The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1910-08-05
Sod House Romance

Holt county has an old lady home
steader, SO years of age, who vii
! prove UP on Kinkaid claim mex
year At the last electin she got all
| the voters in her vicinity out to the
polls to vote for Congressman Kin
kaid, author of the Nebraska Kinkaid
law Have you no gratitude?" she
said. See what that man got gov
eminent to do for you! Make you q
present of Gao acres of land for living
on 1t, which is no hardship for anyone
who wants to work and not beat the
government out of labor and money"
A big vote was polled in that pre-
cinct for Judge Kinkaid.
The romance of the sod house pass.
ed with the passing of Mrs. Bowser
and the Omaha exposition. But now
and then, one finds, in some out of
the way spot, in western Nebraska,
a building with the typical four-corner.
ed roof, and the sides built of square
blocks, cut and dried from the soil,
without the aid of cement, machinery
or skilled workmen. Near the place
where the Big Sandy empties into the
Niobrara river stands one of those
quaint structures. built by an English
homesteader seven or eight years ago.
All about 1t are good frame buildings.
granary, sheds, dairy, barn, and other
improvements, erected at various
landing n ntr SNf ~ g.,
the farm. In the winter the house
looks like some quaint old castle GOV.
cred with snow. 1t stands on a promi.
nence overlooking the frozen river,
and bare trees, shrubs and evergreens,
busted with frost, add to the pictur.
esque beauty of the scene. Inside are
four large rooms, plastered and paper.
ed, the floors of clean, hard wood. the
wide window seats covered with vines
and flowers. The interior is further
decorated with some babies and three
young lady sisters. The mother, still
young, presides over one of the best
regulated households in the country.
In the winter there is warmth
and comfort not to be found in a
hastily built frame house, with the
wind and sand beating through the
doors and window crevices. In sum-
mer vines trail up the sides of the
building and flowers creep out in
bloom among the caves and shingles
1t is as cool inside as it is in a stone
mansion. This Englishman brought I'D
his children with his old country no.
lions of obedience and labor. The two
older girls went to Butte to work at
the ages of IA and Is. They got for
their services "a and IS per week, all
of which they turned over to their ia
Their to use in improving his home
stead. Enough dairy products were
sold to pay all the living expenses of
the family. With a part of this in
come, the mother bought clothes and
made them for her daughters. Some
think" said the oldest girl, that as
am of age now / ought to keep my
money and buy my own clothes. But
| don't. I've helped papa through
the hard times and mamma says fool
ish clothes make foolish girls. We
could have taught a district school,
but they thought it would be harder
on us running around over the hills
in the winter than doing housework.
We get good places and we keep them.
| could get my board and $50 this year
but I'm going to be married to one of
the richest young farmers in South
Dakota. Papa will give me a bunch
of young calves-as an investment of
my own. Do you think if I'd taught
school for five years, I'd know how
to cook, churn, bake, manage a house,
a dairy, or farm" His adopted
country should present this English.
man medal.