Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Personal Papers: Charities and Causes

Pear tree in the mountains was photographed as an example during N.E. Hansen's research on pears at Saolin in northern China; written in pencil on the back: Saolin, China my headquarters fro pears in the mountains 1924

Ornamental plantings in a park in Harbin, China; written in pencil on the back: Park at Harbin 1924

Ornamental plantings and statuary in a park in Harbin, China; written in pencil on the back: Park at Harbin 1924

Man standing by some ornamental plantings in a park in Harbin, China; written in pencil on the back: Park at Harbin 1924

Ornamental plantings surrounded by a fence in a park in Harbin, China; written in pencil on the back: Park at Harbin 1924

Child running by the ornamental plantings surrounded by a fence in a park in Harbin, China; written in pencil on the back: Park at Harbin 1924

Tree surrounded by a small lattice fence in a park in Harbin, China; written in pencil on the back: Park at Harbin 1924

Garden feature by a small lattice fence in a park in Harbin, China; written in pencil on the back: Park at Harbin 1924

Ornamental plantings surrounded by a fence in a park in Harbin, China; written in pencil on the back: Park at Harbin 1924

Forest Sterns, Bob Burgess, Richard Forman

The Oscar and Alice Simonson Papers offer an unusually detailed and continuous financial and operational record of a South Dakota family farm from 1941 to 1979, a period that spans World War II, postwar agricultural expansion, and major changes in rural economies. The Farm Family Record Books serve as a rare primary source documenting everyday economic decisions, household consumption, and farming practices in the northern Plains.

Alice Simonson’s precise and sustained recordkeeping provides insight into the role of women in farm management and the intersection of domestic and agricultural labor. Additionally, the accompanying photographs, oral history interview, and personal correspondence contextualize the lived experience of mid-20th-century farm families, enriching research in rural history, agricultural economics, women's studies, and social history.

This collection is valuable for scholars studying rural life, the evolution of federal agricultural policy, and the social fabric of family farming communities in the Midwest.

Ornate sign hanging over store in Manzhouli, Manchuria in northern China; written in pencil on the back: Manchouli North China 1924

Ornate designs on a building in Manzhouli, Manchuria in northern China; written in pencil on the back: Manchouli North China 1924

Street scene in Old Havana, Cuba, with cars, men and the sign and shopfront of La Bodeguita del Medio visible

Facade in Old Havana, Cuba

Ornate facade in Old Havana, Cuba

Architecture in Old Havana, Cuba

People standing on balconies in Old Havana, Cuba

View of cars and Old Havana from Fortaleza San Carlos de la Caba

N.E. Hansen's headquarters while conducting pear research at Saolin in northern China; written in pencil on the back: Saolin, China my headquarters for pears in the mountains 1924

N.E. Hansen's mountain headquarters is nestled in the trees while conducting pear research at Saolin in northern China; written in pencil on the back: Saolin, China my headquarters fro pears in the mountains 1924

N.E. Hansen's mountain headquarters is nestled in the trees while conducting pear research at Saolin in northern China; written in pencil on the back: Saolin, China my headquarters fro pears in the mountains 1924

N.E. Hansen's assistants gather specimens in their search for hardy peach trees in Mendoche in northern China in 1924, one man is holding a gun; written in pencil on the back: Mendoche, North China 1924

Four of N.E. Hansen's assistants stand by a horse-drawn wagon by a building at Mendoche before they begin a search for hardy peach trees in northern China; written in pencil on the back: Mendoche 1924 North China

N.E. Hansen (wearing hat) is with friends in Brookings, South Dakota; writing on the back: S.D. plant wizard and friends Brookings 5-19-39 compliments York Sampson

N.E. Hansen is standing behind a man with a carrying pole on his shoulders and two baskets full of pears at Hansen's headquarters while conducting pear research at Saolin in northern China, there are two men accompanying them; written in pencil on the back: North China 1924

N.E. Hansen is standing behind a man with a carrying pole on his shoulders and two baskets full of pears at Hansen's headquarters while conducting pear research at Saolin in northern China, there are two men accompanying them, another man stands off to the left; written in pencil on the back: North China 1924

N.E. Hansen looking at a fruit tree on the campus of South Dakota State College that was part of Hansen's research on fruit

N.E. Hansen standing by a fruit tree on the campus of South Dakota State College that was part of Hansen's research on fruit

N.E. Hansen standing by a fruit tree on the campus of South Dakota State College that was part of Hansen's research on fruit

N.E. Hansen looking at a fruit tree on the campus of South Dakota State College that was part of Hansen's research on fruit

N.E. Hansen and a companion on a horse-drawn wagon ready to start the Da Hinggan mountain range in northern China; written in pencil on the back: Starting over the mountains to Hinggan 1924 North China

N.E. Hansen on the hardy alfalfa trail in Siberia, there are three horse-drawn wagons in a town, Hansen is riding on the first wagon

N.E. Hansen is seated the back of a horse drawn wagon full of wild Siberian alfalfa, there are camels behind him and several other people around him, the photographs was taken while N.E. Hansen was among the Kirghiz Tartars in Semipalatinsk, Siberia

N.E. Hansen Memorial Garden located at McCrory Gardens on the campus of South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota

N.E. Hansen Memorial Garden located at McCrory Gardens on the campus of South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota

N.E. Hansen wearing a Siberian costume and holding a sheaf of wild Siberian flowered alfalfa

N.E. Hansen during his trip to Russia in 1934

N.E. Hansen with a man wearing white in Fushun, Manchuria in northern China; written in pencil on the back: Futachien 1924

N.E. Hansen posing for a photograph with four people Chelyabinsk, Russia; written in pencil on the back: Tscheljabinsk 1934

N.E. Hansen looking at a sapling tree at in orchard in Chelyabinsk, Russia with two other men; written in pencil on the back: Tscheljabinsk 1934

N.E. Hansen and another man are sitting in rickshaws while Hansen was on the hunt for pears in northern China, there are several children surrounding them; written in pencil on the back: 1924 Hunting for Pears Niels Hansen north China

N.E. Hansen with two others standing in a Kaoliang sorghum field at Echo in Manchuria, China; written in pencil on the back: Kaoliang at Echo, Manchuria 1924

N.E. Hansen and another man are standing in a Kaoliang sorghum field at Echo in Manchuria, China; written in pencil on the back: Kaoliang at Echo, Manchuria 1924

N.E. Hansen and another man are standing in a Kaoliang sorghum field at Echo in Manchuria, China; written in pencil on the back: Kaoliang at Echo, Manchuria 1924

N.E. Hansen with two others standing in a Kaoliang sorghum field at Echo in Manchuria, China; written in pencil on the back: Kaoliang at Echo, Manchuria 1924

Man smiles for the camera while N.E. Hansen is looking the fruit he has for sale at a bazaar in Harbin, China; written in pencil on the back: Harbin 1924

N.E. Hansen stands in front of the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station display, there is a sign that encourages viewers to 'Join the State Horticultural Society' and features the Waneta Plum, there is a sign for 'Breeding Hardy Fruits"" and may South Dakota State College pennants and a United States flag hanging on the wall in the booth

N.E. Hansen looking at onions and other vegetables for sale at a bazaar in Fushun, Manchuria in northern China; written in pencil on the back: Onions, etc. at Futachien 1924