Step into a bygone era where family, faith, and community turned hardship into unforgettable stories of strength. In Blooming Hollyhocks: Tales of Joy During Hard Times, Duluth journalist Naomi Helen Yaeger shares the true story of her mother, Janette Minehart, a spirited girl growing up in rural Minnesota during the Great Depression and World War II. Dreaming of nursing school at a time when few women pursued higher education, Janette faced farm chores, community gatherings, rations, victory gardens, men drafted into war, and heartbreaks—yet discovered resilience, joy, and hope. Written with the intimacy of memoir and the sweep of narrative nonfiction, Blooming Hollyhocks invites readers who love Little House on the Prairie or The Waltons to rediscover the strength of an earlier generation and the timeless lessons it still offers today.
Inside the book, find:
• Photos
• Maps
• A family tree
Naomi Helen Yaeger is a Duluth-based journalist and author who writes narrative nonfiction that preserves family stories, Midwest history, and the resilience of small-town life. Her debut book, Blooming Hollyhocks: Tales of Joy During Hard Times, tells her mother's story of growing up on the Minnesota prairie during the Great Depression and World War II. Naomi began her journalism career in high school, writing for the Grand Forks Herald Teen Scene, and later reported for newspapers across North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa. When she's not writing, she enjoys exploring nature with her husband and their dog, MaggieBW.
"Loved this hopeful, heartwarming family story! The photos bring the 1930s-'40s to life, capturing an era when families—and a nation—pulled together." — Angela Braun, Instagram book influencer bookish_mamaBear and ambassador for The Bookstore at Fitgers
"Blooming Hollyhocks took me back to my grandparents' farm, small-town life, and the stories I grew up with in rural southwest Minnesota. Yaeger's book brings a wave of nostalgia sure to make anyone smile. A must-read! Even if this era is new to you, you'll feel like you've lived it by the end." — Dan Peterson, Walnut Grove, MN, historian; author of The Story of Walnut Grove, Minnesota 1873-2022
"Blooming Hollyhocks offers a wonderful look at growing up in a small town in the 1930s. Ms. Yaeger recounts her mother's childhood in rich detail, bringing to life the people and places of Avoca, a tiny Minnesota prairie village. We meet neighbors, friends, and extended family, learning who went to which church, who worked in which town, and how a close-knit family lived. My parents grew up in towns much like Avoca, and reading this felt like hearing their stories all over again. Thank you for that." — Daryl Hrdlicka, Westbrook, Minn., historical reenactor
"Blooming Hollyhocks offers a captivating glimpse into the intimate history of a close-knit family. Readers not only experience the joys, challenges, and struggles within the warmth of that family, but also witness their perseverance against the backdrop of defining world events, including the Great Depression and World War II." — Rosie Klepper, radio humor columnist for Northern Public Radio (WNIJ), DeKalb, Illinois
"Blooming Hollyhocks is a sweet, memory-bending reminiscence of one family's journey from 'the old days' to World War II and the cusp of modernity. Set in the Dakotas and Minnesota, the author charts her family story with clear, uncluttered writing full of historical detail and useful geography besides. But her true goal is the inner workings of the family itself, and how, even in the hardest of times, joy is still possible." — Will Weaver, author of Power & Light and Sweet Land: Collected Short Stories
"Family stories help us understand ourselves; other families' stories deepen our empathy and sense of history. In Janette and the Minehart family, we glimpse both the changes of the past century and the enduring power of family, community, and faith—offering lessons still relevant today." — David Bard, United Methodist pastor, writer, and Bishop of the Michigan Conference
"Blooming Hollyhocks is a book I will treasure. Janette's stories of her girlhood in a small Minnesota prairie town bloom from the pages, fresh and graceful as the delicate dolls she fashioned from hollyhock flowers." — Linda LeGarde Grover, author of A Song Over Miskwaa Rapids and Gichigami Hearts
"In a thoughtfully written account of small-town life in the Midwest, we follow Janette and her extended family as they traverse daily life during the Great Depression through the Korean War. Author Naomi Helen Yaeger nicely contextualizes her mother's childhood recollections, which firmly ground these relatable family stories in place and time." — Staci Lola Drouillard, author of Walking the Old Road, Seven Aunts, and A Family Tree
