Della Gould Emmons
Encyclopedia
Della Gould Emmons was an American author
.
At the University of Minnesota
Della prepared to teach languages but instead taught music and coached dramatics at Sisseton, South Dakota, adjacent to the Sioux Reservation.
With her marriage to Allen B. Emmons, a train dispatcher, the family made a series of westward moves. They paralleled the Lewis and Clark Trail living in Aberdeen, South Dakota, Miles City, Harlowton, Three Forks and Missoula, Montana.
In Washington State the family made short stays in Pasco and Yakima, then moved to Seattle for nineteen years where Della wrote and produced historical plays for churches, schools and KJR Radio with John Pearson.
In her second book, Nothing in Life is Free, an Indiana couple is lured westward by the offer of free land in Washington Territory and joins the famous Naches Pass wagon train, where hardship and struggles demonstrate to the young pioneer family that nothing in life is really free at all. Her third book, Leschi of the Nisquallies, served as the source for the Indian fishing rights court trials. Emmons was adopted by the Lummi
tribe and given the name "Selequal" (Maiden of the Great Calm).
Emmons' final book, Jay Gould's Million Dollar Gems, details the life of her older brother, who was a master showman in Minnesota. As a young man, Jay bought a motion-picture projector for two gold watches and five dollars, and started the Crystal Theatre in Glencoe in 1909. The theater is the second oldest in Minnesota.
Jay traveled to small towns playing films, selling musical instruments and teaching music lessons to schoolchildren. It is believed that he may have inspired Meredith Willson
's character of Harold Hill in The Music Man
. Later he toured the Midwest in a fleet of white buses with his nine performing children, "Jay Gould's Million Dollar Circus." Documents also show that he gave Lawrence Welk
of TV fame one of his first jobs as an accordion player.
.
on November 6, 1983, and is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Glencoe. Emmons was survived by her daughter, Kathryn Nettleblad of Seattle (1914 - 2010), and son, Allen Gould Emmons (b. 1920) of Tacoma.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Early years
Della was born to William George Gould and Anna Wadel Gould. The family were pioneers in the jewelry and entertainment business, and she described her girlhood as a continuous song.At the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
Della prepared to teach languages but instead taught music and coached dramatics at Sisseton, South Dakota, adjacent to the Sioux Reservation.
With her marriage to Allen B. Emmons, a train dispatcher, the family made a series of westward moves. They paralleled the Lewis and Clark Trail living in Aberdeen, South Dakota, Miles City, Harlowton, Three Forks and Missoula, Montana.
In Washington State the family made short stays in Pasco and Yakima, then moved to Seattle for nineteen years where Della wrote and produced historical plays for churches, schools and KJR Radio with John Pearson.
Books
Emmons' first book, Sacajawea of the Shoshones, was adapted into the film The Far Horizons. The work was unique in its time for using Sacajawea's personal point of view and she portrayed Native Americans as sensitive beings with deep feelings. "After the Indian dealt with the white man he masked his emotions."In her second book, Nothing in Life is Free, an Indiana couple is lured westward by the offer of free land in Washington Territory and joins the famous Naches Pass wagon train, where hardship and struggles demonstrate to the young pioneer family that nothing in life is really free at all. Her third book, Leschi of the Nisquallies, served as the source for the Indian fishing rights court trials. Emmons was adopted by the Lummi
Lummi
The Lummi , governed by the Lummi Nation, are a Native American tribe of the Coast Salish ethnolinguistic group in western Washington state in the United States...
tribe and given the name "Selequal" (Maiden of the Great Calm).
Emmons' final book, Jay Gould's Million Dollar Gems, details the life of her older brother, who was a master showman in Minnesota. As a young man, Jay bought a motion-picture projector for two gold watches and five dollars, and started the Crystal Theatre in Glencoe in 1909. The theater is the second oldest in Minnesota.
Jay traveled to small towns playing films, selling musical instruments and teaching music lessons to schoolchildren. It is believed that he may have inspired Meredith Willson
Meredith Willson
Robert Meredith Willson was an American composer, songwriter, conductor and playwright, best known for writing the book, music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical The Music Man...
's character of Harold Hill in The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
. Later he toured the Midwest in a fleet of white buses with his nine performing children, "Jay Gould's Million Dollar Circus." Documents also show that he gave Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...
of TV fame one of his first jobs as an accordion player.
Personal life
Della Emmons served as curator for the Washington State Historical Society and was an International Honorary member of Beta Sigma PhiBeta Sigma Phi
is a non-academic sorority with 200,000 members in chapters around the world. Founded in Abilene, Kansas in 1931 by Walter W. Ross, the organization has spread to every state of the United States, to every Canadian province, and to 30 other countries. The sorority was founded for the social,...
.
Death
She died in TacomaTacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
on November 6, 1983, and is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Glencoe. Emmons was survived by her daughter, Kathryn Nettleblad of Seattle (1914 - 2010), and son, Allen Gould Emmons (b. 1920) of Tacoma.