I have always loved Almanzo Wilder, he always seemed to be the most realistic true to life character in the Little House series. One of my favorite stories about Manly is from an article written by William Anderson for the Summer 1986 edition of South Dakota History: Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane: The Continuing Collaboration. It is an excellent piece and I suggest it to any LIW-RWL fan. I see the book up for auction on Ebay frequently.
In this article, Anderson uses parts of a 1981 interview with Helen “Troub” Boylston. Troub was a good friend of Rose, and stayed at Rocky Ridge Farm in the late 1920s. In this interview, Troub talks about what an excellent “curser” Manly was. A quote from Troub:
“(Manly)…who was the most expert curser that I ever heard in my life!…My Lord! I thought I knew all the words, but he knew more.” Troub also said that Manly used to fuss that with so many women in the house, that he could never use the bathroom to save his life because “there was always some hen on”.
This article came to mind as I was reading some letters between Laura and Rose. I came across this letter dated March 23, 1937, discussing details of a visit to the dentist by Manly. Laura would have been 70; Almanzo would have been 80. Laura appears to be clarifying details from a previous letter from Manly to Rose concerning a journey from Marshall, Minnesota, to the land office in Yankton, Dakota Territory. As Laura explains in the letter, the journey was made by Manly, Eliza Jane, and Royal in order to file homestead claims near De Smet.
Manly had a bad toothache driving from Yankton to Sioux Falls. Roy stopped the horse where a sign said Dentist upstairs. Manly went up the stairs 2 at a time. A man there, supposed to be the dentist, said he’d pull the tooth. But he didn’t know how and couldn’t get the tooth out. He wouldn’t let go of however he had hold, climbed up on Manly’s shoulders with his knees and jerked Manly around. Finally the tooth came out.
Manly had backed him into a corner and was about to beat him up when the real dentest came in. The man who pulled the tooth was an apprintics, just beginning to learn the trade. So Manly left without paying his bill “cussing them both out” as he went.
Great to read your post, Cheryl! Good job! I like Manly, too. I love his comments when Rose interviewed him about his life. So brief and blunt. I would have liked to have known him.
I love the dentist anecdote! It fits perfectly with the Almanzo I imagine. Thanks for a great post.
I’ve always thought Rose and Laura were very strong personalities. Almanzo must have had to have one of his own to survive living with the two of them!