Book tells of hard times
Maybe I'll start working in a bar or restaurant. I hear the waitresses are getting big tips. One girl in Hutchinson received a $10,000 tip. Of course, what the government took cut it down to about $6,000. I'm sure it was a big thrill and much appreciated.
There is a little TV show on at 11 a.m. called, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" It consists of 15 questions and if you answer them right, you will win a million dollars. The fun is trying to answer them myself. Sometimes I do pretty well. The contestants are usually attractive and interesting.
Right now, I'm reading, "Next Year Country," by Craig Miner, a professor at Wichita State University. The book covers the time of 1890 to 1940. It's about the settling of western Kansas. That being the part of the state west of Wichita, McPherson, and Salina.
What a horrible time for the people who went there to make a home for their families. They had to contend with wind, dust, drought, grasshoppers, prairie dogs, no water, you name it — they had it. They tried everything with many failures.
Finally, Kansas State Agricultural College sent scientists to try to help solve the problems. It wasn't until machinery, special methods, and hard work seemed to do any good. Gradually little towns were established and the farmers began to produce paying crops.
The lack of water was their biggest problem. Water conservation is the whole world's problem and now we need to keep that in mind.
— NORMA HANNAFORD
