Tomboy Bride, 50th Anniversary Edition: One Woman's Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West

I really enjoy reading this book.

This is an extremely well-written memoir, with generous doses of history included. The author, who grew up in Oakland, California, describes the early years of her marriage, which began in a hard-rock mining camp at 11,000 feet elevation in Colorado, early in the 20th Century. The descriptions of her highly unusual day-to-day life, and the unique environment that surrounded her, are elegant.For a bonus, also read "A Visit with the Tomboy Bride," by historian Duane A Smith, who corresponded with Harriet Fish Backus (The "Tomboy Bride") after her book was published.

This was a great book! I enjoyed the pictures that were included in this 50th Anniversary edition. Loved the story of Harriet’s life and the struggle of living high in the mountains while her husband worked at the mines. I passed it on to my granddaughter to read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was written in a fresh, frank, clear manner and engaging style. A great way to learn about the people, place and time.

If you ever thought of memoirs as a boring genre, I encourage you to sample Harriet Fish Backus’ Tomboy Bride. It is anything but boring. “Tomboy” refers to the Tomboy Mine, located above Telluride, Colorado, and “bride” is the author Harriet who moved there in 1906 immediately after her wedding at the age of twenty with her mining engineer husband George Backus. The first half of the book describes the difficulties and adventures inherent in living in an almost impossible to reach area with only the barest necessities. Harriet was a city girl and had a big learning curve in basic survival skills in the remote, dangerous, high altitude mining camp—everything from baking at over 11,500 feet to how to wade in long skirts in the snow to an outhouse located quite a distance from the home.The second half of the book relates a series of moves to various mines along with changes in mining fortunes. Not every mine was successful, and the country’s economic twists affected the mines as well. Their adventures took the couple to Britannia Beach, British Columbia; Elk City, Idaho; and Leadville, Colorado. They had several children and lived through World War I and the Great Depression. George’s mechanical ingenuity landed him a job in Oakland, California, which he held for 37 years, but Harriet’s fondest memories are not the ones of ease in the city, but of struggles, love, and friendship in the mountains.Mining was a difficult and dangerous business. This was true even for college educated mining engineers who suffered from the cold, long hours and perils along with the miners. Mortality rates were high because of the distance to health care. Transportation was slow and uncomfortable along the treacherous snow packed mountain trails. Water and coal had to be carried by hand from dropping off points up slippery, snow-covered slopes to their homes by the residents. The only fruits and vegetables available were canned and brought up monthly on burros. Because of the isolation, residents tended to work as a community. As long as Harriet and George were together, they were happy despite, and sometimes perhaps because of, their shared hardships.

I bought this book on other's recommendations about how good it was and I agree. I am doing research on the area for a book I am writing and I wanted to learn more about the mining life and especially about life from a woman's perspective.