Writings of Elvina Granlie McNamara

About Elvina
Elvina Granlie McNamara

Elvina Granlie McNamara was a writer, artist, mother, daughter, sister and dear friend. She was born in a sod shanty in December of 1915 in the very small town of Arnegard, North Dakota. She was our mother. We are collaborating to provide this small website containing some of her poems and stories.

For our visitors, we hope it will help them to understand this type of very sensitive, intelligent, insightful, articulate and complex person even more -- and perhaps find some aspects to help them understand their own ancestors and themselves even more.

-- Carter and Teri McNamara, Faith Bellon and Renee Lowenstein


Leaves of Yesterday - Poems

As a child, she compiled some of her poems into the small booklet, "Leaves of Yesterday," focused especially on her formative years and on "finding herself," while growing up during her blissful childhood on the small farm on the prairie.

Elvina's handmade cover for Leaves of Yesterday

A Child's Fancy

A Little Prayer

A Soliloquy

Anders

At Eventide

Fences

Lament to Dovie

September

Thankfulness

The Beautiful Stars

The Close of Day

The First Christmas

The Spell of the Seasons

To April

To Esther Marie Granlie

To My Brothers


Leaves of Yesterday - Stories

She also compiled some of her favorite stories into "Leaves of Yesterday," again focused especially on her formative years.

Home that Oluf Granlie built, Ladies Aid gathering
A Backward Look

Footprints of My Past

Preface to Leaves of Yesterday

Seventh Commandment

The Diamond Pin

The Discontented Pumpkin

The Heart of the Untamed

The Silver Spoon

What I Think About Certain Things - Part 1

What I Think About Certain Things - Part 2

Whatever is, Is Best

Why I Am Glad I Live On a Farm


After This Harvest - Poems

A book of her poems was published by Triangle Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas, in 1964. It contained many of her favorite poems.

Front cover of After This Harvest

A Mother's Prayer

After This Harvest

Asylum

Autumn

Cenotaph

Eternity

Gossip

In Memory of My Mother

In Retrospect

Metamorphosis

My Gethsemane

On Easter Day

On Holkestad Hill

On Thanksgiving Day

Our Pioneer Home

Wind Canyon view of Missouri River

Our Resurrection

Our Yesterdays

Recompense

Requiem for My Brother

Stardust

The Dakota Badlands

The Measure Hours

The Spell of the Seasons

To a Pioneer's Grandson

To Dion

To My Sons

Unto the Hills

Veterans Day


Other Poems

We compiled some of our favorite poems of hers that were mostly from an adult point of view, as well.

Elvina's family

A First Grader's Lament

A Soldier's Prayer

Dear Axel

How Will They Remember Me?

In Memory of Brendens

In Memory of Charley Pickering

In Memory of Roger Buell

In Reverie

In Tribute to Ericksons

Learned Obedience by the Things Which He Suffered

Midnight Dirge

Elvina Granlie McNamara headstone at Wilmington Cemetery

The Old Log Church

To Darienne

To My Sister

To Odin

To the Pioneers

Tribute to Cecelia Rude

Tribute to Dunns