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.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum adds on their Facebook page:
“We are planning on a “Christmas Open House” in the near future. Refreshments and pictures inside Laura’s home next to the Christmas Tree will be events that will be taking place. Keep on checking for updates on the upcoming Open House with dates and times. We hope to see you all there!!!!!!”

I really wish I could go. A photo of me in front of the Christmas Tree at Rocky Ridge, WOW! However, after getting caught in a blizzard last December on a Laura trip, and considering the way the birds have been tanking up on birdfeed, I’m not even going to try this time. If anybody else does, please report back.

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, WI – Closed October 30, 2011

Independence, KS – Closed October 31, 2011 – Daily, Weekends in November, call before you go

Walnut Grove, MN - Closed October 31, 2011, Mail Order shopping still available

Burr Oak, IA – Closed October 31, 2011

De Smet, SD -
Memorial Society open all year with slightly reduced hours

Ingalls Homestead – Closed October 31, 2011, Office remains open for making reservations, etc.

Mansfield, MO - Closes November 15, 2011, Possibly will do a Christmas event, not decided yet

Malone, NY - Closed September 30, 2011, Re-opens for December 3rd for Christmas With Almanzo event (1 Day)

Spring Valley, MN - Closed October 31, 2011

Keystone, SD – Closed September 15, 2011

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

What did you think?

(Story linked above comes from AgriNews.)

Of course I wanted this ring the minute I saw it advertised so I called Walnut Grove to get more information. The ring is based on a drawing from a 1884 Montgomery Ward’s catalog that resembles Laura’s written descriptions. 1884 is the year Laura and Almanzo got engaged. Now we don’t know whether Manly got Laura’s ring from a catalog, he could have gone to one of the local jewelry stores in De Smet, but we do know they ordered other things from the Ward’s catalog (such as their first Christmas gift to each other, the glassware set that included the famous oval bread plate) so it’s not a stretch to assume he ordered Laura’s ring from Montgomery Wards as well, especially if he didn’t want gossip spreading all over town that he was buying a ring.

The museum is taking orders for the initial batch of rings for just a few more days, the order will be sent to the jeweler on October 3.  Since the rings take 4 weeks to make, this is probably your only chance to get the ring in time for Christmas. The museum will continue taking orders after October 3 but the jeweler needs a minimum of six orders for each production run. The initial prices ($299/10k gold, $199/sterling silver) are good through December 31, 2011.

The museum will be taking prepaid orders at Laurapalooza next year but wouldn’t you rather have your ring by then? I know I would. Luckily I have a birthday coming up in November so the timing couldn’t be better. What’s your excuse reason?

Here’s the ordering information for you one more time – go make that phone call so that you can show me your ring at Laurapalooza 2012!

Rings available in both gold ($299.00) and silver ($199.00). Watch this space for more from Nicole on the details on the ring and how and when to order.

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

But there is something about Rocky Ridge Farm* that fills me with a sense of nostalgic awe like none of the others. I love that old house and the grounds surrounding it. It feels like home.

One might say it’s become a bit of an obsession for me. When in Mansfield, a simple visit and tour of the home isn’t nearly enough to satisfy me. I simply cannot be so near that home and not see it. I’ve driven over to see it in the blackness of night. I’ve come by to see the sun rise from its grounds, and also to watch it set. I’ve even gone over to say goodbye to it in the wee hours of the morning, when the fog was so thick it blanketed the house entirely so it wasn’t even visible. Simply knowing it was there was enough. I just love that old house.

Plans have been in the works for years to build an archival museum away from the home, tearing down the current museum and restoring the grounds as closely as possible to the way they looked when Laura and Almanzo were still living. I’ve spent hours poring over the architectural drawings available at the current museum building, trying to envision how the farm looked in the past, as well as what it will look like when the renovations are completed. I’ve long dreamed of the day when all of this will come to pass, but funding such an extensive project isn’t easy.

So I was very pleased to hear of the latest boost to the fundraising drive, including the news that former First Lady Laura Bush has agreed to serve as honorary chairman of the campaign. Check out Springfield’s local newspaper for more details.

* Rocky Ridge Farm was the final home of Laura and Almanzo Wilder, in Mansfield, Missouri.