Two years ago, six of us sat in the breakfast room of Prairie House Manor in De Smet and talked about a dream: a real, honest-to-God academic conference all about Laura Ingalls Wilder. Questions swirled across the table, and one by one we came up with answers. Yes, by Jove, we could do this.
I’m not much for public speaking — that is, being the one doing it. Introvert that I am, I much prefer one-on-one conversations. But almost exactly a year later, in a hall at Minnesota State University , Mankato, we realized an emcee was needed for the event to introduce our speakers and panelists. So I stepped up.
That’s my overwhelming recollection of LauraPalooza: looking down at the sea of faces as one speaker left the podium and another waited to take her or his place, knowing every last one of you in the audience loved Laura just as much as I did. Some of you were teachers, some of you were scholars, some of you were researchers, and some were writers — like me. We came from all walks of life and loved Laura for our own reasons, but we were all comrades, knowing it takes all kinds of people to make a world.
I wasn’t surprised, per se. We had seen the registrations roll in starting in January. We watched as the dorm housing filled up. We cheered as a who’s-who of the Laura world confirmed their attendance, one after another. If we had had any doubts whatsoever of the success of our inaugural LauraPalooza, we knew before the conference even began that they were unfounded.
There are lots of memories we have of that first LauraPalooza: seed wheat and physics, a sunbonnet in a pub, dripping ice cream on a frightfully hot evening, and the look we all shared as we passed one another between presentations. But as we anticipate the second LauraPalooza a year from now, July 12-14, 2012, it is that sea of faces that sticks with me. We accomplished something. Not just the LIWLRA board, but all of us. We showed there was a need for LauraPalooza, and together, we made it happen.
I’m ready to make it happen again. Are you?