For many historians, the close of the Pioneer Period in Iowa came in
1870. By that time the entire state had been settled and there were no more
frontiers. It also marked a time when transportation changed. The Des Moines
River was declared impossible to navigate, so steamboats would not be seen
again on this stream.
According to Thomas H. Benton, "there was not a better population on the
face of the earth" than the Iowa pioneers. They were of the best blood and
ranked among the best sons this country produced. He described them as
young, strong, energetic, hardy, courageous and adventurous.
Most of them came with a purpose. The broad rich prairies of Iowa somehow
seemed to widen their views and fertilize their ideas. The frontier
environment marked an influence on politics. Men were freed of traditions
and became more progressive-minded.
Life had been very tough on the frontier. Each cabin had a fireplace
where bread was baked in a Dutch oven or "bake pan" by heaping coals around
and on top of the container. Corn bread or "dodger" was made of coarse corn
meal and could be baked in a covered skillet over the coals. Meat and "flap
jack" pancakes were fried in a long-handled skillet held over the fire.
Turkey, venison or pork cooked by a different method. These pieces were hung
over the fire on a twisted string. The meat slowly turned and browned while
the fat fell into a pan placed on the hearth, called a "dripping pan."
Upsetting the pan meant "getting the fat in the fire" as an explosion of
flame burst upward for a few minutes and could set things on fire that were
too close to the hearth.
Later, when stoves were introduced, a whole new way of cooking emerged,
which meant that the pioneer housewife could add a wider variety of foods to
her cooking agenda.
The frontier lacked schools. If possible, children learned basics in the
home as best their parents could provide, but many of the parents could not
read and write. The frontier also usually lacked churches until towns were
well established. Many pioneer families kept God alive in their homes with
their own prayer meetings and Bible readings while other people lived and
survived with very little knowledge about the Lord.
An early religious service was held just north of Pittsburg in August,
1837 and was attended by the Duffields, among other settlers. George
Duffield described the open air meeting under "the Old Church Tree" and said
that he seldom passed by the old elm tree without being reminded of Reverend
Hill screaming, "Oh sinner, look! Look!"
He bent with his hands nearly touching the ground, then continued as he
got everyone's attention. "Look, while I take off the hatch of Hell!" With
long, bony fingers he acted out lifting a heavy iron manhole cover while
writhing his body to demonstrate the tortures of the damned."
Simplicity and fervor were emphasized in religious meetings and revivals
on the prairie. I recently heard a minister take each major
denomination--Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Lutheran--and describe how
far each had gone away from the principles of their founders. People like
Wesley, Calvin, Smythe, and Martin Luther would not recognize many of the
groups that claim to be following in their footsteps.
The pioneer period came to a close and ushered in the modern period with
a new way of doing everything, including worship. A western preacher once
visited a New England church and pointed at the organ and said, "There's
your wooden god, the organ." "Bellowing up in the gallery a few dandified
singers do it all (the choir) as the congregation won't sing, and when you
pray, you sit instead of kneeling." He rocked them to the core.
I'm not advocating a complete return to the struggles of frontier life, but I do think that getting back to basics can help us establish a better connection with life in general, as well as with God. The pioneer period may be closed, but we can still learn a lot from the people who fashioned civilization for us on the prairie, during what history calls the pioneer period. Simplicity is the key that unlocks many doors.
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