The Little Bride

by Anna Solomon

  AUTHOR’S NOTE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  The homesteading of Jews in the American West was part of an historical movement called Am Olam. While many aspects of this book remain true to that history, I have also transformed, discarded and created facts for the purpose of telling Minna’s story.

  My deepest gratitude goes to those who inspired me: the original Anna Solomon (Freudenthal), to mail-order bride Rachel Bella Calof, and artist Andrea Kalinowski, whose beautiful quilts introduced me to the stories of these Jewish pioneers.

  Countless books informed and inspired me, chief among them: Isaac Babel’s The Odessa Tales, The Shtetl Book by Diane Roskies and David Roskies, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography by Kathleen Norris, Dakota Diaspora by Sophie Trupin, Sod Jerusalems by David Harris, And Prairie Dogs Weren’t Kosher by Linda Mack Schloff, and Rachel Calof ’s Story, edited by J. Sanford Rikoon.

  I was fortunate to receive generous assistance from William Lee and Dawn Stephens at the South Dakota State Agricultural Heritage Museum, David Ode at the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department, Michele Christian at Iowa State University, Catherine Madsen and Dovid Braun at the National Yiddish Book Center, Patricia Herlihy at Brown University, the librarians at the NewYork Public Library’s Dorot reading room, Clare Burson, and Peter Manseau.

  The “tidbits” in Ruth’s letter are quoted directly from Lydia Maria Child’s timeless The America Frugal Housewife. The Baron sings badly from a real folk song called “The Hebrew Clothing Drummer.” The story of the bride up on the dresser is based on a similar tale in The Shtetl Book. For critical details about magic, carpentry, chickens, Yiddish, and international medicine, I’d like to thank Laila Goodman, Jim Dowd, Richard Wyndham, Barbara Burger and Alfred Burger. Thank you to rancher Jim Headley in White Lake, South Dakota, who many years ago helped me see the prairie, and to Chris Ballman, for sending me out there.

  Thank you to Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony for time, quiet, and nourishment, and to the Brooklyn Writers Space for being right around the corner.

  Thank you to my teachers, in order of appearance: Penelope Randolph, Charlotte Gordon, William Keach, Sharon Dilworth, Nancy Zafris, Chris Offutt, Marilynne Robinson, Ethan Canin, James Hynes, Elizabeth McCracken, and Andrea Barrett. To Connie Brothers, Deb West, and Jan Zenisek. To Julia Fierro at Sackett Street Writers Workshop and Jeff Bens at Manhattanville College.

  Thank you to my readers, who were honest and wise: Eleanor Henderson, Amy Herzog, Edan Lepucki, Jessie Solomon-Greenbaum, Lisa Srisuro, and Sarah Strickley.

  Thank you to my sisters, Jessie and Fara, for their faith and companionship, and to Austin Bunn, Susan Burton, Deborah Cramer, Elyssa East, Jeanne Shub, Kim Caswell Snyder, S. Kirk Walsh, and Gina Zucker for cheering me on every step of the way.

  Thank you to Sarah Stein and Sarah McGrath, for their passion and whip-smart editing. And to Ellen Levine, for her patience and generosity.

  Finally, I want to thank my grandparents, Rose and Max Greenbaum and Mildred and Walter Solomon, for the stories they told, and for those they didn’t. My parents, William Greenbaum and Ellen Solomon, who made me a writer. My daughter, Sylvia, who has taught me more than anyone, already. And Mike, who supports my work, sustains my heart, reads always and again, and brings me back.