A memory rekindled

As an Editorial Assistant with the South Dakota State Historical Society Press, I enjoy many aspects of my job. One of the things I like the best is working with the editors here at the Press, whether on an article for South Dakota History or on a book. When the Press began the process of publishing Laura Ingalls Wilder’s autobiography, Pioneer Girl, I worked with another staff member to transcribe Wilder’s handwritten story into typewritten text that we could easily work with on computer. I must admit that I did not read the Little House books as a child (I am in the minority, I have discovered), so having the opportunity to read her autobiography first and then compare that to the Little House books has been one of the projects I have enjoyed most.

Today I came across this passage from By the Shores of Silver Lake, in which Laura describes the southern migration of birds: “All those golden autumn days the sky was full of wings. Wings beating low over the blue water of Silver Lake, wings beating high in the blue air far above it. . . . The wings and the golden weather and the tang of frost in the mornings made Laura want to go somewhere. She did not know where. She wanted only to go.” Having grown up in eastern South Dakota, I know what she saw and how she felt, but I hadn’t recalled that fond memory in years.

I find Wilder’s memories of her childhood amazing—especially as I get older and my own memories fade. I am regretting not reading the Little House books when I was younger. But now that I know what I missed, I look forward to giving the books as gifts to my grandchildren (someday), and reading them together will be something I know we will both enjoy.

CO

Putting a face on history

While I’m not sure of the exact count, the Spring 2013 issue of South Dakota History, now at the printer, carries what is probably close to the 170th individual profiled in “Dakota Images,” the journal’s longest-running feature. “Dakota Images,” the 375-word biographical sketch that appears at the end of every issue, has been a standard fixture since Volume 1, number 1 came off the press in 1970. The Lakota leader John Grass has the distinction of being the first individual highlighted, and since then movers and shakers in the state’s history from all walks of life have been memorialized on the journal’s back page.

Researching and writing “Dakota Images” was one of my first assigned tasks when I started working with the journal as a just-out-of-college kid.  It was a fun assignment, for I got to pick the subject. Anyone was fair game, as long as they were (1) interesting; (2) deceased; and (3) had had their photograph taken or portrait painted.  It was a great way to become familiar with the State Historical Society’s research library and photograph collection, and digging into the stories of the real people behind historical events had a way of breathing life into topics that could be deadly dry. The compact size of the feature posed its own challenge, serving as a good exercise in determining what to cut when the available material exceeded the word limit, or, on the other hand, how to “puff” when the information was more sparse.

Coe I. Crawford, South Dakota’s sixth governor, is the “Dakota Images” subject for the Spring 2013 issue of South Dakota History, due out next month. Dan Brosz, museum curator with the South Dakota State Historical Society, compiled the profile as part of the recently released The Governors’ Portraits chapbook, which features the collection of governors’ portraits that hangs in the halls of the South Dakota capitol.

For a comprehensive listing of all the “Dakota Images” profiles from the first forty years of South Dakota History, see the online cumulative index. For more on the state’s governors and their capitol portraits, order a copy of The Governors’ Portraits chapbook.  

JKO

How do you read?

Each week here at the South Dakota State Historical Society Press, we look at numbers. The number of copies sold for each book shows what aspect of South Dakota history is attracting your attention and making you curious. We publish everything from scholarly works to memoirs to biographies to books kids love. Our aim is to interest every reader (and even those too young to read for themselves) in some facet of our state’s history. And now, with the addition of e-books, there is a new dimension to our numbers—not just what type of reading you do, but what medium you choose for your reading. I decided to survey my own family members, who range in age from their teens to their seventies, to see how they prefer to read their books. The answers were a bit surprising.

The fourteen-year-old definitely prefers paper-cover books, which she finds easier to hold. She likes our new e-reader, but not for reading; she uses it for games. In fact, she finds reading on an e-reader “annoying” (her word of choice about many things these days). The sixteen-year-old does not like e-books and is very specific about what she does like. She showed me our 1920s-era copy of Two Little Confederates by Thomas Nelson Page and says she loves this book because of the “sounds” and the “words” and, especially, the “feel” of it. She liked that the binding has real thread and that the book looks very old. This was surprising, coming from a girl who enjoys Christopher Paolini and James Patterson, as well—but NOT in e-book form.

The twenty-somethings like both formats. My son enjoys having an e-reader but says that lately he uses it for magazines with short articles, which are all he has time to read right now, while my older daughter likes e-books for the ease of carrying the e-reader in her purse. However, she adds that she will usually own a good book in both forms because, like her sisters, she likes the feel of a book in her hands when she reads at home.

The forty-something (that’s me) is getting hooked on e-books! What’s not to like ? I’m constantly running here and there, waiting somewhere to pick someone up from something. With one touch on my e-reader, I’m right back where I left off the last time I had five minutes to spare. Last night, I spent ten dollars on an e-book that I already have in hardcover. A Stephen King novel, it is so thick that I can’t hold it while reading in bed, and it is cumbersome to travel with. Now I can read both, depending on where I am—perfect.

My survey ended with the seventy-somethings, my in-laws, who responded, “A what kind of book?” The next time I visit them, I plan to take along an e-reader loaded with some books that I know they’ll like and teach them how to use it. I predict they’ll enjoy it, just like my own mom does.

No matter how you choose to enjoy your books, the SDSHS Press can provide you with great reading. Currently, twelve of our books are available as e-books, and six more are soon to be released. We also have several e-book “shorts.” Check them out at our website, sdshspress.com. Some of your old favorites just might be available for you to read in a new way.

LN

A Matter of Timing

In 2012, the South Dakota State Historical Society Press announced that it would publish Laura Ingalls Wilder’s previously unpublished autobiography, Pioneer Girl, in the summer of 2013.

Since that time, the Press has worked hard to keep its interested followers up to date with each step in the process. We knew that work on this book would be involved and deep, but we were unaware exactly how involved and how deep we, and principal editor/annotator Pamela Smith Hill, would find ourselves as the project progressed.

Time and again during the researching, writing, and editing of this book, we have found ourselves making new discoveries about Wilder and her early work. We have constantly been surprised at where we ended up when research led us in unexpected directions. Each twist and turn has been exciting, but unfortunately, it has also been time consuming.

So, it is with great regret that the Press is forced to announce a delay in the publication of Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Edition. At this time, we are working hard to expedite the process. However, we believe that all of our books deserve the highest possible level of research, writing, and production. With this in mind, we will strive for the earliest possible release date but will not shortchange the standards by which we have made our reputation.

The South Dakota State Historical Society Press thanks all those who have shown interest in Pioneer Girl. We will continue to update our progress on the book’s website, pioneergirlproject.org, and we will be announcing a revised publication date as soon as we can.

Nancy Tystad Koupal

Director  

Paper or plastic—I mean cloth?

Two of the South Dakota State Historical Society Press’s most popular titles about the cowboy culture of South Dakota and the Black Hills Gold Rush will soon be released in paperback.

Cowboy Life: The Letters of George Philip will be available in paperback in March of 2013 for $17.95. Illustrated by Mick B. Harrison and edited by Cathie Draine, this entertaining collection won a 2008 Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History. “Within the large body of autobiographies, letters, and memoirs of cowboy life, George Philip’s recollections rank among the best,” Richard W. Slatta writes in the afterword.

Choices, choices…

Ho! For the Black Hills: Captain Jack Crawford Reports the Gold Rush and Great Sioux War will also be available in paperback in April of 2013 for $18.95. Award-winning historian Paul L. Hedren has compiled these little-known reports to the Omaha Bee, writing an introduction and essays that place the correspondence in the greater context of the Black Hills Gold Rush and the Great Sioux War.

Both books may be pre-ordered on-line or by calling the Press at 605-773-6009.

Looking back to move ahead

While most people typically spend the beginning of the year looking forward to the months ahead, we have spent part of 2013 looking back to the year just past. Early January is deadline time for the yearly summaries that each director of the South Dakota State Historical Society’s five program areas submits for us to use in creating the annual report issue of the History Notes newsletter. It’s a chore, for sure, but a useful one, giving both the staff and society members a chance to stop and take a look at the big picture of what we do together.

Distilling a full twelve months of work into 600 words or less is an exercise in critical thinking, in looking back and judging what was truly important during the past year. While not easy, the task is satisfying, offering a chance to become unmired from the day-to-day details of our jobs and recognize just what those efforts have accomplished for preserving and interpreting the state’s history. It also gives us a focus point from which to look ahead at our goals for the next twelve months. Taken together, each program’s collected summaries constitute a history of the society itself and its progress over the long haul.

Another challenge comes in making the reports more than a collection of dry statistics. We get to work with some of the most fascinating artifacts and documents anywhere, so in addition to letting our members know the number of dollars spent and official reports generated, we want to highlight and communicate our enthusiasm for the discoveries made at archaeological digs, the good books that came off the press, or the fascinating photographs that some gracious donor brought in.

Finally, the annual report is where we recognize those individuals and institutions who help to make our accomplishments possible through their donations of artifacts, volunteer time, or funds. The list of donors published in the annual report is cumulative, giving us all a chance to look at the names of those, familiar and new, who have considered our endeavors important enough to support in some way. It is good to be reminded that the society and its programs are a partnership among many, and that the present is built on the past. So give the annual report issue of History Notes more than a passing glance when it arrives in your mailbox later this month—you’re sure to find something interesting.

JKO

An Intangible Value

Now is the time of year when our SDSHS Press director reviews and assesses the budget. As part of this process, I prepare a report for each book we publish. This document shows what we make from sales and what we spend, taking into account not only the cost of designing and printing the book and promotional items such as bookmarks and postcards, but also what we spend on items like book-signing tours, illustrations, and, sometimes, the additional research needed to help create a quality publication. Although this report is meant to be a dollars-and-cents summary, I can’t help but think about some “other” categories—categories that are difficult, if not impossible, to put a dollar amount on.

Not everything fits in the ledger.

For instance, we received a letter this week from a traveler who had stopped at a visitor center and happened to pick up a postcard we had printed to promote the upcoming Pioneer Girl. A lifelong follower of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her travels in South Dakota, he was excited to learn that the SDSHS Press would be publishing her annotated autobiography. If only there were a column on our report to indicate what that postcard was truly worth to this person and what learning more about South Dakota history means for the quality of life of his family. By way of another example, I recently gave my father a copy of the SDSHS Press book Cowboy Life, by George Philip. We have had some fun conversation and many laughs centered on this collection of entertaining letters written by another father to his kids. In Dad’s view, policymakers could benefit from reading the chapter entitled “The Law of the Range,” which, according to Philip, boiled down to taking what you need to fill your tummy and leaving your companions’ bedrolls alone. Unfortunately, there is no space on my budget report to show the value of this book’s folksy, humorous wisdom and what it allowed us to share. A similar instance occurred this week when a grandparent (one of many) ordered David Volk’s and Mark Meierhenry’s The Mystery of the Pheasants to give to a grandchild. What a great way to relate the pheasant-hunting tradition and our own excitement about South Dakota to the next generation. How do I add amounts for these experiences on the budget sheet? I guess the entries in that column would just have to read “priceless.”

LN