From 1925 to 1965, our grandmother wrote a syndicated newspaper column called Hope at the Helm. She went to college (the University of Illinois) before women were even allowed to vote, let alone encouraged to get higher education, and got a job as a newspaper columnist in 1925 when few women held professional jobs.
She wrote for the Corn Belt Farm Dailies, which included The Chicago Drovers Journal, The Chicago Daily Drovers Telegram of Kansas City, The Daily Journal-Stockman of Omaha, and the Daily Live Stock Reporter of East St. Louis.
Her column provided advice to housewives, and it ranged from cleaning and cooking tips to stories about her family and and those of her readers. Her excerpts paint a picture of ordinary families dealing with both good times and bad, through the Great Depression and World War II and the post-war 1950's.
Following are some excerpts from her columns. You can see them listed below or view them on a timeline.
The original clippings, organized into a book by my father and his brothers, are also attached as pdf files below.