Elizabeth Ploeger Letter

This letter was written by Elizabeth Bernhardine Johle Ploeger, wife of Albert Ludwig Ploeger, when she was in Burley, Idaho to her Club Women and Friends.

I will just tell you a few things about my life. I came across the Ocean when 5 months old on a sailboat. We were 6 weeks on the stormy Ocean. With my parents we landed in New York, and went to St. Louis, where I had my education. Was left an orphan when I was 11 years old. I saw President Grant driven through St. Louis in an open carriage drawn by 4 gray horses. From there my Aunt took me to Kansas. The settlements were 20 miles apart all was prairie. Got married in Leavenworth lived in Kansas 20 years saw it grow up to a beautiful state. When Oklahoma was opened to settlement in 1889 we went there and took a homestead and one morning there were 4 Indians rode up on horseback. I was very much frightened and the children all hid out. They were friendly Indians and said they were hunting some ponies and if I could give them something to eat. So I made them some coffee and fried bacon, happened to have bread on hand so gave them their breakfast. Four days after they came back and found the ponies. They had had their breakfast and gave me a quarter of vinson. We stayed with our homestead 21 years then moved to Idaho in 1910, bought state land, plowed 120 acres of sage brush; put buildings and fences on. When we came here there were only 735 inhabitants, very few business houses and very few residents. I have 2 sons, 6 daughters, 24 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren. Am 78 years old. No doubt but there are more grandmothers here that have gone through the hard times as I did. Times have changed since I was a girl. There were no lady teachers or clerks, no telephone girls or nurses, no electricity nor ready-made clothes. All a girl could learn to make was dresses and millinery or do housework.

Logan County Letters