Book Report: Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden

So my book club chose this book, and I have honestly not been able to go to book club in forever because one thing or another keeps crossing my wires, and I read the books and never go and discuss.  It is a bummer, because I am now missing my book club this month, and I would absolutely love to go and discuss our latest book, State of Wonder.  Alas something always comes up.

Anyway, the month before State of Wonder, we read Nothing Daunted.  Nothing Daunted is the story of two best friend who are from educated wealthy families who decide to go out to Colorado and teach school. The true story of Ros Underwood and Dorothy Woodruff, as written by Dorothy's granddaughter, is a really fascinating tale about the differences in our country at that particular time.  How Dorothy and Ros come from Auburn, NY and have fabulous educations and amazing world travels, and travel to teach school in the Elkhead Mountains; A place that is even remote by the standards of most Coloradans.

They live with a family called the Harrison's, who live two miles away from the school house, where Ros and Dorothy travel on horseback each morning.  They spend a good bit of time with the man who recruited them, Ferry Carpenter, and his friend Bob Perry.  They visit each of their students at home and see the range of bountiful and desolate lives that each student leads as their families try to make a life in the difficult climate of the American West.

Now, I found this book to be very interesting, I enjoyed the whole book, BUT as I am now telling you about it, I cannot really recall any touchstones that made it amazing.  It was a documented true story of a great friendship and two people who were excited about an adventure, which they carried through to the end of their commitment.  It was interesting the whole way through, and generally based from diaries and letters of the two women and their friends.  Each girl eventually marries, but spends longer than usual at that particular time unmarried.

An interesting fact that I did learn and love was that Woodrow Wilson, when he was President of Princeton University, tried to institute the idea of quads, which are totally commonplace now at all colleges, so that New England boarding school students would be forced to mingle with students coming from all other parts of the country.  He was voted down, but it is interesting all the same.

Anyway, the other interesting thing that happened is that while I was in Montana, I happened to be at a house party and who was there, but Ros Underwood's granddaughter, Roz.  How exciting!!  We spent a good bit of time talking about her grandmother, and it was interesting to hear where the western life of her grandmother had lead her.  Roz, the granddaughter, was raised in the West, where her grandmother ended up marrying and settling.  Roz married a rancher, had four children and lives there still.  So interesting!!

This book is certainly worth the read.