Where the Wind Never Sleeps
A Memoir from the High Plains of Montana
by Ruth M. Sherwood
published by Sweetgrass Books
- The life of a homesteading family in northeastern Montana is vividly captured in this poignant and
revealing memoir. Never shrinking from the reality of hardships faced and tragedies overcome, the
story of Ruth Sherwood's family and their Montana experience includes an extraordinary cast of
characters and more than one mystery.
A blizzard howled across Montana's high plains, down the Milk River Valley, and into the small railroad town of Hinsdale the day Ruth Sherwood was born there in 1940. Much of Ruth's childhood was spent on farms along the Milk River near Hinsdale and Glasgow, Montana. Ruth grew up with rich stories of homesteading from her parents and family friends who her parents had known when homesteading in northern Valley County, Montana. In Ruth's later years, she spent time reflecting upon her unique past. The story of her family's farm life and her parents' homesteading lives in Montana are retold in this book.
232 pages, 6 x 9, SC
softcover
ISBN 10: 1591523117
ISBN 13: 9781591523116
$19.95
RELEASE DATE
9/1/2022
- * Full of colorful characters and stories of hardship and joy.
* A glimpse into Montana's homesteading era and the changing world of the 20th century.
* Features the story of the author's grandmother—who homesteaded her own claim as a single mother in the 1910s.
| Where the Wind Never Sleeps
A Memoir from the High Plains of Montana |
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| Ruth Sherwood grew up with rich stories of homesteading from her parents and family friends from their homesteading days. Once grown, Ruth sought her own adventures. In 1971 Ruth left her old life, taking her two young daughters to Alaska to build a new life. She purchased a like-new Pontiac and a small travel trailer. They packed some necessities and drove north to Alaska; she never looked back. Ruth carried with her a solitary silver fork that belonged to the set Mrs. Clark had shipped from Minnesota to Montana. Towing her small trailer over the Alaska Highway, when only 300 miles of the 1,500 miles of the road were paved, was the beginning of an exciting adventure. Once settled in Fairbanks Ruth worked as an educator for the Alaska Public Schools System. Every area held its own beauty and interests. Ruth and her family made the most of Alaska’s magnificent outdoors. They hiked, backpacked, camped, fished, hunted, and snow- machined. When Ruth’s girls were older, she spent three summers in Seattle earning her master’s degree from Seattle Pacific University. She developed a successful beginning reading program that she employed in her job as a reading specialist. She also produced a manual and taught her reading program to other teachers. Retired from teaching, Ruth had time to reflect upon her unique past. The story of her family’s farm life and her parent’s homesteading lives in Montana are retold in this book. | |