Hazel and Olaf: They Called Us Hillbillies

Based on true events from Hazel's journal, this book tells the story of a proud and resilient woman, her husband Olaf, and their seven children as they leave Wisconsin in search of a better life in California. After selling their small farm and heading west to escape the brutal winters, their money runs out with California still hundreds of miles away. What begins as a hopeful journey quickly becomes a test of endurance, marked by hardship, sacrifice, unsanitary conditions, and relentless labor.

With seven hungry mouths to feed and no money to their name, the family turned to the fields for survival. Follow their journey through harsh labor camps, where dignity was tested and hope was scarce. They endured poverty, humiliation, and gnawing hunger, forced into endless days of relentless, back-breaking work-all while fighting to keep their family together.

They left Wisconsin as a happy, respected, and well-loved family, but along the way they learned what it meant to have nothing-and how differently society treats those with no money at all. Labeled hillbillies and vagrants, they were pushed to the limits, judged and dismissed. Yet Hazel refused to let poverty strip away her pride or her dignity.

This is a story of surviving unbearable conditions while refusing to give in. It is a story of the fierce bonds that hold a family together with nothing but grit, love, and a prayer-and of a woman who would not allow hardship to define her worth, even when society tried to take it away.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Msi Press
Published: 06/30/2026
ISBN: 9781957354989
Pages: 334
Weight: 0.99lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.70d