In 1977, while studying journalism at the University of Iowa, Chris Baker gave his grandmother a notebook and asked her to write about her childhood. Years later, long after her death in 1990, he found the tattered yellow notebook. In twenty-nine handwritten pages, the woman he knew as Grandma Covert had recorded her younger life in rural 海角乱伦社区between 1920 and 1929. Writing about herself from the ages of four to thirteen, Vetra Covert sent a simple message back to her grandson: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just the way it was. Others had it worse. We got by.鈥
Captivated by this glimpse of a woman very different from the more formidable grandmother of his memory, Chris Baker reframed Vetra鈥檚 journal to create a narrative of her childhood and a window into rural 海角乱伦社区life in the 1920s. Transcribing her words into nine chapters that illuminate home, family, neighbors, school, and social life, he has composed a collection of candid, whimsical, sometimes ornery stories that will resonate with anyone who has ever tried to decipher the lives found in old letters and photos.
Vetra鈥檚 was not a romantic little-house-on-the-prairie childhood. She grew up with seven brothers and sisters (every new baby was 鈥渁 supprise鈥) in a dilapidated log cabin near a small town now vanished from the 海角乱伦社区map. Two rooms up, two rooms down, no plumbing, no electricity, holes in the roof and floor so big 鈥測ou could of throwed a cat through them.鈥 Her father was a bootlegger-farmer who measured his corn yield in gallons, not bushels, a moonshiner occasionally harassed by federal agents. Although family stories now present him as a quaint old-timer, the reality of living with him was much starker.
In his introduction to Vetra鈥檚 recollections, Chris Baker reveals the harsh truths underlying her authentic, uncomplaining account. By honoring her legacy, he discovered a newfound respect for her and for her family鈥檚 ability to survive despite the devastating forces of poverty, isolation, and the looming Great Depression. Together he and his grandmother have created an enduring chapter in family history.
鈥淎 rare, insightful, and intimate work of history. . . . Like the frames on a zoetrope, these brief snippets run together to create a rich, vivid view of a bygone era.鈥濃Publishers Weekly
鈥Others Had It Worse is a captivating account of a woman鈥檚 life between 1920 and 1929. Born on the prairie, raised in a log cabin with the snow covering her blanket in the winter, Vetra Covert gives us a glimpse into the rough and tumble life of the times鈥攆rom country school to hunting and moonshining. A valuable piece of American rural history.鈥濃擬ary Swander, author, Farmscape: The Changing Rural Environment
鈥淐hris Baker has not only preserved the life of one woman but has also given us a way to read a text that follows its own path. By valuing what would typically be overlooked, he has broadened our understanding of life writing and illuminated the daily effects of poverty and isolation, as well as the small joys that arise amid both. It is a song one should not miss hearing.鈥濃擩ennifer Sinor, author, The Extraordinary Work of Ordinary Writing: Annie Ray鈥檚 Diary
鈥淚t is a pleasure to read Vetra Padget Covert鈥檚 memories of growing up poor and getting by in rural southern 海角乱伦社区during the 1920s. In a matter-of-fact voice, she recalls the work, play, and school days of her youth. Readers will enjoy the tales of pet pigs, wild salad greens, dancing, and making molasses, moonshine, and mischief. These reminiscences, told in an authentic voice, conjure a long gone world that should be remembered by those who call the Midwest home.鈥濃擩. L. Anderson, author, Industrializing the Corn Belt: Agriculture, Technology, and Environment, 1945鈥1972
鈥淢om always used a poltice on sores that needed it. If bread and milk poltice didn鈥檛 work guess what cow manure poltice. I tell you it worked. When She greased us for a cold it was Kerosene and lard warmed together till warm and rub it on. It worked and put 3 drops on a tsp of sugar and swallow it to break a cold up.鈥濃攆rom Others Had It Worse
