Artifacts tell tales of pioneer ranch family: Everyday objects in Sutter exhibit

Pruda Smith Photography was her hobby, preserving a glimpse of the farm family's life.

YUBA CITY -- Silent and motionless, they beckon visitors to listen to their stories of triumph and tragedy on a turn-of-the century ranch in Sutter County.

They are the hundreds of farm and kitchen tools, fine lacy underwear and rare photographs of a middle-class family that was lured to California for its gold, but stayed long after for the land's capacity to grow wheat.

Thanks to a farm wife with an unusual hobby and descendants who kept a stunning number of commonplace objects, visitors to the Community Memorial Museum can now view a slice of life on a south Sutter County ranch from 1880 to 1920.

The exhibit is extraordinary because it's ordinary, said museum director Julie Stark.

"What's significant about this family is, they saved everyday objects that most people would have discarded," Stark said. "Most people save really special things, but not the things used in their daily work."

The museum's exhibit showcases the lives of Ed and Pruda Smith, descendants of early Sutter County settlers who were married Sept. 27, 1893. They raised grain and hay on a ranch just north of Pleasant Grove until 1915. It was on this ranch that they raised a single child, Elmer Smith. Elmer's wife, Lela Smith, recently donated his family's belongings, along with some from her own Corliss family, to form the exhibit.

The hundreds of items in the exhibit cover the wide spectrum of human activity, from Pruda and Ed's stately wedding clothes to the plebeian shoe lasts, glass cutters and leather needles used in a time when families made their own clothes and repairs.

Childhood games, buggy robes, butter molds and even the wooden cartons that Ed's father used to ship eggs to Sacramento are on display.

Ed Smith His stately wedding clothes looked like something out of "Maverick."

Pruda's summer underwear shows the balance between aesthetics and function. Embellished with dainty lace hand-crocheted by Pruda, the white cotton bodice and leggings have an opening in the crotch.

The exhibit includes Pruda's soft brown-and-mauve wedding dress with its dramatic puffed sleeves and a bodice fitted to Pruda's tiny waist. Ed's black wool suit looks straight from "Maverick."

Pruda made her wedding dress, Stark said, and flour sack pattern pieces for the dress were found among her belongings, indicating she probably designed the dress as well.

The exhibit has plenty more examples of Pruda's handiwork: beaded black velvet pieces, embroidered pillow covers she made for her son, airy lace and nightclothes for the whole family.

In fact, it's one of Pruda's hobbies that brings the exhibit to life. She was an amateur photographer, taking and developing glass plate negatives in an era when women didn't usually take up cameras. She recorded scenes of daily life around the ranch that she and Ed worked.

And since Elmer was her seventh and only successful pregnancy, Pruda photographed her son at every stage of development.

In 1915, as Elmer and his friends ran to catch the train home from Marysville High School, one of the boys fell on the electric third rail and was electrocuted.

"That was so tragic for the Smiths, they moved to Sacramento, where Elmer could be close to school," Stark said.

On display in the museum is the framed poster announcing the auction sale of the Smith ranch, an eloquent reminder of a tragedy that had a profound impact on a family.

The exhibit, Daily Life on a South Sutter Ranch, will run through Dec. 6 at the museum, 1333 Butte House Road, Yuba City. Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, contact the museum at (530) 822-7141.