THE LAND — JANUARY 7/JANUARY 14, 2022
www.thelandonline.com — “Where Farm and Family Meet”
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Gritty ‘Wildcat’ is not your typical Western novel The growl came from beneath your ribs. Rather than some ordinary “Wildcat: The Untold Story of Pearl Hart, The Wild West’s gun-slingin’, rootin’-tooter, The pantry’s empty and so is your belly. Most Notorious Woman Bandit” this story of Pearl Hart is Now what do you do? In the absence of much wider: author John by John Boessenecker family, welfare and church, how do you Boessenecker likewise plan to stay alive? In the Old West, and c.2021, Hanover Square Press includes lengthy passages in “Wildcat” by John Boessenecker, the $28.99 / $34.99 Canada about Pearl’s sister, Katy, and answer wasn’t a happy one. 336 pages her escapades, as well as tales By all accounts, Albert Davy was “a of the mostly-lawless Davy THE BOOKWORM monster.” A rather violent man, he never By that time, Lillie and her sissiblings and others. These SEZ met a bottle or a brawl he didn’t like. And ters were sleeping with men in yarns are interesting, though they so it’s somewhat surprising that he mar- By Terri Schlichenmeyer exchange for sustenance, wearing often supersede Pearl’s story. ried a respectable young Frenchboys’ clothing so they weren’t More than anything, however, readCanadian woman who lived nearby. He harassed, lying about their ages, ers will notice tale after tale about and Anna Duval started a family almost immediate- and repeatedly running away from home to what it was like for desperate young ly, as folks did in the latter 1800s. Their third child escape their violent father. As young teens, ladies without familial support, at a was a girl born in April 1871, and they named her Lillie and the younger Katy rode the rails to Ohio time when women were basically second-class citiLillie Naomi. to Chicago to Minnesota; Lillie also served a stint at zens. Inside those eye-opening parts, there’s heroa reform institution. Growing up, Lillie and her siblings were close ism and feminism, and though Boessenecker avoids because they had to be: there was never any food in Once released, she moved to Buffalo, N.Y. where, any whiff of sentimentalism in his storytelling, the house and the Davy children took to thieving to calling herself Pearl Hart, she operated her own those hard-luck tales still suck every shred of survive. It didn’t help that Albert moved his family brothel for a time and hooked up with petty crimiromance out of any Old West works. constantly from shack to shanty. Eventually, some of nals and outlaws one after the next. “Wildcat” is a true story, recommended for westthe Davys had made their way across the border to In 1893, at the age of 22 years, Pearl went to ern fans and for anyone who reads women’s history. New York. Colorado and Arizona — the latter in which she It’s a yeee-haw with a sad streak, and missing it’ll eventually birthed two children that she probably make you growl. sent to her sister to raise. Look for the reviewed book at a bookstore or a No doubt, that was hard; but Pearl had done some library near you. You may also find the book at hard things before and had committed many online book retailers. wrongs. And on May 30, 1899, this alcoholic, addictThe Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer. Terri has ed, thieving prostitute and gunslinger made trueLAND MINDS, from pg. 5 been reading since she was 3 years old and never crime history with yet another very bad decision... goes anywhere without a book. She lives in The on-going New Year’s resolution at The Land is When it comes to westerns, “Wildcat” is extremely Wisconsin with three dogs and 10,000 books. v to keep these topics alive in the public eye — so we good, but it’s also not what you might think. can be proactive in agriculture’s future instead of scrambling to survive the next embargo or virus. We gladly print letters to the editor and if there is a subject we need to be paying attention to, we want to know. And we want to have fun too (mental health?). I’m happy to say our writers are on board for another year to share their words, wisdom and pictures. Inside this issue is The Land’s annual subscription form. For the price of a stamp and a couple bushels of soybeans we’ll deliver 26 issues to your Minor door in 2022. (We don’t even require the soybeans, Roof Leaks? but the funds come in handy in a lot of ways.) CALL US! Please take a couple of minutes to fill out the subscription form found inside this issue. TRUTH: When The Land is at trade shows or Farmfest, people fill out the same form at our booth and it really does only take a couple of minutes — ask anyone. If you know a friend or neighbor who might enjoy The Land (city or country) we offer them the same deal. We believe The Land is a family-friendly way to stay connected during a time when things seem so disconnected. We wish everyone a prosperous — and most importantly, safe 2022. Thank you for your support! Paul Malchow is the managing editor of The Land. He may be reached at editor@TheLandOnline.com. v
Form takes two minutes (honest)
