Sod And Stubble Analysis

A Kansas Story of Pioneering

Sod and Stubble, written by John Ise, was copyrighted in 1936 by Wilson, Erickson, Inc. where it was not a success, possibly because of the Great Depression. The next edition was published by the University of Nebraska Press in 1968, with a second printing in 1972. It was also published by Bison Book Edition and went through four printings from 1967 to 1972. (Carbonara, 1) The historical non-fiction novel’s last print in 1996, Sod and Stubble: The Unabridged & Annotated Edition was published with additional research material by Von Rothenberger, such as family photographs, photographs of main characters, and the notes of each chapter provided clarification to the content. The number of printings is great evidence to the literary and historical value of this historical novel. Sod and Stubble is a narrative that is characteristic to many experiences in homesteading for pioneers of not just Kansas, but across the Great Plains and
It opened up the narrative to be much broader than just about Kansas. Henry Eisenmanger was an immigrant farm hand from Wurttemberg, Germany. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Henry enlisted in the Union army, where his name became Henry Ise. Coincidentally, Rosa’s family came from Neckar, Germany which was not far from Henry’s old home. (Ise, 11) Incidentally, Henry and Rosa’s neighbors in Osborne County, Kansas were all immigrants from Germany as well, in addition to Germans, English, Irish, and Welsh. Extending the story beyond the borders of Kansas, Ise presented a biography that opened up to the many immigrants who had originated in different countries, as well as other states with in the United States as well as a story that coincided with everyone across the United States who was attempting to homestead. (Ise,