It is spring of 1870, and we are living in the United States. Many people have decided to move west in search of a new and better life, hopefully with more opportunities. Some have families, some are alone, but all share the dream of finding a brighter future along the frontier. Meanwhile, in the land currently being settled, native tribes watch their former homes and hunting lands taken over by towns, and cowboys grow frustrated with the expanding farms that cut across their trails, blocking their cattle drives to market and to pasture.
Let's meet some of the people involved in this great transition, otherwise known as our 8th Grade!
Taylor Medallias is a nineteen-year-old factory worker in New York City, who remains unmarried. She lives next door to her sister's family in the tiny apartment they rent near the factory. She plans to marry soon, but hopes to find a new life out west where she can be a little more independent than she can in New York. After all, just last year Wyoming gave women the right to vote!
Gonzo Pabilo is a thirty-one-year-old small-time farmer living in Greenbush, Maine, who recently lost his land to another farmer due to his overwhelming debts. He is leaving his family behind to move west and try his hand at farming on the open prairie; hopefully, the more fertile soil will mean he will have better luck, and thanks to the Homestead Act, he gets to keep 160 acres of land if he farms it successfully for five years. He hopes to convince his old friend Olaf Ovechkin, who lives in New York City, to travel west with him, and help him farm that homestead.
Olaf Ovechkin is a sixty-eight-year-old Eastern European immigrant, currently living in New York City with his sister, Greatl. They lived in a German state for a while, but moved to New York several years ago to find new opportunities. Thanks to his previous experience with railroads in Europe, Olaf is confident he will be able to get a job overseeing railroad production and maintenance out west.
Gretal Dumpling is a sixty-year-old Eastern European immigrant and Olaf's widowed sister. She is looking forward to new opportunities in the west; even though she misses her family back in Europe, she hopes to find new friends and a nice place to live after they move.
Jayton Thebush is a fifteen-year-old farmer from Austin, Texas, who lives with his brother, Hunter Thebush, who is fourteen. They have moved west to escape the boredom of their lives in the east; they don't yet realize how difficult life will be on their own. They have some farming experience, and Jayton knows how to build basic structures, and on their way to Austin, he took a baby tiger from a circus. The animal is difficult to feed sometimes, but seems loyal enough. They are hoping to get jobs with the transcontinental railroad or something more exciting than farming.
Sarah and Anne White are from Alabama; Sarah watches out for her twin sister Anne, who has some particular needs. They are both thirteen. Their father has moved to Wyoming to find a job, and the sisters were going to move to New York to live with their relatives, but have recently learned that they have moved west as well.
John White, thirty-year-old father of Sarah and Anne, lives in Cambell, Wyoming with his brother Drew. He moved west to work with the railroad, but now works a mine with his lazy brother. Drew White is a thirty-three-year-old miner living in Cambell, Wyoming, living with his more well-to-do brother. They live in a boomtown near a large mine, and while Drew is lazy, he works well when he must, and hopes to one day become as rich as his brother.
Marline Franchesco is a forty-five-year-old widow from Alabama, who lives with her daughter Adelaide. She likes to knit and sew, and is moving west with Adelaide to live in Billings, Montana; she hopes to make a living as a cook at a ranch, and dreams of running a small bakery.
Lexi Lidwell is a twenty-one-year-old housewife in San Antonio, Texas, who lives with her husband, two daughters, son, and husband, Max. She has a twin brother named Adam, and although she misses him, she likes her life in the west.
