In the late 19th and early 20th
century, the America was expanding westward. The government tried to encourage
travel to this new west region with the Homestead Act of 1862. A lot of people
lived on the East side of America and did not want to move out of what was
comfortable to them. In the book Nothing Daunted, Two society girls, Dorothy
Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood, lived in Auburn, New York to study at Smith
College. Dorothy and Ros were poor examples of the average women in America at
this time. Dorothy and Ros were a part of rich families and were best friends
early in their childhood. They also were a part of the same sorority, Phi
Kappa, Psi. Since their families were in the upper class of society, they got
most of their things paid for them. One of the ways they were different from
other women, is that they had uncommon expectations. Others hoped for a M.A. or
getting Ph.D.’s, Dorothy and Ros were looking forward to their M.A.N. and
getting M-r-s in front of their name.[1] Dorothy and Ros spent a lot of their time on
charity work and planning parties. At this time, they were expected to look for
a husband and make a family.
Dorothy Woodruff (left) and Rosamond Underwood at
Smith College
The two women went to Europe and were very interested in their travels.
They got back to Auburn feeling bored of the typical routines. Dorothy and Ros
were getting older that some would consider them not able to get married. The
women were, “bothered
by the idea of settling into a staid life of marriage and motherhood without
having contributed anything to people who could benefit from the few talents
and experiences they had to offer”.[2] These two clearly had a different outlook than the typical women at this
time. Women at this time would get work until they were married, but Dorothy
and Ros wanted something else. Dorothy later heard about a job in Colorado who
needed two school teachers. “No young lady in our town,” she
later recalled, “had ever been hired by anybody.” Oddly enough, she wanted to go to Colorado to teach and convinced Ros to
come with her as well. They both applied and later got the job. In their town,
young ladies have never even been hired before, but they applied for a teaching
job when they had a chance.[3] This is an example of how they were not the typical rich lady. The job
requirements were low and were not expecting much in the position. “We
knew not the slightest thing about teaching, absolutely nothing”.[4] This is another example of uniqueness because of their drive to do
something that they were not training to do, unlike other women. Although they
did not know anything about teacher, they said that they would do their best. It
was unusual that an upper class society girl would decide to travel west, but
it was known to be the best year of their live.
Nearing their date of
departure, they got word that the War with Mexico was getting close. Dorothy
and Ros had to deny the position because the war that was about to start. The
war was later prevented and they wanted to get their job back. The next school
year was coming around, when they telegrammed them asking if the position is
still open. The got a response that the position was still open. Later they
left the comfort of their home to depart to Elkhead Mountains to teach for a
school year.
Dorothy and Ros mostly
traveled to the place by train. Both of them were amazed by many things during
their travel. They were much different then what the locals were used to seeing
when arrived at the place. Ferry Carpenter, who gave them their jobs, had staked
a claim of 160 acres by the Homestead Act of 1862. Dorothy and Ros taught at a
schoolhouse on top of a mountain. Elkhead was a place that snowed half the year
and often could have hard conditions to live in. Sometimes the snow got so high
that it would be difficult to ride a horse through it.
During their trip, they
saw a lot of American history in the making. Both of the women taught students
that travelled miles in tough condition to be there. The students adored the
women as they were taught. The students often did not have some basic
necessities like shoes and sweaters. The women were involved more than just
teaching students at a schoolhouse. Involvement like them completing chores, attending
schoolhouse parties and all-night dances. Coming from wealthy families, they
did not do chores because they had people to do it for them. They were then
taught how to do many things that they never learned. Significant events like
the expulsion of the Ute Indians, the building of the railroad, and visiting large
coal mines that the men worked at. Dorothy and Ros were a part of the great westward
expansion and America’s growth.
Dorothy and Rosamond with their students at Elkhead
Bob Perry managed the largest coal mine that was relatively
near where the women stayed. The
workers working the mine were under harsh conditions. A lot of these workers
were Greek and when some of them were not happy with their job at the mine,
they kidnapped Perry. The two men that kidnapped Perry demanded that he write a
ransom note to his father, who was the owner of the mines. Perry wrote the
ransom, but later shot one of the captors as he escaped. As Dorothy and Ros end
their trip, they head back to New York. Both of them got married after they got
back.
No comments:
Post a Comment