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Title
Oscar and Alice Simonson PapersIdentifier
MA 75Creator
Oscar and Alice SimonsonDates
1941-1979Extent
0.63 linear feet (one document case and one small document case), photographs, sound recordingAbstract
Oscar E. Simonson (1913-2014) and Alice Margaret Bakken (1918- ) were married on June 11, 1938. They made their home and farmed in the Bristol, South Dakota area for 40 years, planting their first crops in the spring of 1939. The collection consists of “Farm Family Record Books” compiled by Alice and Oscar Simonson from June 1, 1941 through Dec. 31, 1979 for their farm in Day County. In these workbooks, issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers Home Administration, farmers recorded monthly all money taken in and paid out, as well as farm-furnished food, an annual summary and a five year inventory. The workbooks provide details of a family farm during the mid-twentieth century. The collection also includes some images of the family and an oral history interview conducted with Alice Simonson in 2016.