ve been following Kidney’s own quest to discover the answer to this same question after learning of the death of her three young uncles in World War II. I am grateful to her for seeking out Leora’s story and sharing it with the world in three well-written and engaging books. Coming to know Leora through her granddaughter’s books has enriched my own life, and coming to know Guthrie County through these books means I no longer consider Iowa a “fly-over state.”
Leora’s Early Years is further proof that Joy Neal Kidney is a master story-teller. She seamlessly weaves creative nonfiction with multiple primary sources, including postcards, newspaper stories, photographs, and Leora’s written accounts of her earliest memories.
The book is a well-structured and enjoyable read. The majority of the short chapters discuss major life events for the family, such as births, deaths, and marriages. Other chapters chronicle major events for the country and their impact on Leora’s family, including World War I, the Spanish Influenza pandemic, and the Nineteenth Amendment. Interspersed throughout the book are lighter family anecdotes, such as “The Jail Escapade” and “Clabe Bobs His Wife’s Hair” (two of my favorite chapters). The book also gives a good sense what daily life was like for average families in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth.
In addition to highly-recommending Leora’s Early Years across a wide spectrum of readers, I also highly-recommend it for book clubs, libraries, and history courses. A list of thought-provoking questions is included in the back of the book to facilitate discussion.
January 15, 2023
A right of passage story about having tenacity,optimism and hope to navigate all of life's stages.Leora Frances Goff was the eldest daughter and first child of Milton Sheridan "Sherd" and Laura Arminta Goff (nee Jordan).Her younger siblings were Merl,Wayne,Georgia,Jennings,Rolla,Ruby,Willis,Perry,Clarence, and Virgil.The Goff family was a tight and close-knit one.
Agriculture is a core of Iowan life.Most of the people who moved to Iowa were farm families,and they had to start from scratch.Pioneer families relied on poultry for 3 major purposes:meat,eggs,and money.Corn,oats,hay,rye,soy beans,and sorghum were the most common crops on turn-of-the-century Iowa farms.Commonly raised farm animals included sheep,chickens,hogs,cows,beef cattle,ducks,geese,and turkeys.Women raised large gardens that provided most of the family's food.Girls helped their mothers with housework and childminding, and boys helped their fathers out in the fields and barns.Everyone's work went according to the seasons.
Leora married Claiborne Daniel "Clabe" Wilson in 1914.Clabe was the son of Daniel Ross and Georgia Ann Wilson(nee Williams).He had a half-brother Fred from his mother's first marriage,Rectha,Alice, and Verna.Clabe came from a turbulent household, but he found happiness with Leora and the family they made together.
Guthrie County has the adjacent counties of Greene,Dallas,Adair,Audubon and Caroll.Cities include Coon Rapids,Panora,and Stuart.There are Unincorporated communities such as Monteith,Morrisburg,and Dale City.
Many families experienced tragedy such as children,siblings,parents and other relatives dying mostly from disease,but also in accidental and unexpected ways too.Back then, people saw life as more influenced by fate and divine will.As they couldn't control these forces,they resolved to do the best they could in life,accepting that the rest of the chips would fall where they would.Some suffering was inevitable.It is important that we make the most of our lives,regardless of how good or bad things may seem,life goes on-just ensure we go with it.
Agriculture is a core of Iowan life.Most of the people who moved to Iowa were farm families,and they had to start from scratch.Pioneer families relied on poultry for 3 major purposes:meat,eggs,and money.Corn,oats,hay,rye,soy beans,and sorghum were the most common crops on turn-of-the-century Iowa farms.Commonly raised farm animals included sheep,chickens,hogs,cows,beef cattle,ducks,geese,and turkeys.Women raised large gardens that provided most of the family's food.Girls helped their mothers with housework and childminding, and boys helped their fathers out in the fields and barns.Everyone's work went according to the seasons.
Leora married Claiborne Daniel "Clabe" Wilson in 1914.Clabe was the son of Daniel Ross and Georgia Ann Wilson(nee Williams).He had a half-brother Fred from his mother's first marriage,Rectha,Alice, and Verna.Clabe came from a turbulent household, but he found happiness with Leora and the family they made together.
Guthrie County has the adjacent counties of Greene,Dallas,Adair,Audubon and Caroll.Cities include Coon Rapids,Panora,and Stuart.There are Unincorporated communities such as Monteith,Morrisburg,and Dale City.
Many families experienced tragedy such as children,siblings,parents and other relatives dying mostly from disease,but also in accidental and unexpected ways too.Back then, people saw life as more influenced by fate and divine will.As they couldn't control these forces,they resolved to do the best they could in life,accepting that the rest of the chips would fall where they would.Some suffering was inevitable.It is important that we make the most of our lives,regardless of how good or bad things may seem,life goes on-just ensure we go with it.
August 9, 2024
Enjoyed!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews