But what do prairie roses look like?

I took this picture Sunday, during a trip to see the Pipestone quarries at Pipestone, Minn., now a national park. The quarries, which are accessible only to American Indians, yield the stone that many consider sacred to their religions. They use the stone to create pipes and other materials.

The quarries sit in the middle of the prairie, and a long trail takes one through the quarries, to surprising sites such as Winnewissa Falls and the initials of the Nicollet expedition engraved in rock. Along the route, different plants are identified by signs, and this plant was clearly identified.

Prairie Rose.

In its beauty, we can see the love Laura had for her daughter.

What do you think?

Me, I think Pa wouldn’t go for it. But that young cuss, Almanzo? As drawn to debt as he was? Maybe …

(I love how the writer is so obviously a fan of the books.)

Maybe that’s why I treasure Laura’s engagement story. First, it exists. Beyond that, it’s just enough off-kilter to be interesting, which I think beats traditional any day.

“I was wondering …” Almanzo paused. Then he picked up Laura’s hand that shone white in the starlight, and his sun-browned hand closed gently over it. He had never done that before. “Your hand is so small,” he said. Another pause. Then quickly, “I was wondering if you would like an engagement ring.”

“That would depend on who offered it to me,” Laura told him.

“If I should?” Almanzo asked.

“Then it would depend on the ring,” Laura answered, and drew her hand away.

Then there’s the song. Do you remember, the one Laura sings? (And which you can listen to here — thankfully for me, since I’d always sung it in my head to the tune of “My Darling Clementine” and apparently needed to be corrected.)

Finally, there’s the ring, which has nothing whatsoever to do with diamonds. (Neither does mine. It’s a sapphire.)

What’s your engagement story? Does it compare to Laura’s?

It’s ready.

Here’s the trailer.

A lot of the discussion revolves around Cap Garland. A commenter tried unsuccessfully to post a link to a Cap Garland web site; I suspect it’s probably this one.

The phrase springs into my head upon the mere mention of the name Willie Oleson.

Willie is a fun character, I think.  Like the character of Nellie, Willie in the book series is a composite of more than one real boy. (Although the Plum Creek Willie was surely based on Willie Owens, Nellie Owens’ little brother, remember that the Owens family didn’t continue on to De Smet as Laura portrays the Olesons as doing in the books. The boy in Laura’s class in De Smet who played foolish was therefore another child, whom Laura names as Will Bennet in Pioneer Girl.)

He’s your typical annoying little brother, a character type that could not be developed within the Ingalls family itself and works so well by putting him with an equally annoying big sister, Nellie.

Jonathan Gilbert — the brother of Melissa Gilbert, aka “Laura” — played the role of Willie Oleson on the longstanding Little House on the Prairie television series — and he played it well. We all know, of course, that Melissa has joined the world of Little House once again by playing the role of Caroline Ingalls in the musical currently touring its way across the continent. But a fun fact that some may not yet realize is that the part of Willie Oleson in the musical is played by another close male relative of Melissa’s — this time, her son rather than her brother.

Scholastic has a fun interview with Melissa’s son, 14-year-old Michael Boxleitner, on their blog this week. Grab a fistful of candy in Willie’s memory and enjoy!

With Valentine’s Day coming up tomorrow, my thoughts keep traveling to my first Valentine: Almanzo James Wilder.

Almanzo was my celebrity crush. In the days when all the other girls in junior high school were swooning over Kirk Cameron or Michael J. Fox, ’twas Almanzo’s name I wrote in my school notebooks surrounded by swirls and hearts.

I have to admit I haven’t lost that childhood crush even yet. Think about it.

He’s daring and courageous — and the town hero. So maybe he wasn’t tall, but he’s got dark and handsome down. At the same time, he’s loyal and committed, caring and protective. He knows more than any other man in town about how to do just about anything, he’s hardworking, his sense of humor and his wit are phenomenal, and he’s just all around awesome.

The character of Almanzo in the Little House books is one all young men should aspire to be like — an admirable role model for boys. It’s a shame so many people peg the series as books for girls.

It’s time Almanzo got his due. As we celebrate his birthday today, won’t you share your favorite thing about Almanzo? Favorite scene… favorite story… favorite character or personality trait… whatever comes to mind.

Happy birthday, Almanzo… be my Valentine.

Nancy Westlake

Nancy Westlake is a long time volunteer at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library. She researched in the Laura Ingalls Wilder/Rose Wilder Lane Papers at the Hoover Library and constructed 4 lesson units on Wilder that are available for free on the Hoover Website. They are: “Pioneering Journeys of the Ingalls Family,” “De Smet, South Dakota in the 1880s,” “Farmer Boy,” and “Pioneer Counting Book.” These lesson units have proven very popular with teachers and were used extensively by the teachers at the first Teacher Day sponsored by the Ingalls Homestead.

Read them here:

http://hoover.nara.gov/LIW/index.html#educators

Westlake works with Hoover Education Curator Mary Evans to put on interactive Iowa Communications Network presentations for classes of school children across Iowa. Westlake also does special tours with the Christmas exhibit and portrays Mary Todd Lincoln and Friendly Lucas (Iowa’s 1st Governor’s wife) when needed. Recently Westlake was honored by the NARA. She was chosen the 2009 Weidman Outstanding Volunteer Service Award. The ceremony was held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. on December 3, 2009.

Sarah S. Uthoff,

http://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com

Kitty Latane

I just got the sad news that Kitty Latane, the longtime editor of the Notes from Pepin — the official newsletter of the Laura Ingalls Wilder organization in Pepin, Wisconsin — has resigned from her position. Latane (pronounced Lah-tan-ay) has done a marvelous job with this newsletter, and I’m sure all of Laura fandom will join me in giving her a round of applause for all her hard work.

Kitty has been a major force in keeping the Laura in the Laura Ingalls Wilder Days in Pepin. She organizes the Buckskinner Rendezvous/traditional craft demonstration as well as the essay contest, and she presents a fascinating program on Pepin’s history at the time Laura lived there and which buildings still remain from that time. Kitty is also the co-author of  The Village of Pepin at the Time of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Kitty is known worldwide as a tinsmith, and she makes a limited-edition tin cookie cutter in a Laura design for each September’s Laura Days celebration. Here’s Kitty’s website about her tinsmithing.

Her husband, Tom, who also does a lot with the craft demonstration, has a separate page with photos of their shop and forge. Be sure to visit their shop on the main street of Pepin if you visit.

Sarah S. Uthoff, Trundle Bed Tales