And FYI to the director/commentator: It’s Charles Philip Ingalls, not Charles Paul. [Edited to add: Thanks to Carole Nebhut, who informed us that he's saying "Pa," not "Paul." How could I have mistaken that!?]

I’m really grateful that Sandra and Connie agreed to help coordinate audience participation for Pa’s Fiddle by members of our Little House community.

For those who are able to be there it’ll be a great chance to be part of the show…we’ll make sure we see your smiling, happy faces as you listen to some of the best music Pa played on his fiddle during his family’s timeless adventure on the prairie. Our house band will be five to six players led by musical director Randy Scruggs…together they will be supporting some special guests from the worlds of country and bluegrass music.

Laura mentions 127 different songs in her books…we’ll hear 10 to 15 of them at the Loveless Barn. The performances will be edited into a 1-hour Pledge Special for PBS that will premiere nationally in June of 2012.

We only have about 100 seats available…they’ll all be good…you’ll be part of the show. I know i’ts short notice, but you’ll have fun. We’ll need to know who’s coming by Friday, Dec 16. Details on the show time will be made available at that time…you should expect the performance to be shot over a four- to six-hour period during the afternoon and evening of January 6, 2012. I’ll hope to see you there.

Edited to add:

People have been asking about children attending the performance. We’re glad you reminded us, as we would love younger fans to be in the audience! Any child 8 years and older is welcome to come, but please keep in mind that this will be a long afternoon/evening and we will need everyone who chooses to attend the event to stay from beginning to end in the interest of continuity.

Dean

We want YOU to be there.

The event is part of a PBS pledge special and will be recorded for future use on television.

According to Dean, “Pa’s Fiddle will feature some of the best known tunes called out in Laura’s Little House books played by some of the finest players in Nashville. Historic details related to Laura will be provided by our friend Dale Cockrell, as only he can do it.”

The event is free, with reserved seating. “We’d like to have up to 100 of our Little House friends on hand to listen to and enjoy the music,” says Dean. “This is a unique opportunity for those who love Laura to be present for and participate in a uniquely authentic celebration of the music that inspired the books.”

We realize this is short notice, but if you are sure you can make it, please email Connie Neumann at macneumann@aol.com to reserve your seating. Please put “Reservation” in your subject line.  The numbers are very limited at the Loveless Barn and Connie will need to know for sure that you are coming no later than Tuesday, Dec. 20th. In your email, please send your full name, how many in your party (no children under 8 – sorry), your telephone number and state of residence.

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 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.

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

Laurapalooza Trip Day 2

It includes a report on Maude Hart Lovelace at the Mankato public library. It follows up with footage of campus and the ice cream social, including welcomes from Amy Lauters, the Betsy-Tacy Society, John E. Miller, and Dean Butler.

Mankato Public Library

http://www.beclibrary.org/mankato.php

Betsy-Tacy Society

http://www.betsy-tacysociety.org

John E. Miller – South Dakota State Historical Society Press

http://www.sdshspress.com/index.php?id=42&action=940

Dean Butler’s Documentaries

http://www.legacydocumentaries.com

I found out during the Native American panel at Laurapalooza that one of the largest group hangings in American history (in retribution for the Dakota Uprising aka by Mrs. Scott in Little House on the Prairie the Minnesota Massacre) was held in the future site of Reconciliation Park.

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

Dean Butler, whom many will remember as the actor who played Almanzo Wilder on the Little House on the Prairie television series, produced a Wilder-related documentary last fall, Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura, which can be purchased exclusively at the Wilder Farm in Burke, New York. Unlike the many movie and television adaptations of Laura’s books that leave many dissatisfied due to liberties taken, Butler’s production was impressively well-researched, historically factual as well as true to Laura’s stories, and of high quality, leaving even the most finicky Wilder fans pleased and wholeheartedly satisfied.

Judging from the itinerary Butler has shared thus far on his blog, it appears his Laura documentary will be just as wonderful. After all, how many Little House movie/television producers or directors do you think have visited the Rose Wilder Lane Collection in the archives at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library?

I have a sneaking hunch that Michael Landon never did.

I wanted to thank all of you for your support of ALMANZO WILDER: LIFE BEFORE LAURA. Thanks to all those who have purchased it. For those who haven’t, but would like to, the DVD is available at the Wilder Homestead in Burke, NY. You can order the DVD on-line at www.almanzowilderfarm.com.

Beyond Little House, American history has always been something that interests me, so I’m pleased to announce that I’m going to be producing other documentaries that feature American heroes and patriots. The idea is to make these stories come alive for young people in particular and hopefully inspire them to make a difference in the world and in our country. I’m also more than pleased to tell you that I’m working on a production paradigm that would deliver these “slice of history” DVDs to school children for about the cost of a Happy Meal or a paperback book!

Some of you out there are teachers and parents and you certainly have an interest in the education of children… I would love to hear from you. Which of the following titles do you think would have the most appeal to 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th grade students and teachers? Here are some of the ones under consideration:

Tom Savage – early Colonial period – a young boy from England who, at 13, stowed away on a vessel leaving London for the Virginia colonies. He was traded to the Powhatan Tribe in exchange for a Native American boy. Tom provided valuable information about Native American culture (as well as information about the likelihood of attacks) to the colonists.

Benjamin Banneker – Revolutionary War era – a Revolutionary War patriot and an African American freeman who aided in the design of the Capitol. A man of great accomplishment, Banneker wrote a famous letter to Thomas Jefferson, advocating the abolition of slavery. A child prodigy, Banneker was also an astronomer and published an almanac.

Sybil Ludington – Revolutionary War era – At the tender age of 16, Sybil Ludington, daughter of an American military leader, took a midnight ride longer and more dangerous than Paul Revere’s famous ride, to warn the colonists that the British had invaded Danbury.

Spy Kids of the American Revolution – Revolutionary Era – Dicey Langston and John Darragh are only two of the young people who were used as spies and messengers during the American Revolution. The fact that they were mere children meant they were often overlooked by adults and therefore were valuable messengers… though it was dangerous work. John Darragh, 14, would listen in on the British officers who took over a room in his parents’ house. His mother would sew information into his coat buttons so he could deliver “intelligence” to George Washington’s army. Dicey Langston, 15, often overheard neighbors and loyalists talking about troop movements. When she heard that the British were planning to attack her brother’s militia, she ran to warn them, swimming though the Tyger River in the middle of the night to do it.

Elizabeth Blackwell – Pre Civil War – the first woman doctor in America. After being rejected by over 20 medical schools, Elizabeth was finally admitted to Geneva Medical College as a prank. But she stuck it out and graduated first in her class in 1849, despite the fact that she was forbidden to attend certain anatomy classes which were deemed improper for a lady to attend.

Maggie Walker – Post Civil War -A community leader and civil rights advocate born in 1867, Maggie was the first woman (and an African American) to start a bank in the United States. Despite the recent economic downturn, the bank she started in still in existence today.

Other titles under consideration are the more familiar ones: Betsey Ross, Martha Washington, Pocahontas.

So this is your chance to help design the future of my venture into American History! Write to me and let me know which titles interest you the most. Feel free to suggest other names as well. Please respond to dean@legacydocumentaries.com

Best to all…

Dean