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Two Ponies Publishing
From a Soddy
“Where a man makes a living, a woman makes a home.” The womenfolk didn’t share in the excitement that bubbled up from Carrie’s husband, Bill, and her brother, Charlie, when the two returned from their scouting trip “Out West” - to the land called Dakota in 1906. “There’s land just waiting for farmers to make something of it,” Bill reported. His pride filled his eyes, he added, “We can have a hundred sixty acres just for living there and working it for a few years.” In Dakota the family will find a sod house with a dirt floor, no curtains on the windows, and no well in the yard! Far from the comforts of civilization, Henry, only six years old when the story begins, is amazed by the county. This is the land he had overheard his Grandmother Lang describe as filled with “wild Indians and crazy cowboys” in protest of the family’s move. Share in the account of the family’s joys and hardships as they homesteaded what was then frontier land near Lemmon, South Dakota, in the early 1900s. The true stories of Henry Miller and his siblings come to life here in the pages of From a Soddy, written by his daughter, Marlys Miller Denholm.
Ain't It Awful? The Wandering Years
“Ain’t it Awful” was a favorite phrase of a Milbank matron who was known for her active role in the community grapevine. Phyllis Dolan Justice adopted that phrase as the title of her new column that appeared in print for the first time in the July 16, 1936, issue of the Grant County Review. The Review was a newspaper published in Milbank, South Dakota, and owned by Phyllis’ father, William Dolan. Phyllis began collecting news for her father at the age of 11. She interviewed travelers at the train station, and reported on their comings and goings. She began writing “Ain’t it Awful” just prior to transferring to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to study journalism. She had previously attended South Dakota State College in Brookings for two years. Phyllis continued the column once in college, and for the next 10 years, no matter where she roamed, she wrote the column for the Review. It was a time of change for the country, and Phyllis’ columns reflect the times. From the first full-length Walt Disney picture, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” to presidential press conferences she attended, “Ain’t it Awful” covered a wide range of topics. She wrote of gas rations and food coupons as well as the shortage of butter and sugar. Through her job at a Minneapolis newspaper she met many celebrities, and wrote about interviewing Judy Garland, James Cagney, Dick Powell and others. She spoke to famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera on a trip to Mexico. He was working on a huge mural in the National Palace in Mexico City, and he eagerly stopped painting to talk to an inquisitive Phyllis. Phyllis changed jobs several times from 1936 to 1946, and in-between her career shifts she landed back in Milbank to aid her father with the production of the Review. When residing in Milbank her columns often included funny mishaps of the residents of Grant County. When she resided elsewhere, she frequently ran into people from Grant County, and reported on their happenings in the column. For 10 years, Phyllis wandered around the country, enjoying her experiences and writing about them in her “Ain’t it Awful” column. She continued to write the column after returning home to run the newspaper, but these early columns produce nostalgia for a simpler time in our country’s history when patriotism was high, and everybody pulled together.
Ain't It Awful? No Place Like Home
The witty and insightful Ain’t it Awful columns of Phyllis (Dolan) Justice continue in There’s No Place Like Home. A graduate of the University of Minnesota’s journalism school, Phyllis roamed the country for 10 years before returning to her hometown of Milbank, SD, in July of 1946. As she settles into her new life in familiar territory, Phyllis offers up funny and amusing stories about the residents of Milbank and the surrounding area. From the couple who found no one at home when they went to visit relatives and helped themselves to Thanksgiving leftovers only to find out the family had moved and they were in the wrong house, to the farmer who housed deer in his barn to hide them from hunters during the deer season, nobody was safe from exposure. Readers turned to the column to learn about upcoming nuptials and promotions of people who had left Milbank and found success in other parts of the country. The column also featured many “it’s a small world” items. Readers of the weekly Grant County Review eagerly waited for the next edition to discover which of their friends, neighbors or relatives had found their way into the column. Written decades before privacy became such an issue, the columns are a joy to read and bring back memories of a much simpler time. Readers may not recognize the names in the columns, but that is not necessary to enjoy the funny and sometimes embarrassing tidbits revealed in the Ain’t it Awful column.
Ain't It Awful?
It's a Small World
This enchanting book is a compilation of the Ain't it Awful columns written by Phyllis Justice for the Grant County Review in Milbank, SD. The third installment of her columns, it covers the years 1960 to 1972. The columns feature amusing stories about small-town living, and highlights the achievements of residents living in Grant County and those who had ventured into the world to live elsewhere. The columns are full of "it's a small world" items including chance encounters of former and past residents traveling and living outside the county.
The Scoop on The Grant County Review
"Everybody reads the Review" has been the motto of the Grant County Review weekly newspaper since the first issue was printed in 1880. The Scoop brings to life the history behind the paper based in Milbank, SD. In the newspaper's 136-year-plus history, there have been only five changes in ownership. Read the Scoop to learn about the interesting characters who have dedicated their lives to the newspaper. The founder, Henry Volkmar, came to the Grant County area under an assumed name, running from his checkered past. After running the paper for seven years his secret was revealed, but the townspeople continued to revere the energetic editor. Subsequent owners were just as colorful. William Dolan was actively involved in the community, even to the point that he had to face down an armed citizen who was irate about losing his job in the Dirty Thirties. William passed his love of the newspaper on to his daughter, Phyllis, who picked up the torch after her father died. She was a pioneer in the industry, as one of the first female editors of a newspaper in the state of South Dakota. Clarence Justice came to work for William, and eventually married the boss' daughter. Together Phyllis and Clarence worked for more than 50 years publishing the newspaper. Their love and devotion not only to the newspaper, but to each other is a touching story revealed in the pages of the Scoop. The interesting book also covers the history of printing from the era of hand setting type to the new computer age. Discover the hard labor involved in producing a newspaper in the late 1880s and early 1900s.