A Grand Day

The Forgotten Voice of a Farm Woman Through Dust, Depression, and War

Louia Ehrlichs Schwanbeck (Autor)

Veda Rogers (Herausgeber)

Buch | Hardcover

280 Seiten

2026
University Press of Kansas (Verlag)
978-0-7006-4115-4 (ISBN)

Noch nicht erschienen (ca. April 2026)
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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

Erscheint lt. Verlag	21.4.2026
Zusatzinfo	23 Halftones, unspecified - 1 Maps
Verlagsort	Kansas
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Themenwelt	Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Geschichte / Politik
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Gender Studies
ISBN-10	0-7006-4115-7 / 0700641157
ISBN-13	978-0-7006-4115-4 / 9780700641154
Zustand	Neuware