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Discussion
The questions and
activities can be used both in the classroom and at home. They are designed to facilitate discussion
and exploration of the ideas introduced in the exhibit and can be used in the classroom or at home either
before or after you have visited the exhibit.
Free land was one of the major incentives the government offered to women and men who were
willing to move to the plains. Would this be enough to convince you to leave home and start a new
life in a new place? Why or why not?
Think about the reasons women and men move or relocate today. Are there similarities between
the homesteaders' motivation for moving west and women and men moving around the country
today?
What can Mattie Oblinger's letters teach us about the sod house frontier?
How do you define courage? Do you consider Mattie and Uriah Oblinger courageous? Why or why
not?
There is an old saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention." What does this saying mean?
How does this saying apply to the homesteaders of the mid-1800s?
Letter-writing was Mattie Oblinger's main form of communication with her family. Think about how
technology has changed the way we communicate with one another. What are the advantages and
disadvantages of this new technology?
If your class or family decides to try any of the activities below, please take photographs and send
them to us so we can post them on our web site!
Decide what to do when disaster strikes!
Pick one of the photographs from the exhibit. Pretend that you are one of the people pictured in
the family portrait. It is two days after the photo was taken and a horrible storm has passed through
the territory. The roof has collapsed from the tremendous rainfall. The heavy sod has fallen on the
beds and chairs, destroying all of the furniture in the house. Your crops are damaged and many of
your work animals, frightened by the storm, have run away. Your family is trying to decide whether
to stay and rebuild on the plains or go back east where the challenges you faced were different.
However, you will lose your claim if you leave. You will not own your own land if you return to the
Midwest or the East. You will have to rent from a landlord. What will your family decide to do?
Prepare an argument for your family outlining what you think they should do: stay on the claim or
return home.
Debate
Read the paragraph above. Choose one of the following positions to debate:
Argue that your family needs to stay on the claim. You must try to rebuild your home and replant
your crops. The opportunities for you here on the plains are worth the difficulties you might
face.
Argue that this disaster has shown you that life here in on the plains is too difficult. The
opportunities here are not worth the trouble. You would rather return to the Midwest where your
family and friends are.
Each side will need to construct a convincing argument based on the
information in the exhibit and from outside research. See the Sod House online exhibit's resource list
for more sources. While preparing the argument, think about props and costumes that can be
incorporated into the presentation to make your character more convincing. Stage the final debate in
class.
Every picture tells a story...
Pictures are wonderful storytellers. Photographs show people in different environments, capture
expressions, emotions, and activities. We keep photographs as a way of preserving memorable times
and experiences. The photographs we used in this exhibit tell us a lot about pioneer life on the
plains. By examining these pictures we can begin to understand the kinds of surroundings the
homesteaders lived and worked in. The photographs also tell us about the different jobs men and
women were responsible for on the homestead. Their clothing, posture, and expressions tell us much
about what roles they played in the family. Without these and other photographs, we would be forced to
speculate a great deal more on pioneer life.
Go through your own family photographs. Are there pictures that you think should be saved,
preserved, and passed on through generations? Do these photographs tell a story about a person, a
place, or a time that should be remembered? Why or why not? What family stories do these photos
tell?
Now look at the same photographs and compare what the men and women are doing. Are there both
men and women in all of the photographs? Why or why not? Are their roles (their jobs within the
family or society) clearly defined in some pictures or are the roles unclear? What can you
determine about the men and the women in the photograph by their clothing, expression, and
actions?
Pull out five photographs that are significant to you. What stories do they tell? How do the
men and women in these photographs differ, how are they alike? What can you determine about the
people in the photographs just by looking? Write these stories down on paper.
Break into small groups and show your other group members your photographs. See how much of the
story behind the photo your classmates can guess just by looking at it. Once you have all shared
your photographs, read your stories to one another. Were you able to guess correctly? What parts
of the story didn't you get from the photograph?
Discuss the strengths and limitations of photography as a storytelling device.
As a class, you can create a photo exhibit in your room or in school based on the stories
and photographs each one of you brings in. To prepare your exhibit, think about the story your
photographs tell. How much of your exhibit will be photographs? How much text is required to
explain the photographs? Think about what you want the viewers to understand or learn from your
photo exhibit, then prepare your story.
Letters
Mattie Oblinger's letters tell the compelling story of a woman joining her husband in a house made of
sod, so that together they could stake their claim in the West. Through these letters, the Oblingers'
quest for independence unfolds. Because Mattie's family collected, saved and donated the letters to
the Nebraska Historical Society, we are able to enter into this story. We begin to understand the
struggles and triumphs of everyday life as a homesteader braving the odds in a strange new land full
of opportunity and obstacles. By reading Mattie's letters we can visualize the people, landscape,
and experiences that were new and exciting to Mattie.
Letter from Mattie to her family in Indiana
Filmore Co., Nebraska April 16, 1876
Dear Father & Mather & Bros. & Sister
This afternoon I will try and write a few lines to you. I have not much news but I suppose you are
anxious to hear from us as it has been some time since we wrote to you and I do not know as Giles
has wrote lately. I don't think they write many letters but it seems as though Giles gets all the
letters home lately. It would not make any difference to me if we would get to read the letter but
he does not seem to care whether we see them or not. He got one some time ago that we never seen.
We was up there asked him for it he said he did not know where it was and he did not put himself to
any trouble to find it. I did not like it very well. If we would treat him that way he would get
as mad as a wet hen. Today is Easter in Neb. We had a little shower this forenoon that kept us from going to Church. It
has cleared away and is a very nice evening. I think Easter will pass by without a storm this time.
There was a little snow fell Thursday night. I hope we will have better weather after this for the
spring is very backward here. The farmers are very late getting their grain in. I have not made any
garden yet. I want to make some this week if it does not snow all week. Last Monday we went to Mr.
Meservays and got a lot of Cottonwood and Willow cuttings to put out this spring. I got some rose
bushes and White and Purple Lilacs and Mountain Currant and a nice bunch of Wine Plant. The Wine
Plant you sent us I divided into five buds this spring it is coming on nicely I think we will have
plenty of wine plant. Meservay is a Methodist exhorter & has been a preacher he preaches for us
some times Sam he lives across the road from the Manlyville house he is 9 miles east and 1 mile North
of us Uriah & Ella has come with the milk so I must attend to it. It goes pretty good to have milk and
butter to use Nett you ask in your letter if we got Fathers picture Yes we got it I think I never
seen a more perfect picture Ella did not know it when I told her who it was she run to Stella with it
and said Stella here is Grandpa She thinks very much of it Mother didant you have some taken too I
would like to see you since you have got to looking so well we had to write our letters in a hurry
there for a while and we did not get to write all we intended to was the reason we neglected saying
anything about it I thought of it several times after the letters was gone I assure you we were glad
to get it Charlie have you had any photo taken since we left would like to know what kind of a
looking chap you have got to be do you wear a mustache or have you any beard Does will wear whiskers
I forgot to ask him Net I think you failed in getting the kind of a man that you use to make your
boast you was going to have I always told you you would not look at the mane nor nothing else when
the wright one come around It seems that Stright is younger and I don't think he can be that big man
you use to talk about and as to names I think Uriah Wesley is handsome by the side of Daniels Stright
I hope he fills the bill in every other respect Stright must not get offended at what I have said
for this would not be a commencement if I was there Do you know any person in your part of the
country by the name of S.G. Thomas He was in Neb awhile I have been acquainted with him for awhile
tell him I would like to hear from him once more I think Ermina H is doing well Do not know when
I was so surprised what does she call her babies I think old Tuplone is going ahead of every thing
I every heard of Monday afternoon Well I will finish my letter now Ella & Stella are playing Uriah
is plowing I wish you could see the girls at some of their plays Estella tries to do every thing
she sees Ella do they are both as fat as they can be Ella has got to be quite a singer She can sing
Hold the fort and Pull for the Shore & Jesus loves me and When Jesus comes and Always more to follow
some of these are Moodies & Sankies songs she sings along with the congregation at church She was at
me this forenoon to let her stay with Aunt Sade and learn to be a dress maker She said then she
could make all my dresses and she would buy a machine and do all my heavy sewing She tries to milk
Rose but she says Rose will not give her milk down I want you to send Giles Pants & Vest pattern I
want the vest patterna and Sada the pants pattern Nett I dont think you give a very good description
of how you was dressed when you was married how did you have your hair combed I suppose every hair
was in its place and not a wrinkle in your clothes Did you use your wedding dress for your infair
dress too Did you wear your gloves when you was married You say Stright did not wear a bustle well
he may be the cause of a bustle in the family in course of time Be sure and tell us how Tillie Dum
is when you write I dont see how Mrs Dum will get along Oh yes Nett here is a recipe that
I want you to try I assure you it is good for I tried it the other day Omelette Souffle is what it
is called One cup of flour One pint of sweet milk flour and butter together After the batter is
cold Stir in the yolks of five eggs Stir in the froth of the whites just before baking Bake in a
quick oven serve with sauce made to suit the taste ( I use sweetened cream) (Farmers Union) I will
send you some pieces of Sades dress The drab is piece of her wedding dress the velvet is a piece of
her basque Sade looks so much better than when she came There will be quarterly meeting at Momence
14th & 15th of May Want you all to come Net you have not sent me a piece of the dress Uncle George
give you or are you so plenty of dresses that you have not made it How do you think you will get
along with your sewing when you leave the sewing machine Well I believe I am done for this time
Would like to hear from all of you soon We are all well hope this will find you all enjoying the
same blessing for I do consider health a great blessing and I am sure we have enjoyed health since
we have been here as ever yours
--Mattie V. Oblinger
Read Mattie's letter and examine the grammar, punctuation, spelling and language she uses. We
know Mattie did not attend college, but we don't know what grade she completed. We believe her
schooling was somewhat limited because of the misspellings and lack of punctuation in her letters;
however, she might have been more careful if she had been writing an essay for school. Do you think
education was as important to the pioneers who moved west as it is to us today? While children did
attend school, they were also expected to help out around the house and to work on the homestead.
Often, because of their responsibilities on the homestead and the frequent family moves, children
could not attend school consistently.
Pretend you are Mattie's teacher. Correct the misspellings and bad grammar and add the necessary
punctuation to help make the letter easier to read. Compare your corrections with another student.
Did you find the same mistakes?
Read Mattie Oblinger's letter home to her parents. What does she talk about? What does she
think is important for her family to understand about her new life? Once you have considered these
ideas, select a photograph in the exhibit. Pretend you are one of the pioneer children pictured.
Write a letter home to one of your friends in the Midwest. Describe your life on the Plains to
them. Give them details about the weather, the insects, your responsibilities and how you feel
about life as a pioneer in the West. Describe your feelings as you go about your daily
chores.
Time Capsule
Keep a journal of your activities, dreams, goals, and frustrations. Write in the journal at least
two times a week detailing what your average day is like. What do you do in your free time? What are
your favorite subjects in school? What kind of music do you listen to? What kinds of chores do you do
around the house? What are the latest fashions for your age group? Your journal should describe your
experiences so that if someone who did not know you were to read it, they would begin to understand
what your life is like.
As a class, create a time capsule that describes the life of a teenager today. What are your
priorities, what are your hopes and dreams? Put the journals in the time capsule with other artifacts
that are important to you and your peers. Write a letter explaining why you included these artifacts
and put it in the capsule. Leave a letter with the principal of your school outlining when the
capsule should be opened. It should remain unopened for at least 20 years.
Regional Differences in Sod House Construction
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Architectural styles vary depending on the climate, materials available, the skill of the builder, and
the planned use of the building. Examine the photograph of the Alaskan sod house. You will notice
that the builders of this "soddy" used whalebones in the doorway construction, a material obviously not
available to the land-locked Nebraska settlers.
Inupiat Eskimos in Alaska made sod houses with seal skin windows and used seal oil lamps for light
and heat. When available, they incorporated driftwood into the construction. |
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Omaha Indians living in the northeastern part of Nebraska built their earth lodges using a timber
framework with smaller poles to fill in the gaps and provide more support for the roofing material.
They then covered the poles with grass and laid a thick layer of sod over the entire structure to
provide shelter from the weather. The Omaha Indians inhabited a wooded area close to the Missouri
River where timber was plentiful. The Omaha's earth lodges used far more wood than the
homesteaders' "soddy." The homesteaders tended to use less wood, since they settled farther away
from forested areas. Some historians speculate that the Omaha earth lodge may have served as a
model for the early soddies.
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