Title: Experiences on the Prairie: The Story of Andrew and Jeannie
Author: Audrey Kinzie/edited by: Beverly Kinzie
Publisher: Outskirts Press
ISBN: 978-1432786298
Pages: 158, Paperback/Kindle
Genre: Historical Novels/Young Adult
Reviewed by: James F. Sadler, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
Experiences on the Prairie: the Story of Andrew and Jeannieis a written account of the oral history of the Kinzie family, recounting the story of how Andrew Kinzie and Jeannie Tapps met, married, and settled in Oklahoma. While family histories can be interesting, even fascinating—as demonstrated by Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie stories- it is not necessarily the case that all family histories rise to a level that would interest anyone outside the immediate or extended family.Andrew and Jeannie’s story was passed down to children and grandchildren, and continues to pass on orally to family members. One of those who was told the stories was Audrey (Bainum) Kinzie, who in her sixties began to put the oral history on paper, but apparently left it incomplete when she died in 1962. Beverly Kinzie, Audrey’s daughter-in-law, eventually took up the cause and completed, edited, and published the manuscript.
Actually, the story is of interest, tracking the tale of Andrew and Jeannie as they eventually, somewhat humorously, first meet in a field where Jeannie is pursuing a wayward pig who has escaped from his pen. Andrew finds the pig and is instantly taken with Jeannie, although no romance immediately blossoms. Of course, since there would be a story to tell had they not married, they do get married. As Audrey and Beverly tell the tale of their ancestors, we get a fairly factual picture of life on the prairies, with Andrew and Jeannie staking their claim to land in Oklahoma, facing their fair share of difficulties along the way.
The story is somewhat marred by its simplistic retelling- I suspect it might have been written for an elementary age audience. More problematic, at least for me, were spelling and typographical errors. For example, while it’s clear that the wife of Andrew Bainum spelled her name “Jeannie,” it is misspelled as “Jennie” on the first page of chapter two, which happens to be the start of the story of Andrew and Jeannie. Still, it has an earnestness that, together with the historical period Andrew and Jeannie lived in, makes for an interesting story. It’s definitely not for everyone- those would enjoy it most would probably be young children studying the late 1800s and early 1900s, and people with an interest in historical accounts of that period.
