Probably the most unusual thing new this year is the replica of Laura Ingalls Wilder engagement ring from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. (scroll down linked page) I think it is probably out of better material than Laura’s original that was ordered out of the Montgomery Ward catalog. On that same page find plenty of Laura jewelery and, if you have your own Jack, I highly recommend Jack’s Puppy Treats (my dog Blue pops them like candy). I also saw a couple of ornaments I want for my Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas Tree. They’ve even put out a special online newsletter about what they are selling this year. They are also proud of their cloth dolls and flannel child sized PJs which are locally made.

Although the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Spring Valley, Minnesota is a smaller site they always have interesting and unusual pieces. This year they’ve introduced a glass ornament of their site. They sell one of my favorite Laura dolls, a cloth Almanzo doll. They also have 3 specially designed Playing Laura dresses for 18 inch fashion dolls.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum in Burr Oak, Iowa is also a smaller site with unique items. For stocking stuffers, they have laminated wooden bookmarks featuring a Burr Oak tree (I love mine) and slates and slate pencils.

The Ingalls Homestead of De Smet, South Dakota is offering free standard shipping on purchases over $50. They were surprised by how well Basic Country Skills, a new book they’ve stocked, is selling. It’s a how-to of pioneer skills. Another big seller is the hardcover set of Laura’s books in a wooden crate. They’ve introduced high quality tin cups produced by Jacob Bromwell which has been making tin cups since the 1830s, still handmade in the United States. Also, along with several of the other sites they are selling the Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura DVD which is a great companion for both a trip to Malone and the book Farmer Boy. It is of course also available from Malone.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum of Mansfield, Missouri has put together a special page of Christmas related items in their giftshop, including their awesome laser-cut ornaments of the Sewell cover illustrations, plus Rocky Ridge. They also are still promoting their DVD Laura Ingalls Wilder: Stories of Pioneer Girl.  It won’t let me link to sections within the giftshop. The DVD is under Collectibles and Gifts and the Christmas stuff is under Christmas.

The following Laura Ingalls Wilder sites are still open and allowing you to order for Christmas. I’m listing the cut off date for Christmas orders to reach you before Christmas as given to me by the homesites. The Walnut Grove museum is especially counting on mail orders this year because they normally get walk in traffic at the gift shop all winter, but they have construction going on right now so they are mail-order only this year.

Walnut Grove MN

Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum

Phone 1-800-528-7280

Last Day for Priority Mail – December 16th

De Smet SD

Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society, Click on Gift Shop

Phone 1-800-880-3383

Last Day for Priority Mail – December 16th

Ingalls Homestead

Phone: 1-800-776-3594

Last Day for Priority Mail – December 21st (16th for regular mail), call if questions

Mansfield MO

Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum

Phone 1-877-924-7126 (Toll free)

Last Day for Priority Mail – Sometime between December 12th and the 16th

Malone NY

Almanzo and Laura Ingalls Wilder Farm

Phone (518) 483-1207

Last Day for Priority Mail – December 1^4th

Malone also says for their set up, online ordering has a quicker response.

Spring Valley MN

Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum (Store not online)

Phone (507) 346-7659

Last Day for Priority – December 10th

Burr Oak IA

Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum

Phone (563) 735-5916

Last Day for Priority – Not giving a last day, it’s up to the customer

And Don’t forget you can also get your Laura fan memories of Laurapalooza 2010 and gift memberships.

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Twitter and YouTube.

UPDATE: Watch it here!

HarveyDunn

(You may have to rotate the image in the PDF I can’t seem to get it to default to a vertical orientation.)

I always introduce Harvey Dunn in Iowa as South Dakota’s answer to Grant Wood. Like Wood, Dunn’s paintings were of the Regionalist style and mostly focused on his former prairie home. However, in the rest of the world he is better known for his war paintings (he was one of just 6 artists officially chosen by the United States government to document World War I), his magazine and to a lesser extent book  illustrations (which were prolific), and his school for artists which he ran from his New Jersey home.  Every summer Dunn would return to the De Smet/Manchester area for a visit and sketch. After the first year his east coast born wife would go to Europe instead while he headed west. Today you can view Dunn’s paintings at the South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings, South Dakota which was founded largely on the strength of his donation of his prairie works. I highly recommend any Laura fan stop because his work is incredible enough in facsimile but is absolutely wonderful in person. Dunn’s two Laura Ingalls Wilder connections are that he was Grace’s nephew by marriage and that Aubrey Sherwood of the De Smet News worked to promote Dunn and his connection to the area almost as hard as he did Laura. In fact, it was a display of Dunn’s work in De Smet that Sherwood helped arrange and the incredible response to it (people drove in from as far as Chicago to see it) that encouraged Dunn to make the donation that started the art museum.

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Twitter and YouTube and Blog Talk Radio
Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association, Vice-President and Membership Chair

Pepin, Wisconsin - May 15th

Independence, Kansas  - April 1st

Walnut Grove, Minnesota – April 1st

Burr Oak, Iowa - April 1st

Spring Valley, Minnesota - June 1st

De Smet, South Dakota - Remains open all year for limited hours but extends hours and opens Sat. starting May 2nd and is open 7 days a week starting June 1st.

Ingalls Homestead  in De Smet, South Dakota – May 28th

Mansfield, Missouri - March 1st

Malone/ Burke, New York  - May 28th

Keystone – June 1st

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Twitter and YouTube and Blog Talk Radio

First up, do they have a complete set of the books yet? If not, a set of their own is a great place to start. The three most common editions currently available are hardback, full color illustration paperback, and pencil drawing illustration paperbacks. (Note that the full color illustrations do no have all the illustrations shown in the pencil illustration versions in the later books in the series.) They are also available as books on CD as read by Tony winning actress Cherry Jones.

Second, interest in Laura is wide spread enough to support many books about Laura and her life. Here are some suggestions.

Prairie Girl by William T. Anderson – an 80 page introduction to Laura’s life

Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography by William T. Anderson – a 256 page version of Laura’s life without footnotes, written at a jr. high/high school level, but very approachable for adults as well

Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder by John E. Miller – the best scholarly biography on Laura, “choked with facts” and a treat for any devoted Laura fan

Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer’s Life by Pamela Smith Hill – more of a literary analysis than biography this newest biography from the South Dakota State Historical Society provides an in depth analysis of Laura’s writing

Third, there are books that help you feel more a part of Laura’s world.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Country by William T. Anderson and Leslie Kelly – photographs of Laura Ingalls Wilder  homesites around the country

Laura Ingalls Wilder Songbook by Eugenia Garson – a collection of sheet music to songs in the “Little House” books with notations where they appear in the books

Little House Cookbook by Barbara Walker – a collection of historic recipes as made in the books

Fourth, get them a replica of something out of the books.

Many young Laura fans start a Laura collection with a bonnet or apron. Although you might be able to make your own or from a local source the homesite gift shops also sell them (see list below).

In a very memorable scene in the first book of the series, Little House in the Big Woods, Laura gets her first rag doll for Christmas. In the books, she is called Charlotte. Every homesite gift shop sells their own version.

Also, in that first book, Ma receives a china shepherdess figurine. In all of the rest of the books, a house truly becomes a home once Ma puts out the china shepherdess. There are three replica versions of this figurine available. Walnut Grove, Minnesota’s looks the most like the version used on the TV show, but it is made of resin, not china. The version sold at Mansfield, Missouri is designed by children’s book author/illustrator Cheryl Harness. The version sold at De Smet Memorial Society in South Dakota was designed by a local artist.

Ingalls Homestead tells me that their biggest seller is a tin cup. Laura and Mary each got a tin cup for Christmas the year they were in Independence, Kansas.

Laura’s faithful companion through the first half of the series is her faithful bulldog Jack. Most of the homesites have at least one (and in some cases many) stuffed versions of her faithful friend for you to cuddle with.

A final touch of the books might be a recording of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s voice. Laura Ingalls Wilder Speaks is a CD with the only known recording of Laura’s voice and Pa’s real fiddle playing music. Laura reads a thank-you letter to school children in California as an older woman, but it’s our Laura’s voice. There are a number of Laura music CDs brought out by different artists and groups. This is the only one with Pa’s real fiddle so that you can really hear it. Of all the Laura music CDs I own my other favorite is a Tribute to Charles “Pa” Ingalls. It also features Pa’s real fiddle accompanied by, apparently, the world’s first bluegrass symphony orchestra. Other fans prefer other recordings see them listed in the online stores.

Fifth, a gift that keeps on giving. If your Laura fan isn’t a member in the organizations that support Laura yet, each homesite has its own fan membership and the group that supports this website and the Laurapalooza conference is also offering gift memberships. (Most of the time I was growing up my mother bought me one life membership in a different Laura organization each year for Christmas.) A subscription to the Homesteader newsletter (the site independent newsletter – which I am a contributing editor for) or a set of back issues can also help her learn more.

Sources

While you can get many of these Laura based presents from multiple sources (unless otherwise noted), we urge you when possible to shop at Laura homesite museums. These museum dedicated to Laura get no regular backing from her estate and rely on admissions, donations, and gift shop sales to stay open for us to visit and preserve Laura’s legacy.

The following Laura Ingalls Wilder sites are still open and allowing you to order for Christmas. I’m listing the cut off date for Christmas orders to reach you before Christmas as given to me by the homesites.

Walnut Grove MN

Phone 1-800-528-7280

http://www.walnutgrove.org/store

Last Day for Priority Mail – December 16th

De Smet SD

Memorial Society

Phone 1-800-880-3383

http://www.liwms.com Click on Holiday Guide or Gift Shop

Last Day for Priority Mail – Aren’t listing one

Ingalls Homestead

Phone: 1-800-776-3594

http://www.ingallshomestead.com/giftshop.html

Last Day for Priority Mail – December 21st

Mansfield MO

Phone 1-877-924-7126 (Toll free)

http://www.lauraingallswilderhome.com/categories.php

Last Day for Priority Mail – December 20th

Malone NY

Phone (518) 483-1207

http://almanzowilderfarm.com/store.htm

Last Day for Priority Mail – December 15^th

Malone also says for their set up, online ordering has a quicker response.

And Don’t forget you can also get your Laura fan memories of Laurapalooza 2010

http://beyondlittlehouse.com/laurapallooza-liw-conference-in-minnesota-in-summer-2010/laurapalooza-merchandise/

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Twitter and YouTube.

Wagon at Ingalls Homestead

The second annual Harvey Dunn Memorial Society Plein Air Event will be held Aug. 13-15, 2010 at the Ingalls Homestead one mile southeast of De Smet. Artists of all levels of experience are encouraged to participate.

A plein air event, a French term used in art to mean painting outdoors, involves a collection of artists painting outside. They couldn’t ask for a more inspiring place to paint than the beautiful Ingalls Homestead.

Artists will meet on Friday evening. They can start work anytime Friday or Saturday. Saturday night features a wine and cheese reception. The artists can sell their work throughout the event and a “wet sale” (of the painting just done during the weekend) will be held Sunday for the newly created work. Contact the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society in De Smet, South Dakota for more information.

1-800-880-3383 or e-mail laura@discoverlaura.org

The Harvey Dunn Memorial Society, Ingalls Homestead, Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society, and the South Dakota Art Museum are sponsoring the event.

http://www.localendar.com/event?DAM=PublishedEvent&m=367533&event_id=115&calendar_id=367533&more_info=N&export_date=Aug%2013,%202010&category=1

Harvey Dunn, or as I like to call him, South Dakota’s answer to Grant Wood, was a major artist (he even has his own stamp). If you were reading my “And One More on the Way” posts you’ll remember I encouraged Laurati on the way to De Smet to stop in Brookings, South Dakota to see his work and I still do. Read the post here:

http://beyondlittlehouse.com/2010/06/26/and-one-more-brookings-sd

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Twitter and YouTube.

In case anyone doesn’t know, Harvey Dunn is the nephew of Nate Dow aka Grace Ingalls’s husband. He was from Manchester, South Dakota which is the next town down the line from De Smet. It was destroyed by a tornado that made the cover of “National Geographic” and was featured on “Nova” (Hunt for the SuperTwister” ).

Features author/illustrator Cheryl Harness, John E. Miller, Jenna Hunnef – What is at Stake at Staking a Claim?, Jim Hicks – Long Winter Seed Wheat Trip, and Harvey Dunn Plein Aire Event.

Cheryl Harness

http://www.cherylharness.com

John E. Miller

http://www.sdshspress.com/index.php?id=42&action=940

South Dakota State Art Museum – To learn more about Harvey Dunn

http://www.southdakotaartmuseum.com

Hunt for the SuperTwister

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tornado

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFq8Ome91_o

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Twitter and YouTube.

Update in November 2010: Here’s the online version of the story.

Check out Destination Laura. It’s a new web site developed by the town of De Smet in conjunction with the traveling musical to promote De Smet as a premier Little House destination. There’s no separation of power between the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society and Ingalls Homestead … they’re both there, along with the Pageant Society, right on the same page. And listed, aptly enough, as “supporters.”

This is just what every Laura fan wants to see.

Like many of you, one of the imaginings I engaged in as a child was “playing Laura.” My cousin and I took turns being Mary and Laura and spent many happy afternoons acting out both the stories in the books and the stories we created in our imaginations. I often read comments by other grown Laura fans reflecting upon similar play from their own childhoods.

But do children today play Laura? I never hear of it anymore. I don’t see it happening. It seems like children are too busy with their electronic playthings to enjoy such simplistic but pleasurable play.

At least, that’s what I thought. And then I visited “Lauraland” and was pleasantly surprised at what I saw. I don’t know if children are still “playing Laura” when they’re at home, but come take a peek with me at what children do when they visit the land of Little House.

In Walnut Grove, Minnesota, little girls splash in Plum Creek, as Mary and Laura did more than a hundred years ago. They look under rocks, hoping to find the crab, and they stay far away from any muddy water lest they emerge with legs covered by bloodsuckers!

Then they walk across the Ingalls farm, as Mary and Laura walked to school each day. (But only one of them is a long-legged snipe.)

In Little House land, you will find little prairie girls sitting quietly at their desks, ready to study their primers and write on their slates. You may even catch a naughty little girl rocking her desk!

Even babies join in the fun. This handsome young Almanzo courts a wee Laura, proving himself an able horseman. (Hmm, now we know why Laura expressed concern about being thought of as a child bride!)

On the Ingalls Homestead in De Smet, South Dakota, children love doing the laundry pioneer-style. Ma would certainly have been pleased to have such willing helpers!

And if anyone dares think the art of pretending to be Mary and Laura is lost in the children of today, they need only watch these little girls at work. Yes, Mary is blind… and Laura is guiding her across the prairie for their evening walk.

Want to see your children play Laura the way you used to do when you were a child? Take them to Little House land. You won’t regret it.