His reply (I should note here that no details were given and he was in a hurry): “Sounds good.” I took him seriously. Today, 176 years ago, Charles Ingalls was born. Last Friday, on January 6th, we celebrated Pa, the fiddler, at the Loveless Barn just outside of Nashville, Tennessee.

I’ve tried to think of one single word to describe the whole experience. I can’t.

It was awesome and wow, touching and emotional, fun and funny. My hands hurt from clapping before the show even started. It was so amazing to be a part of something that will evolve into not only a documentary to further preserve the legacy of Laura and Pa and the music that they loved and shared with the world, but also an event for PBS (my all-time favorite station to watch).

After a “just like home” cooked meal with a wonderful group of friends at the Loveless Cafe, along with a visit from Dean Butler, we all walked over to the Loveless Barn. We (the Laura group ) were one of the first to be seated, and next to the stage at that. After settling into our seats, I soon realized that the fiddler would be right there in front of us. Perfect seats, in my opinion! Throw into the mix the absolute coolness of watching and listening to the great producer, Dean Butler, the director at work, the cameramen, and all the other goings-on of filming this special production … again, no words.

When the first performer, Ronnie Milsap, sat down at his piano and started to play and then the fiddler joined in, I got goosebumps, swelled with pride, and thought I might cry (I had a hankie up my sleeve, just in case) all at the same time. As each song was performed, I felt such a range of emotions just hearing this music that I have known and loved for so long being played right there before me.

Photo courtesy of Dale Cockrell - The Pa's Fiddle Project

What a treat it was watching these great performers – - Ronnie Milsap, Randy Travis, Natalie Grant, Rodney Atkins, The Roys, Ashton Shepherd and Committed — all doing their versions of these songs. Pa’s songs. And the band? Award-winning musician and musical director Randy Scruggs along with the very talented Matt Combs, Dennis Crouch, Chad Cromwell, Hoot Hester and Shad Cobb. This was surely a highlight in my “Laura life”!

After the show, as we drove north back into Kentucky and toward home, I wondered: Which song did I love the most? Who was my favorite artist? While I can’t choose just one and could go on and on about each performer and performance, if pressed I would have to say that Randy Travis singing “Sweet By and By” resonates with me the most because it was Pa’s favorite and, after all, this was a celebration of Pa.

I’m not going to go over every detail because hopefully you all will be seeing it on PBS in just a few months and I don’t want to spoil if for you. If your PBS station doesn’t air it, by all means contact them and tell them that you want to see it!

Thank you, Dean Butler and Dale Cockrell, for putting this very special show together, for offering us the opportunity to be there and for all you both do to preserve the legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder. And a special thank-you to Connie Neumann who put a lot of work into coordinating the attendees!

a Rose in December is much rarer than a rose in June.

Here is a message that appeared on another forum:

…there is some discussion about how much of the works are actually [Laura Ingalls Wilder's] or her younger sister’s memories, and how much/what exactly was edited by her daughter. I was at a National Endowment for the Humanities class last year and one of the fellow teachers remarked that there is discussion among “Little House” researchers that it may even be that Laura’s daughter pressured her mother to write during the Depression as a source of income; the implication being that some sort of “elder abuse” was occuring to get the writing done. This is why I approach them with a bit of caution.

Can you comment on these points, and if true, how they may have affected the reliability of the contents?

What say you, Laura folk?

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.

As a way for all of us to celebrate together, how about if we share our favorite Laura and Almanzo moment in the comments below?

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

A Pioneer Gone

The people of De Smet were pained Sunday afternoon to learn of the death of Mr. C.P. Ingalls, who died at 3 pm of that day after a lingering illness of several weeks.  Heart trouble was the cause of his death.

Funeral services were held at the Congregational church Tuesday forenoon, largely attended by the many friends of the deceased and of the family.  After the church services were concluded the Masonic fraternity, who were in attendance in a body, took charge of the funeral and the remains were placed in their final resting place with the solemn funeral rites of that organization.

Charles P. Ingalls was born in the state of New York sixty years ago.  His life was that of the pioneer from his boyhood.  At the age of twelve years he moved with his parents to Illinois, thence, a few years later, to Wisconsin, and thence to Minnesota.  It was while living in Wisconsin that he married the estimable lady who is now his widow.  In 1879 he brought his family to what is now De Smet.  He was the first to build a dwelling in this locality, the house that now stands on the rear end of the Bank of De Smet lot is the building.  In his home were held the first religious services.  He was prominent in the work of organizing the Congregational church in this city, of which he was a faithful and consistent member at the time of his death.  He was also a member in good standing of the Masonic order and of O.E.S.

As a citizen he was held in high esteem, being honest and upright in his dealings and associations with his fellows.  As a friend and neighbor he was always kind and courteous and as a husband and father he was faithful and loving.  And what better can be said of any man?  Some few accomplish great things in life’s short span; they control the destinies of nations, or hold in their hand, as it were, the wealth of the world; but the great many tread the common walks of life and to them falls the work of making the world better.  He who does this work well is the truly great man.  Such was he who has lately been called to the Great Beyond.  Charles P. Ingalls did his life’s work well and the world is better for his having lived in it.

There remains to mourn his death a wife and four daughters, Mrs. Laura Wilder, Mrs. Grace Dow, and Misses Carrie and Mary Ingalls.  To the bereaved is extended the heart felt sympathy of all in this community.

-The De Smet News and Leader

They’ve also introduced an interactive timeline, but personally I think it’s more likely to induce motion sickness than learning.

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

I have to imagine that Carrie also may have been the only Ingalls that ever won a lottery!

When supper was over, Uncle George went outside the door and blew his army bugle, long and loud. It made a lovely, ringing sound, far away through the Big Woods. The woods were dark and silent and the trees stood still as though they were listening. Then from very far away the sound came back, thin and clear and small, like a little bugle answering the big one. -Little House in the Big Woods, Dance at Grandpa’s