Chapter 35

Summary

Carol tries to endure Gopher Prairie silently. She devotes herself to the housework, to Hugh, to the Red Cross work and she listens silently to Vida raging against the Germans. She helps as a volunteer nurse, when Mrs. Perry catches pneumonia. Mrs. Perry dies and the eleven remaining pioneers in Gopher Prairie attend her funeral. Champ Perry is heart broken and weak with rheumatism. He is unable to continue his work as the buyer at the Elevator Company. He is retired but does not get a pension. Carol tries to get him the post-mastership but Mr. Bert Tybee wants it. Because of Carol's efforts, Lymn gives Perry the job of the night watchman at his flourmill.

Raymie Wutherspoon returns as a major. In his uniform he appears to be very handsome and very stern. Vida is unable to leave his side even for a second. Raymie tells the Kennicotts that Paris is not half as beautiful as Minneapolis and that the American soldiers were models of virtuous behavior. He is made full manager of the Bon Ton stores. When Carol sees him in his civil clothes he appears to be the same old Raymie and Carol feels disappointed.

With the increase in the price of wheat, the merchants, milers and those who deal in real estate make a lot of money. Kennicott earns seven thousand dollars in three months.

A campaign to make Gopher Prairie a city of industries is started. Mr. Blausser is made to take charge of the campaign. He is a noisy humorous man with narrow eyes and pays more attention to women. He keeps touching Carol's arms and shoulder and she hates him. Kennicott and the others tell her that he is a brilliant man. He boasts that he would move the mountains to Gopher Prairie.

Gopher Prairie sees progress. The band is reorganized. The baseball team gets a coach. The citizens of Gopher Prairie go loyally wherever the team goes, to cheer the team. The Dauntless, praises them loyally. The town acquires the white way, so called because it is composed of ornamented lampposts with clusters of light bulbs along two or three blocks on Main Street. The commercial club appoints a writer from an advertising agency to write a booklet about Gopher Prairie. Carol is surprised to read the exaggerated account of Gopher Prairie and comments that she would like to see the Gopher Prairie mentioned in the booklet. For all its troubles the Commercial Club gets a small factory to make wooden automobile wheels. She is unable to endure the Gopher Prairie that has become egomaniac. During their courtship days Kennicott had begged her to make Gopher Prairie beautiful. Now that Mr. Blausser and the Dauntless claimed Gopher Prairie to be the most beautiful town, Carol feels that she is free to leave it.

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