History Moments Bess Streeter Aldrich

Born in Cedar Falls, Iowa in 1881, Bess Streeter married Charles Sweetzer Aldrich in 1907. Two years later, they moved to Elmwood, Nebraska. In 1911, she wrote a story for a contest in Ladies Home Journal. She was a finalist out of about two thousand entries and never looked back. Her first book, a compilation of short stories, was published in 1924. Shortly before her first novel was published in 1925, her husband died, leaving Bess a widow with four children ranging in age from four to sixteen. Her writing became a means to support her family and get all of her children through college. By the time of her death at age seventy-three, Bess Streeter Aldrich had written nearly 200 works total. One piece of work became a movie, another a television show.