An Improbable Pioneer: The Letters of Edith S. Holden Healy 1911-1950

After an eight-year courtship, they wed on a stormy Boston night in 1911 and honeymooned across a South still recovering from the Civil War. Edith Sampson Holden, born into a prominent Boston family, fell in love and married Alec Healy, MIT graduate, Wyoming sheep rancher, and son of Utah immigrants. Edith wrote wonderfully observant letters to her mother and friends about the land, ranching, Fourth of July picnics, dancing, adoption, advice for a girl entering high school, travel to exotic locations, and the art of dying.

A virtuoso violinist in Boston, Edith mastered salesmanship on behalf of Girl Scouting and turned the Big Horn Basin into a 1,000-scout stronghold where girls learned to love traditional teas while also discovering their adventurous side. Like Edith. By 1936, Wyoming had the most Girl Scout campers per capita in the country. Because of Edith.

Arranged chronologically with an introduction and commentary by Edith's namesake and granddaughter, Edith Catherine (Cathy) Healy, Edith's letters give a glimpse of everyday life as the Frontier closed. They show a woman rare for her time and a couple who fashioned a loving and unusual marriage. Edith and Alec lived ordinary lives in an extraordinary way.