Suffering with a miserable cold, one that has left more than one family in our area coughing for two weeks, watching television was one of the few things I felt like doing. Many evenings were spent watching on Netflix the 1996 PBS series, Ken Burns: The West.
Because I've written 12 historical romances, based in Oregon and Arizona, I had done a lot of historic research. I thought I knew much of what I would see. It taught me a few new things, while film clips gave the history a surprising reality.
It's very well done, great music, many stories personalized; but by the time we got the Episode 7, I felt disillusioned with the ways some had brutalized others. Again and again, there were stories of Euro-Americans taking from Mexicans, Chinese, Native Americans, African Americans, and even Mormons. This was often done using a sizeable military after the Civil War and the weight of laws made-- supposedly for the good of all... Watching it was depressing, yet I stayed with it hoping to find a brighter day ahead.
As a program to educate Americans as to what the West was like for many, it does the job. I just believe it was one side. There was more to it than the sad stories of violence, theft, and battles against nature. The photos were amazing, but the stories were as often of disappointment as of glory-- especially for the Native Americans.
Where I found it especially interesting, on a personal level, involved the Dakotas. My great-grandfather, with a growing family, arrived in the Black Hills to become a hard-rock miner.
My grandfather, born in 1880, was their third child. The story goes that he was the first white baby born illegally in the Black Hills after the gold had been discovered.
Their
children, of which there would be ten to survive to adulthood, were
born in what would be South Dakota as well as Nebraska (already a
state). Great grandfather was still working at 65 when he died in Deadwood in 1921. My great grandmother, Martha, died in
1942 living out her life in the homes of her children. Both are buried in Hill City,
where many of my ancestors are. 
Life wasn't easy for the ones who came west without money, carrying with them a dream of a better life. They moved where the jobs were. They were as often forced out as had been the Native Americans. Still, they had fun and enjoyed their times together.
My family stories were much on my mind while watching the documentary-- as they had been when I wrote the last four of the Arizona historicals knowing that I had begun writing a time not that distant from my family's stories.
In terms of the romance, there was really only one in the documentary, a personal story of love, hard work, and loyalty.
That
story of the Love family went through the last two episodes. Despite
all they endured, it was the bright lining I had wanted. My family,
despite the tough times, had those stories. Although when my father was a boy, they left South
Dakota for Oregon, South Dakota stayed in their
hearts. When I was a girl, the annual South Dakota picnic at a nearby amusement park was a regular part of family life. I didn't understand then what that meant. I do now.
Photos are from my family and in South Dakota.
"The West" sounds like a great overview of the history of the western U.S. - something I'd enjoy watching. Are those family photos in your post?
ReplyDeleteOh! I just saw your note, saying they are your pictures. What treasures!
DeleteThe West is great for giving all the old photos as well as those videos. The stories are often sad though. It made me wonder what it'd have been like if our country had been more honorable. Was that even possible when trying to subdue a new land? :(
DeleteI do treasure those photos. I especially like the one of my great grandparents on what must have been their porch with their dog. I have never heard how he died in Deadwood but given he was 65, I assumed heart. It's a family weakness in old age. Still you never know
I agree the Ken Burns' series is great. I lived in South Dakota for a year -- one of the longest years of my life when I think of the weather! Great photos. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI think that was a factor in moving to Oregon. They lost one child to a violent thunderstorm. My granddad had lung issues as did my father. Still, the stories Dad told of the barn dances where the children watched from lofts, my granddad supposedly racing a horse away from a posse with the small gun I currently own, those just were so much like the historical westerns I write and read.
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