About the Author
Artena Christensen (1900-1985) was an ordinary girl from a small farming community in rural Utah. In 1923 she accepted the challenge to serve as a lady missionary for the Mormons. After a month of training in Denver, Artena travelled by rail to Nebraska, where she and a series of companions—both men and women— devoted their days to their religion, predominantly in the service of others. For 18 months, Artena kept a private account in which she recorded the missionaries’ meetings, meals, and social activities alongside her personal observations of life in the city. The diary remains both an important artifact of 1920s Nebraska and a charming rendition of the journey to adulthood.
About the Editor
Chandra Graham Garcia spent 20 years appraising commercial real estate with an emphasis on historic properties. She has valued Abraham Lincoln’s bank branch, a 19th century candy factory, the residence of General Douglas MacArthur, the original Kennedy Warren, the District of Columbia's Old Italian Embassy, and many other historic jewels. Her nonfiction has appeared in the Arizona Republic, Western Real Estate Business, and numerous other publications. She is Artena Christensen’s great-granddaughter.