The sixth historical novel by Karen Schutte draws on the real life story of her paternal grandparents and their pursuit of a dream to homestead in Wyoming in the late 19th century.

“A Far Place” was inspired by the decision of John and Mary Wamhoff to leave the comforts of home and family in Germantown, Nebraska, to journey by covered wagon to northwest Wyoming in hopes of carving out a new life as homesteaders. Their destination was land in the area of present day Emblem in Big Horn County.

John and Mary Wamhoff eloped and began their married life in Germantown, Nebraska, in 1894, where her parents were well established. John had his own dreams for his young family, and he was taken with possibilities after a chance meeting with a Lutheran missionary who was organizing a Lutheran colony in far-off northwest Wyoming. He convinced his wife to join in the adventure, and they packed two covered wagons with their possessions.

Author Schutte, who was born and raised on the Wamhoff farm at Emblem, said her grandmother couldn’t shake doubts about the choice they’d made.

“Every hill they climbed, every barren sagebrush-covered prairie they crossed brought them closer to John’s dream and further from her own,” Schutte said. “The hard life took its toll on their marriage even though they flourished in the community and built a strong, successful life together.”

Schutte is a graduate of Greybull High School and the University of Wyoming. She and her husband, Mike, have four sons and 10 grandchildren, and they live in Windsor, Colorado.

“Writing this book was highly personal to me, and I’m amazed as it twists, bends and eventually evolves into another novel,” Schutte said. “I think I have one more book in me, about growing up on the Wamhoff farm in Emblem. It was an idyllic childhood, one that most children know nothing about.”

She already has the title etched in memories — Barefoot Under the Cottonwoods. For more on Schutte’s novels, email her at karen@karenschutte.com.

— By Dave Bonner