Beyond Little House » LauraPalooza 2010: Legacies

Cabinetmaker Builds Replicas of Laura’s Lap Desk

Sandra Hume — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:07:51 +0000

Sarah Uthoff has been in Pepin this past weekend for this year’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Days. In the event’s living history area is cabinetmaker David Johnson, who has built replicas of Laura’s lap desk. Readers of the Rose-penned introduction to On the Way Home, Laura’s diary of the weeks-long wagon ride from South Dakota to Missouri in 1894, remember the lap desk as the unlikely spot in which the family’s $100 bill was lost. (It was eventually found.)

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.

The Long Winter Researcher in the News!

Laura Welser — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 03:09:54 +0000

Check out this article in the USAToday about U. S. National Weather Service meteorologist Barb Mayes Boustead who was a presenter at LauraPalooza 2010. Barb has done extensive research on the weather during The Long Winter and, well, read the article to learn more! Great job, Barb!

While Supplies Last — LauraPalooza 2010 Programs For Sale

Sandra Hume — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 17:44:27 +0000

Did you miss last year’s inaugural LauraPalooza conference? We have a very limited number of gorgeous programs left. Between its covers you’ll find descriptions of all the presentations and panels, as well as biographies of the presenters and panelists. There’s also a page for autographs.

To add one to your LIW collection, a price of $6 includes postage.

Click on the image below for a PDF preview of the first two pages of the program, or go directly to to the Merchandise Page to buy.

LauraPalooza 2010 in Convene Magazine

Sandra Hume — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 15:00:18 +0000

Earlier this year, an editor from Convene, the magazine for the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), asked us for some photos from LauraPalooza to accompany a small write-up of our event. The story was published in the April 2011 issue. The magazine printed photos of the Spelling Bee and Walnut Grove as well as a lovely shot of illustrator extraordinaire Cheryl Harness. The selected photos were submitted by Sarah S. Uthoff and Sherry Dieter.

It’s a small write-up and runs across the very bottom of two facing pages, so you need to scroll from one page to the next to see the whole thing. We’ve got the PDF right here.

LauraPalooza 2010 – Memories

Laura Welser — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:27:21 +0000

Can you believe it’s been a whole year since LauraPalooza 2010? Can you believe it’s only a year to LauraPalooza 2012?

Since I first heard about a possible conference with only one subject – Laura Ingalls Wilder – I was in. There was no question. I’d get there one way or the other, no matter where it was. I planned for it (we rarely take trips longer than long weekends), I talked about it (a lot), I worried (I always do), but most of all…I was excited!

However, in the last couple of months before LauraPalooza, my mom, who had been in poor health for several years, began to have more health problems and was in and out of the hospital. I wavered back and forth about going. I was afraid to be away if something happened, but I knew that my mom, who had always supported my love for Laura Ingalls Wilder since I first started reading her books, would want me to go. I talked to family and they all encouraged me to go. I believe I even posed the question on facebook. I wrestled with myself. In quiet moments in those last days leading up to leaving, I even talked to my mom about it. At this point, Alzheimer’s and illness made conversation, which my mom so loved, next to impossible. She was stable though and her condition seemed to be improving, so I decided that we would head to Mankato, Minnesota State University and LauraPalooza. That was the day before we were set to leave. I had yet to pack, gather up paperwork, books and make sure that I was leaving my business work all caught up. Earlier in the year I had made tentative plans to stop in Burr Oak, Iowa (the homesite that Laura doesn’t mention in the books) and Spring Valley, Minnesota (where Almanzo, Laura and Rose lived with Almanzo’s parents for a year). I was hoping that we could still squeeze them in. They were “on the way” after all.

And on to LauraPalooza 2010 we headed! Looking back, especially going through the videos that Sarah Uthoff has posted for the past week, I realize that much of my time was clouded with worry about my mother. I was determined to have the wonderful time that she would have wanted for me though. My first best memory? Seeing my Laura friends for the first time “in real life”. Through the past several years, I’ve made a handful of Laura friends…all through the computer. I have to say that I would consider these friends some of my closest and those who know the real me. It was really special for me to actually be able to see (and hug) so many of them. Since I already felt such a bond with them, being able to sit down and share together meant the world to me. I would see a familiar face and…it was just so wonderful to finally be able to be there with them spending this time together. And the new friends? I love every little conversation that I had with everyone who shared my enthusiasm. And after that, I am far from a Laura expert, just a fan who always wants to learn more, and it was so great to listen to the presenters, learn tons of new stuff that I didn’t know (some things that I didn’t even know I could know!) and be with other people who love Laura in the same way that I do.
And one more thing…I was never a “Little House” tv show watcher, but I gained a whole new admiration and respect for Dean Butler. I really love the work that he’s been doing to preserve Laura and Almanzo’s legacy.

We did get to visit Burr Oak and Spring Valley on the way to LauraPalooza. And, since my husband very patiently accompanied me on the trip, the stops on the way home were all about him. Antique stores, an old iron mine, the largest pump engine in the world, a couple of “junk” stores…you get the picture.
Sadly, my mom passed away just days after our return and I was never able to tell her all about my adventure. I know she would have been so very happy and excited for me.

So LauraPalooza 2010 alumni – share, spill, let us in on it! What are some of your favorite moments? What are some of your best memories?

Last Day of Laurapalooza 2010

Sarah Uthoff — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:15:38 +0000

The Laurapalooza conference was officially over. Dean Butler stayed around and did additional signing and spoke with visitors. Some conference attendees headed further west to De Smet, South Dakota and attended the pageant that night. I however had to head home, but that didn’t mean I didn’t take a LITTLE more time to look around Walnut Grove and get some more footage before I left. OK, OK so I spent the whole morning on one last good Laura binge and left after 12 pm.

Last Day Part 1

Still in Walnut Grove before heading home. We look around Walnut Grove. Walnut Grove Museum, Dugout Site Memorial and Dugout Site.

Last Day Part 2

The drive home. Thanks for watching!

Drive home, includes a couple of things from And One More on the Way List.

Thank you for joining us on this review/preview of Laurapalooza. We still have a few more special posts to go and we hope that we’ll all see you in Mankato July 2012.

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

Day Five of Laurapalooza 2010

Sarah Uthoff — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 15:11:37 +0000

Today the actual conference sessions were only in the morning followed up a spelling bee at lunch time and then everyone headed out. Some people headed home, others went to see the Betsy-Tacy houses which featured special events for the day, but I followed another part of the group and headed to Walnut Grove, Minnesota for a tour and then to the pageant for the night.

Laurapalooza Day 5 Part 1

Laura Ingalls Wilder Documentary, Wendy Corsi Staub, Barbara Mays Boustead, John Fry, Ann Dahl, Gayle Keresey, and Loving Laura panel.

Laurapalooza Day 5 Part 2

Judy Green, Tin Pail Luncheon/Spelling Bee, and Farewell Mankato.

Laurapalooza Trip – Sleepy Eye, Minnesota

Well known to TV fans. Sleepy Eye is right on Highway 14 – The Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway between Mankato and Walnut Grove. The video should also prove of interest to people who collect Sleepy Eye pottery and Peanuts fans. I took a quick look around Sleepy Eye on my way to Walnut Grove.

Laurapalooza Trip – Walnut Grove, Minnesota Part 1

Laurapalooza Trip – Walnut Grove, Minnesota Part 2

What was going on in Walnut Grove after we got their complete with guided tour.

Day Four of Laurapalooza 2010

Sarah Uthoff — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 10:41:37 +0000

We hope that everyone is enjoying re-living Laurapalooza 2010 with us and is getting all excited about Laurapalooza 2012. We hope these videos are giving those of you who didn’t get to come last time a taste of what it’s like. Have you thought about what you might want to present on? The second full day of the Laurapalooza conference began with a surprise in the parking lot.

Laurapalooza Day 4 Part 1

Old car, Connie Neumann, Amy Lauters, Linnea Mattson, (Quilts, Sewing, and Crafts), and Betsy-Tacy events.

Laurapalooza Day 4 Part 2

Pamela Smith Hill, Make and Take Crafts, Sarah S. Uthoff , Bookstore Display, Suzanne Falck-Yi, College Library, Kay Weisman, Gayle Abrahamson and Jane Palmer.

Laurapalooza Day 4 Part 3

Emily Wooster, Osage Native American Responds, Charles Lewis, and Mavis Richardson.

Day Three of Laurapalooza 2010

Sarah Uthoff — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:39:04 +0000

Today we look back on the first full day of the conference. Once the conference actually started it was so busy that each day took multiple videos. I was kept very busy running back to my car to download the camera since it only held 30 minutes. My new HD camera with an external mic holds two hours, so hopefully if I do it again, it will be better on all counts.

Day Three of Laurapalooza Part 1

Part 1 of the first full day of the conference includes, in order, a look at registration; words from Amy Lauters and Sandra Hume; samplings of presentations by Kelly Ferguson and Ann Weller Dahl; museum staff greetings from Burr Oak (Steve Luse), Walnut Grove (Nicole Higgins Elzenga) and Pepin (Suzanne Ebersold); more presentation sampling by Michelle McCellan; LauraPalooza designer Kristina Sukalski; and a bit on Dale Cockerell’s presentation.

Day Three of Laurapalooza Part 2

Part 2 of today’s video features author/illustrator Cheryl Harness; snippets from presentations/speeches by John E. Miller, Jenna Hunnef, and Jim Hicks; the Harvey Dunn Plein Aire Event; and the Manchester Tornado.

Day Three of Laurapalooza Part 3

Pepin contingent with Kitty Latane, Barbara Mays Boustead, Lynn Urban, Homesite Panel, Author Panel, and Dale Cockerell.

Day Three of Laurapalooza Part 4

Connie Neumann at Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association Booth, Sue Duggan, Author Reception with Nancy Cleaveland and Penny Linsenmayer.

Day Two of Laurapalooza 2010

Sarah Uthoff — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:40:14 +0000

We continue this week as we look back to Laurapalooza 2010. Day Two of my Laurapalooza trip was spent in Mankato. It turned out I wasn’t needed to do much for the conference that day so instead I caught some of the sights of Mankato. However, that evening was the first event of the conference. It was an ice cream social, moved indoors because of the heat, and attended by many of the big names of the conference much to the excitement of all.

Day Two of Laurapalooza

Arrival in Mankato! This video includes Maude Hart Lovelace information, a look around the University of Minnesota-Mankato campus, and, towards the end, the ice cream social that marks the beginning of the conference. Look for welcomes from Amy Lauters, the Betsy-Tacy Society, John E. Miller, and Dean Butler.