Annie Amelia Pike Greenwood (November 16, 1879 – February 22, 1956) was an American author, educator, and farmer. Born in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, she settled in the

Magic Valley The Magic Valley, also known as South Central Idaho, is a region in south-central Idaho constituting Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Twin Falls counties. It is particularly associated with the agricultural reg ...

region of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

near

Hazelton, Idaho Hazelton is a city in Jerome County, Idaho, United States. The population was 807 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Twin Falls, Idaho Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a t ...

, in 1913 with her husband, Idaho politician Charles O. Greenwood. Her 1934 autobiography ''We Sagebrush Folks'' documented Idaho pioneer way of life and her experiences as a farmer's wife; she also wrote for several magazines, including ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

'' and ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

''.

Life

Annie Amelia Pike was born on November 16, 1879, at the Utah Territorial Insane Asylum in

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

, where her father was the superintendent. Her parents were Hattie (née Drice) and Walter R. Pike. She attended

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

, graduating in 1900; while a student, she wrote the College Song, an early

fight song A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team. The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand, these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated ...

for the school. After attending graduate school at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, she returned to Brigham Young to teach English. She began working as a journalist and wrote for ''

The Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

'' before moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1905. Soon after arriving, she met a friend she had known in Salt Lake City, Charles O. Greenwood. They married on September 19, 1905. The couple moved often, living in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, and

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

before ultimately settling in Idaho in 1913. At the time, irrigation projects in the Magic Valley region were drawing many new residents to farm the area. The couple settled in Jerome County in one of the small communities that sprung up in the early twentieth century. The community would later be named Greenwood in honor of the couple. The Greenwoods often struggled financially during their time in Idaho, and Annie taught at the local school on multiple occasions in order to earn more money. She began writing about her life in Idaho for magazines during this period; her first published piece appeared in ''The Atlantic Monthly'' in 1919, and she wrote for ''The Nation'' in 1923. She also chaired the English literature department at the Idaho Technical Institute, now known as

Idaho State University Idaho State University (ISU) is a Public university, public research university in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho, Idaho State offers more than 250 programs at its main campus in Pocatello and locations ...

. During this time, Charles was active in local politics and served one term each in the

Idaho House of Representatives The Idaho House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Idaho Legislature. It consists of 70 representatives elected to two-year terms. The state is divided into 35 districts, each of which elects two representatives to separate seats. ...

and

Idaho Senate The Idaho State Senate is the upper chamber of the Idaho Legislature. It consists of 35 senators elected to two-year terms, each representing a district of the state. The Senate meets at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, Idaho. Composition of th ...

in 1919-20 and 1927-28 respectively. The Greenwoods' farm was

foreclosed Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan. Formally, a mort ...

upon in 1928, forcing them to abandon their farming lifestyle and relocate to Twin Falls. The couple separated and ultimately divorced in the 1930s, and Annie moved to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

. In 1934, she published her first and ultimately only book, the memoir ''We Sagebrush Folks''. The book described her life and struggles as the wife of a farmer. While she praised Idaho and its scenery in the book, she depicted farm life and her community much more harshly, even exclaiming "we lost the farm, thank God" after the foreclosure. It also depicted sex-related stories and tragedies, including that of a woman who died after attempting to induce an

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

with

carbolic acid Phenol (also known as carbolic acid, phenolic acid, or benzenol) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile and can catch fire. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () bon ...

. Her former neighbors responded angrily to the memoir, describing it as "fiction" and suggesting that she would have been forced from town had she not already left. However, the book is now regarded as a significant and accurate depiction of early Idaho settlement.

''We Sagebrush Folks''

She addressed the challenges of rural farm life in the United States in her book ''We Sagebrush Folks''. It deals with issues including childbirth, mental health, incest, and abortion. Greenwood discusses the poverty of rural farming and government failings.

Death and legacy

Greenwood died on February 22, 1956, in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, California and was buried on March 10 in the Provo City Cemetery in Provo, Utah.

Idaho Public Television Idaho Public Television (also known as IdahoPTV and Idaho Public TV) is a Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) member network serving the U.S. state of Idaho. Consisting of five television stations, it is operated and funded by the Idaho State B ...

produced a series on her.

References

External links

*
We Sagebrush Folks
' by Annie Pike Greenwood, 1938, via

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

We Sagebrush Folks: Annie Pike Greenwood's Idaho
a documentary from Idaho Public Television {{DEFAULTSORT:Pike Greenwood, Annie 1880 births 1956 deaths People from Provo, Utah People from Jerome County, Idaho Brigham Young University alumni 20th-century American writers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women educators