Dinehart Lunchbox Lecture to Host Cindy Wilson, on her book “We Suffered Much: Charles Wood Irish and the Dakota Territory Railroad Survey of 18791881” The Murray County Historical Society invites the public to attend its November Dinehart Lunchbox Lecture on Thursday, December 12th, 2024, in the 4-H building on the Murray County Fairgrounds in Slayton starting at noon. This month’s lecture will feature Cindy Wilson speaking on her new book, “We Suffered Much: Charles Wood Irish and the Dakota Territory Railroad Survey of 18791881.”
About the Presenter: Cindy Wilson is the author of The Beautiful Snow: The Ingalls Family, the Railroads, and the Hard Winter of 1880–81, which was awarded gold in the category of Midwest—Best Regional Non-Fiction for the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards (the IPPYs). It was also a 2020 finalist for the National Indie Excellence Awards. In the early research stage for The Beautiful Snow, Cindy read the diaries of surveyor Charles Wood Irish. She found them fascinating, knowing they held a fantastic story. The result is We Suffered Much.
Cindy is a sought-after speaker, having given talks to groups as large as 200 people, including the most-viewed talk of 2022 for the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library. An article about photography and art depicting the Hard Winter was published in South Dakota History Vol. 53 No. 4. She is listed among the credits of the PBS American Masters Laura Ingalls Wilder: Prairie to Page (Dec. 2020) for assisting the staff with the history of the Hard Winter and finding related locations for filming. Her research was cited in Pioneer Girl: The Revised Texts, as well as Rose Wilder Lane on Railroads and the Winter of 1880-1881, South Dakota History Vol. 51 No. 3.
The cost of the talk is $3.00 per person or Historical Society members get in free. Attendees are welcome to bring their own lunch. Refreshments and light snacks are provided. For more information about this and other museum events, call 507836-6533 or email museum@co.murray.mn.us
