The Children's Blizzard(67)
Dear Sir,
Please accept one cow, to be given to Miss Raina Olsen for her bravery. She can do what she pleases with the cow, which is a good milk cow.
Dear Sir,
I would like to donate two dollars each to Minnie Freeman and Raina Olsen in gratitude for their bravery.
THE HEROINE FUND
We at the Bee have been inundated with letters concerning the heroines Minnie Freeman and Raina Olsen. There have been poems and songs written for them. There have been many generous gifts of goods and money, as well, and we continue to urge those who can to contribute to their futures. We have been sent so many gifts in care of these two brave lasses that we have taken the liberty of setting up a fund for them, and we will duly note, in each issue of the Bee, the donor and the amount in a column titled “The Heroine Fund.” You may send all donations c/o the Omaha Daily Bee.
“More good work, Woodson,” Rosewater said ten days later, with a genuine smile. “The Heroine Fund—brilliant! I think we need one or two more young ladies, though, to truly capture the imagination and keep this thing going. We’re falling off a little, although not too much. People keep donating because they want to see their names in print—that was a hell of an idea, you son of a bitch! One more big story, don’t you think? A tale of woe, someone people can rally around—that’s the very thing we need.”
Gavin nodded. It was precisely what he’d been waiting to hear; now it was time.
AN INCREDIBLE STORY OF A LITTLE GIRL’S SUFFERING
It has come to our attention of the Great Suffering of another victim of the storm, a young girl named Anette Pedersen. This poor unfortunate girl had her life saved due to the bravery of her closest friend, a boy named Fredrik Halvorsan. Young Halvorsan tragically died a hero’s death protecting his little companion. In the worst of the storm, he gallantly covered his young friend with his own coat and other clothing, ensuring her survival by his sacrifice. Anette Pedersen is a girl of just eleven who has been in a household that was forced to take her in after she was abandoned by her own mother. She has suffered an Amputation of the Hand due to frostbite and continues to suffer greatly, although it is now hoped that she will live. We will provide updates of her condition as warranted.
Dear Sir,
I would be happy to take in the little girl I read about in your paper, Anette Pedersen. I will give her a good home and all the care she needs. I am a widow with a tender heart and good fortune enough to share, and a nice snug home in Lincoln where she wouldn’t have to do a lick of work, the poor child.
Dear Sir,
I am sending a dollar to Anette Pedersen, the little child who has lost a hand. Please make sure it gets to her.
To the General Public:
We have added Anette Pedersen to the roll of the Heroine Fund. All donations earmarked for her will go directly to her and she will share, along with the others, any donations that are given without any recipient designated.
THE HEROINE FUND
We are pleased to announce that the following Good and Generous citizens have made contributions to the Heroine Fund, originally started here at the Bee:
Mrs. Charles Wentworth donated $5 to Raina Olsen
Mr. Reed Garner donated $7 to Minnie Freeman
Mr. and Mrs. James Farmer donated $2 to Raina Olsen
The Bastable Boarding School in Lincoln has offered free tuition, room, and board to Anette Pedersen
Mr. Jacob Pendergrast donated $2 each to Raina Olsen and Minnie Freeman, and sets aside $5 for the education of Anette Pedersen
The Presbyterian Congregation of Grunby, Nebraska, took up a collection, the sum of which ($10) is to be divided equally between the three heroines
A former medical officer in the Grand Army of the Republic, who wishes to remain anonymous, donates a custom-made wooden hand to Anette Pedersen once she is recovered
THE HEROINE FUND UPDATE
As of this date, it totals nearly $15,000, spread nearly evenly among the three heroines.
RAINA OLSEN AND HER PUPILS
Today, February 5, Raina Olsen reopened her schoolroom, the scene of much horror and drama during the Great Blizzard. The Bee sent a photographer out to capture the moment. Pictured is Miss Olsen with most of her students. Since the creation of the Heroine Fund, Miss Olsen has been inundated with many proposals of marriage, although the innocent maid protests, stating that she is too focused on her pupils right now to think of anything else.
The exploits of the heroines were picked up by the wire services and ran everywhere, east and west, although it was the Bee that saw the greatest increase in readership because Nebraskans thought of them as their own. Everyone was touched by the girls’ plight; everyone on the prairie was proud of the schoolteachers. The updates on Anette’s health, which continued to improve, were followed as anxiously as the travails of a maiden in a dime novel.
One woman, in particular, followed those updates, although how she first became aware of them, no one, later, would be able to say. The woman could not read English and wouldn’t have been able to afford to buy a newspaper anyway. Or have access to one. Perhaps a neighbor had braved the weather to alert her to the news of this child. Perhaps someone recognized her name, now forgotten by most—if, indeed, they even knew she had a name—until the girl became famous overnight.