About Life in Fountain Prairie
Daniel Smith was one of ten children growing up on a farm in Fountain Prairie, Minnesota during the Great Depression. Fountain Prairie is in Southwestern Minnesota near Pipestone and the border of South Dakota.
Daniel served his country in World War II as part of the Army Air Corp and was stationed in the South Pacific. He went on to graduate from Calvin College and then completed his MSW from the University of Michigan. He served as a social worker for Lutheran Social Service and the St. Louis Park school district before retiring in 1987.
Daniel's content has been supplemented by the family history work done by Fannie Smith, the wife of Daniel's brother Maynard. All of the images on this website are from her family history.
Editing and some additional writing was done by Sara Robbert, wife of Daniel’s grandson, Adam.
We hope this collection will be an honor and tribute to the history of the Smith family. Throughout the recollection a family theme is revealed to be one of resilience, love, and loyalty. The Smith’s are a family committed to growth, education, and their faith in God.
As you read along, you may find yourself laughing out loud at some of the tidbits and being impressed by the accounts of resourcefulness the family members reveal during a time when resources were scarce. Rather than seeing times of poverty as a sign of laziness, may we be reminded that circumstances are at play, and often poverty and unfortunate circumstances develop a deeper strength and drive.
Coming to America
Henry Smith, along with his first and second wife, were from the Netherlands. It appears that Henry was quite well-to-do in the Netherlands, based on the size of the house and the fact that they had several farm laborers.
Henry was a well-to-do farmer until 1929 when he lost his money, reported to be $35,000, when the banks collapsed. During the depression of the 1930’s when crops weren't growing, Henry had to find money to pay the mortgage interest every year.
Farm Life
The farm the Smith family lived on was primitive. The bedrooms were unheated. The "pea pot" would freeze over at night. There was no plumbing in the house. They had a washing machine with a 32-volt motor and used a generator to run it.
When a relative of Susie visited from Holland she was shocked there was no toilet.
They raised chickens but sold most of the eggs so rarely ate them. In Daniel’s words:
Our family had to survive on the wildlife and fish as well as a few things we could get for the egg money. At 12 or later 19 cents a dozen for the eggs, you did not buy a whole lot of groceries. Sugar was 10 cents a pound so that was one of the things that was quite available. I remember one of our favorite things when my parents went out to visit was for the boys to make various kinds of candy. My mother allowed this although there was some danger of getting burned. We loved it when my parents went out and we made caramel candy, chocolate candy, or some other concoction that we worked out all by ourselves. Sometimes when they went out, my mother would leave the dough for us to make "oleballen" which are like donuts but with raisins. They're round and deep-fried in lard.”
Fountain Prairie Township
Fountain Prairie Township is located in Southwestern Minnesota. In 2020, the population was 199 people. It is near Holland and Pipestone, Minnesota, and close to the border of South Dakota.
Two of Daniel's brother, Albert and Jake, raised families and farmed in the area.