Helga Estby walked across America to win a $10,000 prize to save her home. When she finished, the sponsor refused to pay out. She returned home and found two of her children died in her absence, then she lost her house.

Source: Wikipedia

The year was 1896. Helga Estby, 36, and husband Ole, 45 had both emigrated from Norway to America. They lived on the farm Mica Peak in Spokane in Washington state on the US west coast with their nine children. - She decided to go across the country in an attempt to save the family farm.They were unable to pay taxes and interest after the depression that came in the 1890s, says author Linda Lawrence Hunt magazine on-line. She has written the book about Helga's incredible ride. Hunt, who is retired professor and journalist, also lives in Spokane, Helga's hometown, and she even has Norwegian ancestry. His grandfather came from Engleøy, near Steigenberger and went to Minnesota. Hunt was first hear about Helga in 1984. Estby family had kept the brave woman's story secret. They were ashamed of the unusual trip. - It really is a fascinating story, says Hunt. For years she has traveled in Helga's footsteps, and now the book " Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across America Vicotorian »come. And there is no feel-good-historieHunt tells us.Helga Estby was pushed out of the Norwegian community in his hometown due to turn over the country. A HINT OF HOPE. In 1896 Helga, who came to the country 11 years old, heard about a contest by a friend on the East Coast. She also read about it in a newspaper ad. The farm she and her husband stayed in was on extrasensory 650 goals, but it went bad. One of the children had recently died. Ole worked as a carpenter, but he injured himself and had no mission. - A woman promised her 10,000 dollars she managed to walk across America without escort, says Hunt. She would start in May that year and the goal was to reach New York on 20 December. And with this she would prove that women could do more than just stay home. REQUIREMENTS WERE READY.It was not a matter of supplies, the participant was only allowed to carry five US dollars home.And it was impossible to walk at random. To win you have to visit the state capitals on the road and collect the signatures of important political leaders. The woman who would go also had to wear something called a "bike costume." It consisted of a short skirt with slits and flannelsjakke. It should have been the sponsor who was behind this requirement, the woman who promised the reward may have been involved in the garment industry.For over a hundred years ago there was talk about a lot of money. After today's value went Helga for over four million. The tour was 5600 kilometers. DE LA unleashed.Together with her daughter Clara on 18 Helga started from the family farm in Spokane 5 May 1896. They had brought a letter from his hometown's mayor Horatio Belt.Here was Helga described as a "lady" with good character and good reputation. Thanks to this they got help and shelter in many places. They had blown skirt the rule and taken on long skirt by contemporary Victorian fashion, corset, hat, snow boots five dollars each, two bags, knives, pepper mills for protection and a Smith & Wesson revolver. Near Salt Lake City came skirts the road. The shift to shorter skirt that was more practical to go in, but that also led to the ankles were visible. It was not in line with contemporary practice and a bit of a scandal. But the new skirt length made them more effective. Their exact itinerary has Hunt still not received a complete overview over, but walked from town to town, across rivers, they went to the mountains and managed over four mil a day. They sought out a local newspaper and got his story in print. How they hoped to get out bucks from people who read the newspaper. TRIP WAS DANGEROUS. It was not common for women traveled the front at this time, and mode of travel also attracted attention. On the way down the mountain before arriving at the town of La Grande they were overtaken by a man who had followed them for several days. He did not go his way, and thus took Helga affair. She shot him in the leg. Man was one thing. In addition, they met bears, mountain lions, rattlesnakes. The constant heat was a problem. Mother and daughter two often stopped train stations for shelter.On the way out of Chicago, they met some vagabonds and "went backwards with gun pointing at them to save ourselves for harm," wrote Helga in the diary say. But there were also many that would help them on their way through Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In Utah and Idaho visited the two women several mines. It was almost as unusual that women went into the mines as they walked in ankle high skirts. From this trip, there is only one left by Helga. She wrote about it in her journal, and history has been saved. BUT THEY WERE FOOLED. Around Christmas 1896 approached you up New York City. They had gone for six months when they realized that it was the dream. The two women met the target on December 23, three days delayed because of Claras sprained foot. When they learned that the woman who stood behind the competition would not pay the 10,000 dollars. - The woman who had promised them money did not give them a penny because they were a few days too late there compared to the original plan, explains Hunt. Nobody knows anymore who this was. The name of the woman who had pledged money has disappeared with time. DE HAD HOME. Clara and Helga went on one defeat after another. Now they were desperate to get home, they had been told that two of Helga's children had died of black diphtheria. They were in New York and tried to earn enough money for the train ride home. After several months took pity a rich man above them. He felt sorry for the women and paid the train fare. But when Helga came home one would know of her. She was seen as a deserter, and gossip went in the Norwegian community. Even her own children were ashamed of her mother's turn. They thought it was wrong for a woman to leave his duties in that way. The trip was whispered about, but then added a total cap on. This was something no one talked about. HELGA GOT A HARD TIME.After returning she plunged into deep depression. The family lost the farm, but after they moved into the city, succeeded her husband Ole in starting a business builder. Her husband died in 1913 when he fell from a roof at work. Helga, who was then 53, began writing down her story. The plan was to write a book. It was never finished, but Helga's trip changed her life anyway. She became active in politics and fought for voting rights. DE WERE NOT HEROES.But Helga descendant Doug Bahr would not forget the two women relatives. In 1984 he wrote a school essay about the journey across the country, he called it "Grandma goes from coast to coast." It was this style Linda Hunt heard via her husband sitting in a jury which gave young Martin a price for the work.Since that time 20 years ago, she tried to get to the bottom of Helga's history. Certainly was Hunt impressed achievement, but most of all she was surprised that the family kept the incredible trip secret for so many years. - All the family knew was based on two articles that were spared from Minneapolis newspapers. They acted on the trip home from New York. The story was completely hushed up. Nobody spoke about it ever. Grandchildren who lived in the same house as Helga knew nothing about her journey, says Hunt. Daughters REMOVED ALL TRACKS. Helga died in 1942. Shortly thereafter ensured daughters Ida and Lillian to remove everything after her.They gathered what she had written and lit it. Margaret Estby, Helga-law, managed to save anything. Helga had gathered a lot of information in a scrapbook. - This scrapbook was found on her deathbed and hidden in secret, says Hunt. When Margaret died were her children scrapbook and the story remained in the family until young Doug wrote his style. - Doug is currently firefighter outside Seattle. He and his entire family are today very proud of the Helga did, says Linda Lawrence Hunt. The first edition of the book about Helga is torn away. It is currently available only in the US.

References

1. Wikipedia

2. Bold Spirit Book

3. Hunt, Linda Lawrence (2005) Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America (Random House) ISBN 978-1-4000-7993-3

4. Dagg, Carole Estby (2011) The Year We Were Famous (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company) ISBN 978-0-618-99983-5

5. Kirkpatrick, Jane (2011) The Daughter's Walk (WaterBrook Press) ISBN 978-1400074297