About the Author
Carol Crawford McManus was born in Grand Valley (now Parachute), Colorado, Carol, the youngest member of the large extended Herwick family, grew up in a family of adults who had lived through and survived the Great Depression. She was reared with tales of the settlement of Western Colorado until the people who lived through them became real to her. She has always been an avid reader of western history, with a special interest on the people who inhabit this area. She is currently researching a book on the 1920s, 30s and 40s in Western Colorado.
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May 1873, Tekamah, Nebraska. The wind blowing up the high bluff tugged at her braids. Ida longed to uncoil the heavy burden and let the breeze ripple through the chestnut-colored strands of her hair, but Ma would be mad if she did that, saying that there was plenty to do without "fiddlin' around" with her looks (page 3)