So Big unfolds a Chicago childhood and farm life tale
Selina DeJong, nineteen and destitute, becomes a schoolteacher near Chicago in 1888. She forms a bond with Pervus DeJong, a poor farmer, and they marry. Dirk DeJong is born as Selina’s plans for a prosperous farm clash with husband’s skepticism and social hardship.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dirk DeJong
Selina DeJong
Simeon Peake
Chicago
Julie Hempel
August Hempel
Simeons
Selina
High Prairie School
Klaas Pool
Roelf
Klaas
Paarlenberg
Pervus DeJong
Vermont
Roelf Runs Away From the Farm After Family Strain
In a restless chapter continuing their struggles Maartje laments life’s pull while Roelf, now sixteen, flees the High Prairie household. He plans to go to Chicago with a suitcase of store clothes and a handful of saved coins, leaving behind Selina, Geertje, Jozinn, Klaas, and the widow Paarlenberg, whose marriage to Klaas shocks the town.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Maartje
Roelf
Geertje
Jozinn
Selina
Roelt
Klaas
Paarlenberg
High Prairie
Ingallable
Pervus
Chicago
Chapter VII Dirk and the restless boy in the one room house
Dirk at eight and Little Sobig DeJong in a bean-sack suit. Rey sports bitten legs. A two-story brick structure replaces Selina's day, while a rusty front cenron by a central feature marks High Prairie's pride.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dirk
Sobig DeJong
Rey
Selina
Selina Takes the Market Helm in High Prairie Tale
A widow of days, Selina Peake DeJong drives to market with son Dirk, proving a fierce, enduring strength. She revives the farm, relaunches underdraining and asparagus plans, battles poverty, and challenges local norms as she propels the DeJong truck farming toward a stubborn, hopeful future.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dirk
Pervus
High Prairie
Lina
Penny
Illinois
Selina
Per
Haymarket
DeJong
Jan
Jan Steen
Chicago
Will Selina Sell All Vegetables At Top Price
A brief item questions Selina’s fate as she struggles to sell every vegetable at high prices or face despair at home, hinting at market pressures and personal challenge.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Selina
She Meant Well at Polo Fields Visit
A student guides an elderly woman around a university, trying to show she understands. The son points to polo fields, while the mother sighs that the scene is nicer than fields of wav ing polo, revealing a humorous miscommunication.
Foot injury cuts stovewood work in Stumpus Ridge
Mrs Johnson reports Mrs Gregory cut her foot badly while chopping stovewood during a neighborhood call from Stumpus Ridge. Gap Johnson agrees Gabe will struggle to support her for a couple of months. Local news tone from the Kansas City Star.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Ednat Ferber
Clark Agnew
Doubleday, Page & Co
WNU
Chapter
Sobig
Maartje Pool
de- Jong
Selina Peake
Adam Ooms
Setina
Macure
Bow
Diante
Wolden
Holty
Northwestern Yeast Co
North Ashland Ave
Chicago, Ill
Lansing
Mich
Durant Motors, Inc
West 57Th Street
New York
General Sales Dept
Broadway
United States
Canada
Mexico
Planrs, Elizabeth, N. J
Lansing, Mich
Oakland, Cal
Toronto, Ont
Gwendoline
America
Portland Cement Association
Washington Street
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!