A Bold Spirit - book review

A Bold Spirit

For most of my life I have been intrigued by the past.  When I was a child, my mom made sure we always had a good amount of old photographs, books and stories around to tie us to our family history.   I have childhood memories of exploring the old farm house that served as a wood shop for my Uncle Nordahl.  I remember wishing I could go back in time and really see what it was like to grow up there, to know my grandparents and see my mother as a child.  I had a craving to understand the hardships and challenging way of life that they endured, as well as the simple loveliness of it all.

So often it's hard to grasp the past and have a true picture in our minds of things we can't experience first hand.  The book, "A Bold Spirit" offers a wonderful view of the Victorian age, with vivid descriptions of life in what is essentially my own back yard, Eastern Washington. It is a remarkable story about the strength and fortitude of a brave pioneer woman, Helga Estby and her eldest daughter, Clara. The two women took on a dangerous and controversial challenge in an effort to save the family farm.  Dangerous; because a trek on foot across America in the 1890's was an extremely treacherous undertaking.  Controversial; because women in the Victorian age were viewed as weak and it was unacceptable to leave their children at home with the father to take on such an unlikely wager.  

What made this book even more interesting to me is that I grew up with Helga's great grand children in my home town of Wilbur, Washington.  Amazingly, I had never heard the story of Helga and her daughter.  Reading it now, it seems such a waste that it was not shared for so many years.  Rather, it was a family secret that might have remained so, had it not been for Doug Bahr, who decided to write a paper on his Great Grandmother's journey for The Washington State History Day Contest.  The author of "Bold Spirit", Linda Lawrence Hunt found the essay so compelling that she decided to write a book about Helga's journeys, an endeavor made more difficult by the fact that none of Helga's letters, diaries, sketches or manuscript pages had been kept. 

  The book follows the life of Helga Estby, from her childhood in Norway, to her immigration with her mother and step-father to Michigan.  The book details her marriage to Ole Estby and their life in Minnesota, where they survived prairie fires, cyclones, tornadoes and an outbreak of diphtheria. With the promise of a better way of life, including mild climate, available land, education and cultural opportunities for their 6 children and carpentry work for Ole, they decided to immigrate to the West. They settled in Spokane Falls, Washington for a time and later bought a farm at Mica Creek.  They had a rich social life with their Scandinavian neighbors, they prospered emotionally and financially.  The bliss was, however, short lived. One year later events changed their life.  After the Spokane fire, Dutch investors began foreclosures, which precluded the depression of 1893, when farmers could no longer afford to hire Ole for his carpentry work.  The Estby's were living on credit and loans and were at risk of losing their farm.

By 1896, Helga was praying for a solution to their financial problems. It was during this time that the mysterious offer was made to Helga.  She was offered a prize of $10,000.00 if she and her daughter could complete an unescorted walk across America.  Helga must have given considerable thought to all of this, knowing it would be viewed with disapproval by the community, but believing the prize would be the answer to their financial woes.  Helga had dreams of college for her children, in addition to her need to pay the mortgage. In May of 1896 Helga and Clara set out to make the walk across America, with a contracted goal of completion in 7 months.  They took with them only $5.oo each, as they were to earn their way to New York City.  They wore Victorian dresses, sturdy shoes and heavy coats and each carried a revolver and home-made pepper spray.

They carried with them a letter written by the Mayor of Spokane stating that they were good and moral women, and in each city that they visited they collected signatures from local dignitaries.  Along the way they were interviewed by the local newspapers and had a photograph taken, which they sold for money.  They also did laundry and worked in restaurants to pay their way. They were not allowed to accept transportation or monetary help.  The letter and signatures helped them gain welcome to homes of influential and wealthy people, including William Jennings Bryant.

They endured many hardships as they followed the rails, including wild animals, bad weather, and robbery.  They survived illness and injury as they traveled diligently on, spurred by their deep Christian faith and resolve to succeed.

After traveling over 3500 miles, they arrived in New York City several days after their December due date. The contract allowed extra time for illness; however, Clara sustained an injury to her ankle that did not qualify as illness. The benefactor refused to pay and didn't even give them the money to return home.  They were forced to stay in New York for five months trying to earn enough money to get back home.  During this time, Helga received the heartbreaking news that 2 of her children died of diphtheria while she was gone.  Ultimately, they lost the farm and Helga's story was buried for 70 years by the anger of her family who never forgave her for leaving them. 

While Helga and Clara were never rewarded for their efforts, they did gain a greater knowledge and understanding of America, which strengthened their relationships and role in the community.  If we can gain anything from Helga's story, I hope it will be the determination to embrace and preserve our family histories.