Page 1 of 1

Written on the end papers of a stained and yellowed bound volume of the 1893 Report of the Secretary of Agriculture is Emma Mayer's wish list for her dowry. In her own handwriting, Emma listed seven items of furniture, with prices, that she wanted for the home she was soon to make as Mrs. Emil Beckmann.

Emma's choice of furniture is interesting. Inspection raises an anomaly.

There is an erasure which shows that Emma reduced the price of a stove from a two-digit dollar figure to a one-digit dollar figure, but kept the original noted prices of the parlor suite and sofa. This is curious because Emma knew that she would be moving into a log house, not the Victorian-style house which she would have many years later. What was she thinking of? What dreams was Emma harboring as she approached her wedding day? What had shaped her view of the role of farm wife?

Chapter Three of The Search for Emma's Story explores Emma's childhood and her schooling,

and her teenage experiences, for clues in an effort to determine the origins of her values and her dreams.