The social life of Red Willow County pioneers

As I noted before, our pioneer woman was educated and refined. When asked to write about the “society” of the frontier, she mentioned the surprise the soldiers expressed to find that these settlers had dictionaries, could read and write and were not the “dime novel style of the west”. Early in her saga she says: “Sunday School and social meetings were held from the first and the incense of prayer and praise which arose from the little band of worshipers in tent and dugout no doubt mingled with that ascending from the more favored ones in the far away homes. And as the dear old familiar hymns were sung with homesick hearts it seemed to bring the loved ones near; for we realized that ‘Though sundered far, by faith we meet around one common mercy seat.’”

She was not particularly impressed with the “floating class”, those who were, compared to the settlers, not letting the grass grow under their feet. The real “burr in her side” though appeared to be the partiers, the grass widows (divorcees), cowboys and at a particular gathering she notes: “To my uninitiated eyes, it was simply amazing to see the zest with which those girls “waded the Cedar Swamp, kept P.O., made double shovel plows, etc., Maidenly reserve or modesty seemed unknown. The Texas half-bred and the so-called widow were particularly partial to the double shovel. I never shall forget the look of surprise on the face of the head of the house, when, in wading the swamp, the grass widow marched up to him and gave him a resounding kiss.” (Referring to her husband “J”.)

“Just at this time a different element came in to our lives in the persons of those who were afterwards so well known and so closely associated with the educational advancement of the county, that it is hardly necessary to mention the names of Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Nettleton. “

By chance, her husband had taken the wagon to Plum Creek to pick up supplies from the Union Pacific Railroad station and found the Nettleton family stranded after the relative who was supposed to meet them at the train had returned home when their scheduled arrival was delayed. “J” who had a fully loaded wagon offered them a ride back to the county as long as they would get down and walk up the hills.

“This they did, reaching our house on the evening of the second day, where they remained that night and the next day, were taken to their claims beyond. The little bright eyed boy and girl were much interested in the new, strange things they saw in their two days wagon trip across the country and among the amusing recitals told of ‘Papa chasing a rabbit,’- and we who knew the running capacities of a jack rabbit, enjoyed the telling. Mrs. Nettleton was so kind and polite and tried so hard not to show that she thought our western manner seemed odd! Time and a frontier life have ways of their own in leveling things and it was not many years of drouths and toil and grass-hoppers before the fellow feeling that makes us wondrous kind came to her. Her visiting eastern friends sought not to show that they thought she had become a little western in appearance. Not so considerate was our own home visitor, who was much amused at the change in me, so much so, as to wish for my photograph to take back as a curiosity.”

“I know I shall be pardoned for speaking so personally, when I say that the greatest sorrow that has come to us, was when Mr. Nettleton, with his intense, eager nature in a frail body, laid aside his life work and entered into rest, - and we missed his genial coming and pleasant visits. Only those of us who have known things from the beginning can fully appreciate what was affected by Mr. Nettleton in the improvement of schools of this county.”

She ends her memories mentioning a Fourth of July celebration in McCook, the ‘Magic City’. “I there had a realizing sense of the fact that times had changed. I knew then, how it was to feel that ‘a King arose who knew not Joseph.’ The gilded age had come, and we ‘old settler women’ belonging to the ‘earthen-ware period’ had only to go our own places and keep them.”

When I have a chance to transcribe the articles in whole, I will put a copy in the SWNGS library for others to read. Located at 110 West C, Suite M-3, our library hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 1-4 PM, or by appointment.