Wantha Davis loved to race horses—and to win doing it. From the Great Depression through the 1950s, she won more than 1,000 races. Her feats on the racetrack were commemorated in newspapers across the country and on newsreels in movie houses. She was referred to by many major sports writers as one of the finest...
One of the top women bronc riders from the 1930s through the 1950s, Margie broke horses for her father and neighbors while still in grade school. Her ability to ride rough stock led to winning the Ladies Bronc Riding Championship at Cheyenne in 1941 and a career as a trick rider. Retiring from rodeo, Margie...
Best known for her “Little House” books, Laura was born in a log cabin in Wisconsin and saw the frontier as her family traveled west as pioneer settlers. It is on these experiences that Laura based her books. She captured the successive phases of the American frontier by preserving her own memories of her travels....
Eldest of the Ingalls children, Mary dreamed of becoming a schoolteacher until she was stricken with scarlet fever and lost her sight. She instead attended the Iowa State College for the Blind, graduating with high marks. Returning home, she lived with her mother and wove colorful “fly nets” for horses. She was a church organist...
Matriarch of the Ingalls family, Caroline was an educated and cultured woman despite being born and raised on the frontier. Quiet and gentle, she had five children and was known for her kindness and concern for others. She moved to Kansas with her husband, and then to Minnesota, where she lost her only son. After...
Lilla began life as the daughter of an Indiana mill owner. Initially working as a schoolteacher, she became the first woman to practice before the Kansas Supreme Court. Lilla was a political activist who lobbied successfully for the Suffrage Amendment. She founded two journals and promoted progressive welfare, labor and property rights, minimum-wage standards, improved...
