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.

Watch Johnson talk about the lapdesk in Sarah’s video.

Incidentally, a replica just like this one was offered for sale at LauraPalooza 2010. It sold immediately.

Then there are those who want to learn more. They go beyond the original “Little House” books and buy more books. There are lots of books out there written about Laura and Rose.

Then there are others who like to collect. Do you go to the home sites (or order from them) and pick up a souvenir here or there? Are you a frequent ebay or antique store browser always on the lookout for something that reminds you of Laura…maybe a cup and saucer of the pattern that she had?

It all starts off innocently enough. You want to collect some of the Sewell-illustrated editions of the “Little House” books. For me this started long before ebay came along.

You visit some of the home sites and collect Charlotte dolls or die cast chotchkies.

Then you start searching for Laura and Almanzo’s bread plate, but which one is really the one that they had? Somehow you end up with both.

And then you start looking for antiques. Things mentioned in the books…butter churn, sheep shears, name cards.

So…are you a collector? What are some of your great finds? Or are you content to read the books or watch the television series?

As I started out from Mankato, I couldn’t help but notice the temps were way below zero. And I decided it would be fun to keep a log of my trip, following the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Highway east toward her roots, to those of her parents, in the spirit of On the Way Home.

At each stop along the way–and never while I was actually driving–I sent a text message to update my Facebook status. I noted where I was, what I was up to, and the temperature. It stayed below zero until I got into Wisconsin; by the time I was in Wisconsin Dells–stopping at Exit 92 for a Dunkin’ Donut and cup of coffee–it was well above zero. And I realized I had another Laura opportunity: I could stop in Concord, armed with new general directions for finding the original farms of Charlotte Quiner Holbrook and Lansford P. Ingalls.

I’ve been to Concord before. At one point, I lived in Milwaukee for three years, and I took advantage of that opportunity to seek out these roots of Caroline and Charles. But at LauraPalooza last summer, in talks with John Bass, I got more specific directions to the original farms. I decided to go off the freeway at County Road F and drive out that direction.

The problem, however, was that I couldn’t be sure I was in the right space. Some of these sites felt familiar–the Groose area, for example, rang a dim bell–but because this was an impulse stop, I wasn’t armed with the right maps to make sure I was in the right spot. Naturally, I sent a text message to Facebook noting my dilemma, as part of the log, before moving on.

And got a wonderful lesson in the power of the social network and the generosity of the Laura community.

Nansie Cleaveland, who is a dedicated Wilder researcher, happened to note my problem, and she had the maps! She scanned them and posted links to them for me on Facebook. I retrieved the maps on my phone, and on the way back from Milwaukee, easily found the right spot. (Nansie since has written post of her own about this experience, and included those links for anybody else wandering through Concord at her blog, Pioneer Girl.)

My problem had been that I was looking for the farms south of the Oconomowac River, and south and east of Concord. The farms are actually north and east of Concord. They adjoin at a specific spot:

The spot where the Lansford Ingalls and Charlotte Holbrook lands adjoin.

Parked on that corner, I took pictures to the north and east of the intersection.

The Lansford Ingalls farm.

This sweeping cornfield, with the farmhouse just up the street, was original Lansford P. Ingalls land–where Charles spent most of a his youth.

It’s easy to see, with as close as the two farms were, how three different couples evolved from the numerous young people who lived there. Henry Quiner and Polly Ingalls, Eliza Quiner and Peter Ingalls, and Caroline Quiner and Charles Ingalls all married.

The Quiner/Holbrook land lays kitty-corner across the street from this intersection. This is the sweep of field and stream that exists there now:

The Holbrook farm land.

I just barely missed shooting an image of my vehicle in the foreground of this one.

If the farmhouses were located in roughly the same spots as they are today, the young people living on these farms only had to walk about a half a mile to go visiting. There would have been many more trees than exist today; the farm land has been cleared and planted, and these farms look to be successful and self-supporting.

As we drive down the road south, with the Holbrook farm on the right, a delightful surprise awaits:  When we approach the river, which apparently once wandered through the Holbrook land, several houses have sprung up on the right, a mini-village of sorts. The entire site is still in the Town of Concord, but one would have to cross the river–and today, Interstate 94–to get to the village crossroads.

Much easier, today, is to turn right at the river, and go to Concord General Store just off the freeway for gas and an ice cream cone or coffee. Even if the owners didn’t know, when I asked, that they were just down the road from Little House history.

Bidding begins on January 24 and the auction takes place on February 11 and 12.

Thanks to Wendy McClure for the tip-off. (Have you reserved your copy of The Wilder Life yet? You’ll want to. Alison Arngrim is already talking about it.)

Just last Saturday, my husband and I (who surprised me by offering to go once again ), took another trip to the University of Michigan-Dearborn to see the Laura Ingalls Wilder exhibit there. When we arrived with video and regular camera in hand, there was only one other woman there and she left shortly after we arrived. I took my own sweet time and read every single poster that lined the wall as you enter the exhibit. Each framed poster was titled Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Journey of a Pioneer Family and told Laura’s story as well as the story of all of America at that time. Each one had a Laura quote and photos of people and objects from the books or from that time period.

The first showcase that I came to was filled with items that were made during Laura’s lifetime, including Coca-cola, the sewing machine, the Ferris wheel, the railroad, the Hershey bar, Spam and more.

We then proceeded to some displays that featured examples of wool with sheep shears and a pair of hand cards and another display that shows flax, linen and woven fabric. Next to this was a quilt from the Wilder Farm Museum that was handmade by some students that had visited.

The next display featured artifacts of the era including an ox yoke similar to the one Almanzo would have used, a carved wood chain, a wooden bucket and dipper, some ice skates, handmade paper doll and clothes, and a pig bladder. Also shown was a Holmes Stereo Viewer, which was positioned so that you could look into it. Pretty neat!

The other side of that display contained some typical household items, such as a punched tin lantern, a sadiron, a haystick, a scouring box, butter mold, and several more items. There were some very interesting looking household books too.

There was a corner with two beautiful local quilts hung on the wall above a spinning wheel and antique cradle.

The next glass case that I looked at (or gazed may be a better word) held books that were mentioned in the Little House books:  Godey’s Lady’s book, Millbank, Mother Goose, The Polar and Tropical World, Tennyson’s Poems, and Norwood (Pa’s signed copy). The other side of the showcase contained many books that would have been popular during Laura’s lifetime.

Then we came to a display case which showed a comparison in illustrations (which do you prefer?) and also contained different language versions of the Little House books. You could read about Garth Williams and see his sketches and book cover mock-ups. One of them was for the cover of The First Four Years, which is mistakenly titled The Last Four Years.

We moved on to the showcase which contained some of Laura’s handwritten and typed manuscripts. The manuscripts from The Long Winter and These Happy Golden Years are on loan from the Detroit Public Library where Laura donated them in 1949 when they named a library branch for her. It’s always exciting to see these. Those lined notebooks written in pencil from edge to edge. Yes, they never fail to thrill me! Also posed here were the questions: Who wrote the books? and Fact or Fiction?

Next we saw a showcase featuring Rose. There were some Rose artifacts and books that she wrote and those written about her, including the book edited by Beyond Little House’s own Amy Lauters. There were also photos and a chronology of Rose’s life, including some of the people who were important to Rose.

Next to this was a display showing the chronology of the Ingalls family. Also shown here was a fiddle similar to Pa’s, Pa’s hymnal, some of Mary’s beadwork, a fan belonging to Carrie,  and one of the replicas of the little China Shepherdess.

On the other side of the room was a corner devoted to William Anderson including a showcase featuring some of his books and framed prints by illustrator Dan Andreason hanging on the wall. We really have William Anderson to thank for this wonderful exhibit!

There was a small display case containing a program and correspondence from the opening of the Laura Ingalls Wilder branch of the Detroit Public Library in 1949. There was also a telegram from Rose to Mr. Ulveling, sent in 1967 when a new Laura Ingalls Wilder Library branch was dedicated, telling him how much it meant to her mother.

Of course, there was a showcase devoted to the Little House on the Prairie television show. A board game and script signed by Michael Landon, plus Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Anderson’s books are displayed here. Here, we also saw an American Doll, Kirsten, and some sunbonnets, pinafores and a doll that any young fan would love.

The next display’s focus was on Laura’s travels, with brochures from homesites. Also displayed here were many books written about Laura, a Braille version of Little House on the Prairie and a German version of The First Four Years entitled Almanzo and Laura. My favorite items here were the little wood carved figures of Pa, Ma, Mary, Laura, and Carrie!

Then we saw some of Laura’s personal items — her sewing basket, needlework, books, and photos. There was also one of Laura’s hats and a pair of her gloves. It is noted that the tag in the hat is from Lord & Taylor as opposed to the hats that Laura had made for herself in the books. We could also see an enlargement of a Missouri Ruralist with Laura’s first published article. Here also was one of Rose’s books, Cindy, which Laura sent to Carrie, and Laura’s own copy of Victor Hugo’s Toilers of the Sea with Laura’s own inscription, Bessie Wilder.

Right next to this was a continuation with more Laura items on display — her quilt, a replica of her beloved Charlotte doll,  an issue of Youth’s Companion, and more needlework. There was also some of Laura’s china — Blue Willow and Rosebud Chintz. Also here were two items which I had missed out on the other two times that I was able to see the items that are kept at the Detroit Public Library. Finally I was able to see the two textbooks – Independent Fifth Reader and The Model History: A Brief Account of the American People; for Schools. I had been looking forward to seeing these as they were not taken out to view when I was shown the handwritten manuscripts at the library.

Then we moved on to a showcase of Laura’s correspondence with some of her fans in Michigan. Some of it is on loan from the Detroit Public Library so I was lucky enough have seen it before. There was a letter from Laura to a Miss Adams at Central State Teachers College, which mentions perhaps having met in Detroit. The students of Miss Adams had written to Laura and some of them had written to Almanzo. My memory escapes me, but I have to assume that this is the teacher that William Anderson had spoken to about her experience of seeing Laura at the book fair.

I know that there were so many things that I have forgotten to include. There was so much to take in. However, we decided to leave when a large family with several children came in. I was thrilled to see two young girls so very interested in Laura with a family willing to bring them in. I was not bothered by them, but knew that I’d had my hours of peaceful contentment and having the exhibit to myself. It was time to let go.

I am so happy to have been able to visit this exhibit twice and to have been able to hear William Anderson speak again. There is always something new to learn from him. Another Laura adventure… and certainly one I will never forget.

“I declare,” Ma said. “It never rains but it pours.”

~from These Happy Golden Years, Chapter 20

One of the most frequent questions I have received over the years from those who love Laura’s books is, “Why hasn’t there been a factual documentary made about Laura’s life?”

Why indeed? A highly fictional television series gained wide popularity during the 1970s and early 80s. A movie and its sequel, touting themselves as the “true” story of Laura Ingalls Wilder, disappointed fans with its startling inaccuracies in 2000 and 2002. And in 2005, a Disney miniseries of Little House on the Prairie aired, closer to the mark than the original television series, but still containing significant deviations from the original book, even leaving out poor Carrie altogether!

These have left Laura’s readers wondering, when will someone produce a Wilder-related show that finally gets the story right?

That time has come, and as Ma says, it never rains but it pours. Wilder devotees not only have Dean Butler’s  The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder to look forward to this summer, but the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum in Mansfield, Missouri, has produced a documentary of its own.

Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Life Stories of a Pioneer Girl was commissioned by the Wilder Home, which gives it an advantage most tv producers wouldn’t have had — access to original documents, photographs, and artifacts owned by the museum. The 25 minute documentary tells the story of the Ingalls family’s travels, with emphasis on the Wilders’ time in Mansfield.

This is an excellent resource for teachers to use in their classrooms, or for librarians or Wilder presenters to include in their programs. The documentary aired on Ozark Public Television in May, and is now available for purchase at the Wilder Home.

There is truly something for everyone in this beautiful documentary. Those new to Laura’s books will enjoy learning more about the characters, and how the “Little House” books came to be. Readers who have not had the privilege of visiting the Wilder Home in Missouri will be pleased at this opportunity to tour the home virtually and to see many of the artifacts housed in the museum.  Lifelong readers will cherish the ability to hear Pa’s fiddle played, and to listen to Laura’s own voice. Even the most avid of fans will delight in photographs that, to my knowledge, have never before been published or displayed.

This is a wonderful addition to Laura’s legacy and we are grateful to the fine folks at the Wilder Home for their hard work in the production of this long-needed program.

Buy yours today!

But, as I do with any new publication having to do with Little House, I ordered it immediately upon its release… but happened to read others’ reviews before I had a chance to pick up the book myself. And those reviews — from diehard Little House fans, mind you, not from the general public — weren’t great, to be quite honest. Complaints of lengthy episode summaries and “no juicy tidbits” and overall disappoinment left me apathetic at best about digging in for myself, especially with a whole stack of really good books I was eager to devour in my “to-read” pile.

But at last, I sighed and picked up the book to see for myself just what I thought of it. So here’s my opinion — the good and the bad.

First, the good:

I personally really liked Melissa Gilbert’s Prairie Tale, but the language used and the behaviors described in the book were too much for some fans, and other fans protested that there wasn’t nearly enough about Little House in the book to suit them. Those people will LOVE The Way I See It. This autobiography is nearly as prim and proper as Mary Ingalls herself. It’s profanity-free and mentions of Hollywood corruption (and always about others, not Melissa herself) are few and far between. And if Melissa Gilbert didn’t have enough about Little House to suit you, Melissa Anderson is here to serve! Nearly the entire book is nothing but Little House — there are a few paragraphs here and there of other projects Melissa was involved in, but the book is definitely primarily about her life on Little House, as the subtitle indicates.

Now the bad — with still a bit of good mixed in:

There were two aspects of this book I personally did not like. The first is the way she occasionally describes incidents from real life written as a script. I can see, however, that as an actress from such an early age, she may look back at memories and see them in her mind as a script, whereas I, an avid reader from an early age, view memories in eloquent prose. It certainly was a unique approach, however, and novelty is always a pleasant added touch.

The second negative about this book was, as others had already pointed out, the episode play-by-plays. In some instances, it made sense — for example, to refresh the reader’s memory about a particular episode because she was then going to expound on something that occurred behind-the-scenes, or her feelings about some aspect of the episode. However, there were other episodes that I got frustrated after reading such descriptive paraphrases, only to reach the end of the episode description and that was it. No trivia. No additional information that anyone who watched the show on tv didn’t already know. No thoughts or feelings about the filming of that episode. Those left me wondering, “WHY did she just tell me all of this? What was its purpose? For anyone who has already watched it, we already know what happened — and for anyone who hasn’t, wouldn’t it be more enjoyable for them just to watch the episode than hear someone’s line by line retelling of it?”

That said, I was more pleased with the book than I expected to be. The “no juicy tidbits” wasn’t quite true — if trash talk on the other actors is what you’re looking for, this isn’t the place to find it. But for me, there were a lot of behind-the-scenes-of-Little-House juicy tidbits. Information about where certain episodes were filmed, about how special effects were performed, about how the filming and editing were done was plentiful and I found it quite interesting. I only wish there’d been even more of that, with fewer episode guides.

Overall, I think the average Little House fan will find it a pleasant and enjoyable read. Have you read the book? Do you agree? Let us know what you thought about it in the comments. (But no spoilers please!)