Determined is not just a family book about my maternal ancestors who emigrated from Norway, Sweden and Germany in the 1860s. It is also a testament to all the poor and unskilled immigrants who come to America in search of a better future. My maternal great-grandparents eventually found their way to the South Dakota Plains where they homesteaded. However, none of them got there quickly. The first two generations who made central South Dakota their home persevered through one crisis or tragedy after another. They were determined to never give up! Their children also suffered but persevered through the worst of times: the Great Depression and Dust Bowl years.

— Signe Sather-Blair