One of the goals of the Friends of the Fergusons Home is to educate people on the pioneer life that persons in Oklahoma Territory experienced, endured and overcame.  Mrs. Ferguson, in her book “They Carried the Torch…” https://www.amazon.com/CARRIED-TORCH-Oklahomas-Pioneer-Newspapers/dp/B002PZ9OW8 (Do you have one of these books to donate to the Friends?) gives insight into access to fresh food and clothing especially during the first year after the April 1892 Opening of the Cheyenne-Arapaho area https://fergusonhomemuseum.org/land-run-of-1892/.  Mrs. Fergusons also gives us a glimpse of her world travels.

No Meat markets, no homegrown vegetables and little fresh milk

“It took about as much genius during that period to be a successful housewife and mother as it did to edit a paper.  For the first year, there were no meat markets, no homegrown vegetables, and although there were many cattle ranches, few milk cows.  Everything must be freighted thirty-two miles by wagon from Kingfisher through sand trails, taking two days for the round trip .  Having grown up on a farm in Kansas in times of plenty I found that I must learn to adapt altogether different methods in providing palatable meals form my little family.  A small cook stove fed with cedar wood was used. The smell of burning cedar even now brings back to me those pioneer days most vividly.

Canned beef and Condensed Milk

Some of my ventures in cooking were rather amusing.  Canned goods were primitive in those days, compared with present articles.  I smile when I recall the result of attempt to make cream gravy from a can of condensed milk and canned corn beef, which sticky, sweet mess did not go down very well with the family. 

Travels to Shanghai, China

I was reminded of this mess four years ago while eating in a Chinese restaurant in Shanghai. (This gives a hint of Mrs. Ferguson’s world travels in the 1930’s after she sold the Watonga Republican).

Canned, Dried and substituted

Canned beef, tomatoes and corn, evaporated (dried) apples and sorghum, without butter, formed the basis of our food supplies at first.  Later I learned how to make palatable preserves from watermelon and jam from the wild plums which grew in abundance.  If I could not get sugar, I just used sorghum.

Necessity invents

As time went on we were able to obtain better food supplies, but the necessity of inventing something out of nothing was pretty good training….

Calico vs. Parisian dress

I learned to make shirts for my husband and clothes for my boys, and my best dress was of calico, sprigged with pink rosebuds and for which I paid eight cents a yard, making it myself.  I got a lot more pleasure out of it than one I bought in Paris not long ago (Another city in her world travels). 

Rag Carpet

A rag carpet for which I colored and sewed the rags to be woven on a hand loom by a neighbor, was more beautiful to me than anything I now possess.

On to more Pioneer Conquests

The feeling of achievement was a wonderful thing and led me on to more pioneer conquests.”