Barnyard News: Homesteading In the Yakima Valley

By Margaret Ann Young

It was 1980 in Prosser, Washington, when the oldest daughter of Yakima Valley pioneers, Annie and Ed Rice, passed away, deeming it necessary to finally open and examine turn-of-the-century camelback trunks. Buried under the dolls, clothes, and toys were several faded, hand-sewn booklets that told stories of a small world ruled by autocrats and peopled by the denizens of the barnyard.

At the turn of the twentieth century, Dorothy “Tottie” Rice was born, destined to die of heart failure within years. Her sister, Mary, devoted her days to nurturing and entertaining Tottie. As part of their make-believe world, the girls created several newspaper editions for relatives, providing a glimpse into what it was like in 1909 for two children with busy homesteading parents. When the Barnyard News copies surfaced after nearly one hundred years, Margaret Ann Young made it her mission to commit them to print—and to history—and pair them with a fascinating generational odyssey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Jan 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781483422411

Book preview

BARNYARD

NEWS

HOMESTEADING IN THE YAKIMA VALLEY

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Margaret Ann Young

Copyright © 2015 Margaret Ann Young.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-2242-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-2241-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014922003

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 01/05/2015

The Barnyard News

In 1980 in Prosser, Washington, with the final passing of the oldest daughter of Yakima Valley pioneers Ed and Annie Rice, it became necessary to finally open and examine the turn-of-the-century camelback trunks. Buried under the dolls, clothes and toys were several small booklets, hand lettered and with needle-sewn bindings, some of red ribbon and some of thread. They told stories of a small world ruled by autocrats and peopled by the denizens of the barnyard, all with given and surnames representative of their individual achievements. The stories within were unique, original, amusing, and well beyond the ken of children. And yet, for inspiration, Annie’s daughters had only nineteenth-century books, sent by more worldly relatives. One would have to have seen the dry desert that was the lower Yakima Valley at that time to appreciate the isolation and loneliness experienced by these children. And so with the knowledge that the youngest girl would die of heart failure within a few years, the middle child, Mary, devoted the first part of her life to nurturing and entertaining her frail little sister. As part of their make-believe life, the girls created a newspaper several times a year to be sent to relatives. It included prose and poetry descriptive of their small world. Researching the family led back in time several generations, and some of that history is included. It attempts to answer the age-old questions of place and time as well as why some in adversity are inspired and thrive while others despair.

This is the story of one very small life that burned with anticipation for a short time and then slowly lost energy, and was extinguished. A century later, evidence of this little life exists in a few faded copies of the Barnyard News. It seems fitting and proper to honor the author of this small, fanciful universe created in her effort to live to the fullest the short life she was given.

We must start this tale in the beginning of the middle, where all good stories start. In the late Middle Ages and from the various tribes in Germany came the mighty Bickelhaupt clan, chief road builders for the crown. From the slate-roofed villages in Wales came the devout and cerebral Owens family. Their journeys and eventual intersection gave rise to the story that is about to unfold.

In the year 1400, for