In 1872, Polly Bemis came to America. She did not come, as so many have, out of hope of beginning a new life; she was forced here, sold into slavery (as the story goes) to a man named Hong King. One she arrived, however, she set about building a life for herself almost in spite of the men around her: she gained her freedom, she married Charlie Bemis, she settled down. These are details in the life of a single woman who has become famous in her adopted home-state of Idaho.
Polly’s life was unique, and yet in some ways it reflected the lives of many other women who made the same journey. Today, on the Projectionist’s Lending Library, we read Thousand Pieces of Gold by Ruthanne Lum McCunn and we learn about this extraordinary woman who became a legend.