One mother's story almost was silenced

Sometimes a story comes along that's so compelling it haunts me for weeks on end. I become preoccupied with each detail, the adventure, the underlying meaning of it all.

I learned of such a story a couple of weeks ago when I attended a Soroptimists International convention in Coeur d' Alene. The historic account easily could have slipped into oblivion if it hadn't caught the attention of Whitworth College English professor Linda Hunt as she pored over a history contest essay late one evening in 1984.

Eighth-grader Doug Bahr had written an essay for the Washington State History Day Contest called "Grandma Walks from Coast to Coast," detailing the cross-continent trek by Norwegian immigrant Helga Estby and her daughter Clara in 1896 to earn a $10,000 wager and save the family farm.

Immediately intrigued by the essay, Hunt researched the story, traveling across America and even to Norway to piece together an amazing adventure that had been all but silenced by Helga's disapproving family.

Hunt's research became the foundation for her book, "Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America."

Hunt told the crowd of Soroptimist women about Helga and Clara's journey, then sold copies of her book afterwards. I dashed out to get the first autographed copy.

As I gazed at the photo of Helga on the front cover, she looked like any of my Norwegian ancestors might have, fair and blue-eyed, with an air of stoic confidence. I started reading and couldn't stop.

Ultimately, it's a story about a mother's love and the lengths one mother went to in a daring quest to make a better life for her family.

Helga and her husband, Ole, were desperate to save their 160-acre farm near Spokane during hard economic times in the 1890s. It was at the height of the Victorian age in America, when women were considered fragile and dared not bare their ankles and mothers were told their place was in the home.

Sometime in the spring of 1896 Helga learned of a $10,000 wager offered by "eastern parties" to a woman who would walk across America. The mysterious sponsor, whose identity was never revealed to Helga, apparently was connected to the fashion industry and wanted to prove the physical endurance of women, "at a time when many still considered it fashionable to be dependent and weak," Hunt wrote.

Part of the deal for Helga and Clara was to wear the "reform costume," bicycle skirts that showed their ankles and were considered risqu/ at the time.

They were allowed to take only $5 apiece, forcing them to stop and work sporadically along the way to earn money for food. In their packs that weighed less than eight pounds, they carried a revolver and red-pepper spray gun "to thwart dangerous highwaymen or wild animals," medical supplies, a little food, a journal and a curling iron that beguiled American Indians they encountered along the way.

Walking across America is a challenging feat even today with the comfort of running shoes, water-repellent sportswear, sunscreen, energy bars and paved roads. I can't fathom what these two women went through, walking through thunderstorms and hordes of mosquitos. They fended off thieves, transients and mountain lions. At one point they become disoriented and get lost in the Snake River lava beds for three days without food.

They ultimately make it to their destination of New York City two days before Christmas in 1896, after traveling for seven months and 18 days. That they arrived unscathed is a testament to the human spirit.

I won't give away the ending, but suffice to say that all does not end well for Helga and Clara. Eventually they returned to Spokane, but the family never forgave Helga for deserting the family and resented her for the rest of her life.

"If it took silence to preserve the fragile bonds within her family, and restore friendships and respect within her cherished community, this was a cost she was willing to pay," Hunt wrote.

After her death, hundreds of pages Helga had written about the trip were burned, but a daughter-in-law secretly took a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about the trek and thus kept the story alive. Hunt's research turned up many newspaper accounts of the two women's journey, filling in many gaps in the story.

I share this story on Mother's Day because it's a mother's story that's worth remembering. Sometimes, as we wallow in our easy comfortable lives in this new millennium, it's easy to forget the sacrifices our forefathers and foremothers made for a better life in America. Helga's story will stay with me for a good long while.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com