A daily farm diary that shows a woman who was unbelievably hard-working, a shrewd manager of her farm and home, steadfast in the face of pain and adversity, and both fiercely independent and strongly connected to a supportive community. This is a remarkable account of an average life. These published diaries of Louisa "Lulu" Ehrlichs Schwanbeck chronicle her life and work on her farm in Western Kansas spanning the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and World War II. Between 1935, when began her first diary, and 1938, she not only toiled against the stress of the Great Depression and the threats of the Dust Bowl but also suffered debilitating burns, a cancer diagnosis, and the loss of her husband. By 1940, she was a single woman in her early sixties overseeing the business and operations of a large, fully mortgaged family farm. As a farmer and a true Kansan, she faced these challenges head on with a powerful work ethic, strong determination, high spirits, and a strong community of support. Lulu had a verve for life and understood the importance of balancing work and play. Despite hard times and hard work, many of her entries ended with a simple note. "A grand day." This rare collection of diaries tells the individual story of one woman while also giving voice to the lives and experiences of countless women in twentieth-century rural America that have often been forgotten to history.
Veda Rogers enjoyed a varied career as housewife, mother, singer, voice instructor, actress, and bank officer. She and her late husband, Bruce, owned the summer theater, Vassar Playhouse, near Topeka, KS. Now retired, she lives in Highlands Ranch, CO.
Editor's Preface Acknowledgments Introduction by Melissa Walker: A Farmer's World on the Kansas Plains Lulu's Background Cast of Characters Map of Lulu's World Part I: Life as a Couple 1. 1935 3. 1936 Part II: Alone on Her Own 3. 1939 4. 1940 5. 1941 Part III: Life Gets Better 6. 1942 7. 1943 8. 1944 9. 1945 10. 1946 Part IV: More Progress 11. 1947 12. 1948 13. 1949 Part V: Relationship in the Fray 14. 1950 15. 1951 16. 1952 17. 1953 (January-July) 18. 1953 (August-December) 19. 1954 Index
"It is hard not to get swept up in the diaries of Kansas farm woman Lulu Ehrichs Schwanbeck! Spanning the Dust Bowl era to the mid-1950s, the entries show that Lulu was everywhere on the farm while also contending with challenges, changes, setbacks, and personal disappointments. Lulu's memorable perspective on enduring a hard life offers fresh insight into the experiences of twentieth-century Midwestern farm families."-Ginette Aley, co-editor of Union Heartland: The Midwestern Home Front during the Civil War "The details of day-to-day life on a western Kansas farm from 1935-1955 illuminate how the price for eggs was more relevant than Pearl Harbor and rural electrification more meaningful than the atom bomb. Combining diary and commentary, A Grand Day paints a rare and dignified portrait of a rural farm woman. Veda Rogers has done compelling work in organizing and annotating the diaries of Lulu Schwanbeck."-Tom Mitchell, editor of Early Stories by Tennessee Williams "A Grand Day casts a meditative spell through its recording of daily farm life where 'I just did the work' is the mantra at its unsentimental core. There are profound lessons here about what makes a 'grand day' and that might be one of the biggest surprises in the diaries of Lulu Ehrichs Schwanbeck. While her life could simply be viewed as ordinary-there is nothing ordinary about her determination and resilience as she deals with the never-ending rigors of running a farm in Western Kansas through blizzards and dust storms, unreliable hired help, and her own critical health challenges. Lulu was an extraordinary woman for whom hard work was therapy, and it's her clear-eyed observations that give us the opportunity to make meaning of our own lives and what might make any day grand."-James Still, Pulitzer-Prize and Emmy-nominated writer and director "This book should be a mandatory read for every young American, because it is a personal testimony to the fortitude that founded this nation. The historical context is excellent as Rogers pours through the old diaries of Lulu Schwanbeck, daughter of German immigrants who farmed the torturous farmlands of western Kansas. Through grueling World Wars, dust bowls, and the Great Depression, Lulu learned how to survive at the most basic levels and Rogers has captured that drive to not just survive, but to grow and be your best. It is wonderful reading and very inspiring."-Tad Pritchett, author of From Farm to Field: In their Own Words Stories of the Battle of the Bulge "As a born and raised Kansan, this volume brings to mind the grit, resolve and grace of my own grandmother. Strong plains women carried these traits daily."-Roger Cummings, artist "Farm diaries, with their familiar entries about endless food preparation, daily egg counts, repetitive farm chores, and welcome farm visitors, evoke nostalgia about the timeless routines of a simpler time. A Grand Day takes readers beyond those stereotypes by recounting one woman's experiences as a farmer tenaciously facing the midcentury business challenges of extreme weather, unreliable farmhands, and poor health, in the context of evolving social norms and modern technologies that were transforming North American agricultural practices. Veda Rogers makes clear that despite those challenges and changes, Lulu Schwanbeck's lifetime yielded a series of 'grand days' because she was firmly rooted within a web of complex family ties, a rich community life, and her own relentless work ethic."-Linda M. Ambrose, author of Pentecostal Preacher Woman: The Faith and Feminism of Bernice Gerard "Veda Rogers has painstakingly organized and annotated the fragmented diary of her grandmother-in-law, Lulu Schwanbeck, to provide the reader with valuable insights into the daily life of a western Kansas farm woman during a crucial historical period. Encompassing the years 1935-1955, A Grand Day covers an era of economic and environmental disaster, world war, and technological change. Schwanbeck's diary entries offer information on the experiences of farm women in general during this turbulent time while also revealing her own unique story."-Katherine Jellison, co-author of Amish Women and the Great Depression "A Grand Day captures the life story of an ordinary woman, Lulu Schwanbeck, facing extraordinary circumstances on the 20th century Kansas farm, enriching our understanding of that world. While the book is based on her journals, author Veda Rogers's meticulous research rounds out the story in a way that makes it a compelling read. Anyone interested in US farm history or women's history will love this book."-Amy Lauters, editor of The Rediscovered Writings of Rose Wilder Lane, Literary Journalist "What a gift to American historians to have such a long term, detailed description of one woman's life on a farm in western Kansas! We see the social networks she maintains, the farm products she transforms into breads and pickles and stews, her constant care of the chickens and pigs and cattle that inhabit the farm. But above all, we are captivated by the indomitable strength of Lulu Schwanbeck who recorded her daily activities with no complaints about the lot she was given to bear! What a woman!"-Mary Donovan, author of A Different Call: Women's Ministries in the Episcopal Church, 1850-1920 In her preface to A Grand Day, Veda Rogers describes Lulu Schwanbeck, the diarist, as 'a consummate recycler. She would rework dresses that were still good but out of fashion, and she would make them over to fit the times.' In a very real sense, this is exactly what Rogers and the University Press of Kansas have done in giving new life to one woman's remarkable diary about managing a farm in Western Kansas during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl years. In publisher terms, the work is called transcribing, editing, and annotating. In reader terms, it is sheer, riveting immersion in true Plains Grit."-Peter DeBlois, co-author of Composition and Literature: A Rhetoric for Critical Writing "I've only read a few historical diaries that found their way to museum archives, and I must say I always came away a little disappointed. What the temperature was every day and visits to and from relatives I didn't know left me still wondering who these people were. But this is different. A Grand Day: The Forgotten Voice of a Woman Farmer through Dust, Depression and War gives the whole picture of a life a couple generations removed-her daily work, her relationships with family and friends-but this book goes beyond that. It begins with her life story and then gives a perspective of women's lives during the years of her writing. So you go into the thoughts of Lulu Ehrichs Schwanbeck prepared to understand where she came from, how her life differed or was the same as other women during her time and conditions. Well worth anyone's time who has an interest in women's studies and the lives of those who lived through the Great Depression."-Denise Morrison, retired museum curator in Kansas City, Missouri "I am amazed and thankful the University Press of Kansas published the journey and journal of Lulu. Scores of people in America and all around the world need to have access to the insights that she reveals about the will, ways, struggles and delights of the common women and men. She provides us with a unique perspective about how and why we need to endure all the trying obstacles that can confound us. It is a profound vision that most of us are unaware of."-Ned Kehde, retired archivist at the University of Kansas "A Grand Day is Lulu's story but it is lovingly brought alive by author Veda Rogers. Day by day Lulu faces the routines and challenges with equal zest and determination, finding joy as she gives and receives support from her many friends and neighbors."-Ron Poinsett, retired engineer "Veda Rogers here provides readers with a superb gift: a book based around the real life of her husband's grandmother, Lulu Schwanbeck, who kept a diary for 27 years. The setting is western Kansas farming, and the time is from the Great Depression to the early 1960s. Much of the action concerns endless backbreaking labor with scant reward. The surprise is that it's not a tragedy, but an earnest story laced with frequent humor. I am confident you will be fascinated."-Ray Orley, founder of the Albuquerque Theatre Guild
