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And One More on the Way: Wanda Gag | Beyond Little House

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff

Another in my series of posts of places you might want to add to a trip on the way to the conference or to Laura Ingalls Wilder trip.

Wanda Gag House Exterior, Photo Used With Permission of Wanda Gag House

If you are interested in the homes of one Midwestern author, you may be interested in  the homes of others. One very near Mankato along Historic Highway 14, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Highway, is the Wanda Gag House in New Ulm, Minnesota. (Last name rhymes with “cog.”) I haven’t actually gotten there myself yet, but I’ve been in contact with Sharon Glotzbach and Brent Boston who sent information and the photos of the house. Gag lived there until she was 20. Gag is best known for her book Millions of Cats. Long considered a classic, this was definitely among the books I often re-checked out from my hometown library as a child. Children’s literature expert Anita Silvey declares that Millions of Cats “basically invented the American picture book.” It will have been continuously in print for 85 years on September 10, 2012. In her lifetime Gag produced four additional picture books including The Funny Thing (1929), Snippy and Snappy (1931), ABC Bunny (1932), and Nothing at All (1942).  She went on to work on longer books for children and as a successful author was able to move all her siblings to New York and reunite the family there. Later he toured Europe and was working on a series of books re-translating Grimms Fairy Tales, some of which were published during her life and some were published posthumously after she died of lung cancer.

Today you can tour the Wanda Gag house. With a few exceptions for exhibits on Wanda Gag and her family, the house has been restored to its condition in 1900. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s a unique house with skylights, an attic artist’s studio, and open turrets. Gag described it a wonderful place for a childhood, but after her father died when she was 14 and her mother ill herself, it fell upon Gag to support the family and keep it together. Gag taught a one-room school, among other jobs, until she was able to support herself as a full time artist, first in the Twin Cities and later in New York City. Gag produced many other picture books and translated and illustrated many of the Brothers Grimm stories. Her diary of these years as a young girl tasked with saving her family and an art school student has been published as:
The Girlhood Diary of Wanda Gag, 1908-1909: Portrait of a Young Artist, edited by Megan O’Hara, Blue Earth Books (Mankato, MN), 2001.

Contemporary Authors lists the following institutions as having some of her papers if you’d like to research her for yourself: the New York Public Library, the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Kerlan Collection at the Walter Library of the University of Minnesota, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

The Wanda Gag House has shared with me some points of interest off their self-tour sheet.

  • Wanda Gag was born in an apartment downtown, and her father Anton designed and built this house in 1894, a year after Wanda was born.  At that time, it was on the edge of town. There were no trees and you could see all over the valley.  Today the house is in the middle of New Ulm’s northside neighborhood.
  • On the home exterior, you can count 7 different colors and 7 different window shapes.  The house has 7 rooms.  Anton and his wife Lissi (Wanda’s parents) had 7 children.
  • Wanda’s father Anton decorated much of the home interior, and much of this decor has been restored by a professional art restorer after being discovered, hidden behind wallpaper, paint, paneling, etc.
  • Anton and his wife were Bohemian, and the family was always into the arts, drawing, painting, music, costumes, etc.
  • Wanda’s father Anton eventually moved his studio up to the attic to provide more living space for his large family.  Visitors are able to explore the attic and review a fascinating display of items found under the floorboards when the house was refurbished.
  • After Wanda’s parents had both died, the Gag children eventually all left New Ulm.  Wanda lived and worked the majority of her career on the East Coast, but of course New Ulm was always her hometown.
  • The house is a beautiful museum, with each room showcasing artwork and books created by members of the Gag family.  You’ll learn about how the family lived here in the early 1900s, and the unique architectural characteristics of this fine example of Queen Anne Victorian construction.
  • It’s a perfect stop for visitors of any age, especially someone with an interest in early 20th century arts and books, thinking especially of enthusiasts of the Laura Ingalls Wilder stories.  You’ll also find a variety of other landmarks and attractions in New Ulm.
  • The kitchen is now a small office with a gift shop with books and memorabilia for purchase.
  • The Wanda Gag House Association purchased the house in 1988 and began the process of restoring it to its original beauty.  Our focus is to preserve the house, interpret the house and the family to visitors, and provide workshops and educational presentations to children in the area.

Gag Display, Gag House Interior, Used With Permission of the Wanda Gag House

While you are in New Ulm, still on my want-to-see list is the Brown County Museum in New Ulm, Minnesota, which features what I’ve heard is an excellent display on the Sioux Uprising (its sanctioned name keeps changing, I think that’s the most current – it’s called the Minnesota Massacre by Mrs. Scott in Little House on the Prairie). To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the conflict this year, a new exhibit is being added to the Gag House. Beginning July 13, 2012, you can see images of panels from a 120-foot panorama depicting the major scenes of the 1862 U.S. Dakota Conflict.  The original panorama was painted on canvas and is attributed to Anton Gag, Wanda’s father.

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

Posted in Homesites, Museums and Attractions, LauraPalooza 2012, Little House Travel Tagged with: , , , ,

And One More on the Way: Little Brown Church | Beyond Little House

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff

We continue our conference countdown with the Little Brown Church.

Oh, come, come, come, come, come to the church in the Wildwood,

Little Brown Church


Oh, come to the church in the dale,

No spot is as dear to my childhood as the Little Brown Church in the vale.

Hear the song by Andy Griffith and Don Knotts and by the Statler Brothers and by Dolly Parton.

This lovely old hymn was inspired by a spot in Nashua, Iowa.  The story goes like this:

“A young music teacher named William Pitts was traveling by stagecoach from Wisconsin to Iowa to visit his future wife.  While waiting for the stagecoach horses to be changed, he walked down Cedar Street and saw the empty lot where the church now stands.  Being a romantic young man, the thought came to him of what a charming setting the spot would make for a church.  Returning home, he wrote the poem “Church in the Wildwood,” and later set it to music.  He put it away in a drawer and forgot it.”

The complete words to the song and a direct quote from Pitts is available here.

Little Brown Church Interior

Pitts went on his way, but in the meantime a local Congregational Church (the same denomination of the Ingalls Family) got tired of meeting in different places around town and decided to build a church. By coincidence they picked the exact spot that Pitts thought was the perfect setting for a church. The brown color came from the cheapest paint available at the time it was originally painted. Keep in mind that no one in the community had ever heard Pitts song or the part in it about the Little Brown Church. Pitts later moved to the area in 1862 to be closer to his elderly parents and was delighted to find a church being built just where his fancy had placed it and even the brown paint selected already. He dug out the song and it was used at the church’s dedication service. Time wore on and although the coincidence of the song was still talked about, the world forgot about the little church and the town it sat in.

Then the singing group The Weatherwax Quartet picked “Church in the Wildwood” as their theme song and wherever they toured in the United States and Canada between 1910 and 1921 they sang the song and talked about the church. The town had been bypassed by the railroad, but as roads and highways slowly improved tourists began to come to see the church in the song. Many people want to be married at the church even if they aren’t from the area and in October of 2009 the Little Brown Church celebrated its 73,000th wedding.

While people came from all over to visit the church, it was especially taken to heart by the people of Iowa and you can find in antique stores all over the state one time souvenirs of The Little Brown Church. My own grandparents took one of the very few vacations they ever took on their own to see The Little Brown Church and we took a detour to visit it a few years ago.

Right next door to the  church is Old Bradford Museum (Bradford being the previous name of the town). They have an extensive collection of buildings and antiques, although when I visited basically no interpretation whatsoever. Still it gives you a nice chance to stretch your legs after seeing the church and they do have some very impressive individual pieces, so keep your eyes open.

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

Posted in Homesites, Museums and Attractions, LauraPalooza 2012, Little House Travel Tagged with: , , , , ,

And One More on the Way: SPAM Museum | Beyond Little House

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff

The conference countdown continues with the SPAM Museum.

SPAM Hands On

The SPAM Museum is named after the processed pork product that was the inspiration for what we call junk e-mails. Who would possibly want to take a side trip to Austin, Minnesota for that? Well, everybody. My family stumbled upon what is quite possibly the best done corporate museum in the entire country when disappointment with another museum left us with a little unexpected time on our hands on the way home from a trip. We’d seen the brochures at travel information booths along the way and since we were close by decided, heck why not stop? We were very glad we did, from the bronze farmer and pig statue (check out the detail on the ear corn in his bucket) to the interactive SPAM “canning” challenge (if I had written down my best time I’d challenge you to best it) to the Monty Python tribute (SPAM, SPAM, SPAM), the museum was well done from end to end. There was lots to see and do and learn. We also stopped by the SPAM gift shop and bought some, surprise, surprise, SPAM to take home and some other stuff for family and friends since it was full of hilarious stuff. Seriously we recommend people stop at the SPAM museum a lot and about about half the time we get a knowing look

SPAM Exterior

and smile as the person admits to having gone there and that it was great. So add your name to the list and visit the SPAM museum on your next trip.

Roadside America gives a more  in depth description and directions there. I haven’t spent much time describing how to find it because they probably also are the site with the best signage to and from the museum of any I’d seen. If you go to Austin and keep an eye out and  you’re sure to find it.

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

 

Posted in Homesites, Museums and Attractions, LauraPalooza 2012 Tagged with: , ,

And One More on the Way: Mary Tyler Moore | Beyond Little House

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff

Another in a series of  postings of possible places you might want to add to your Wilder conference trip. Some will be Laura related, others are just

Mary Tyler Moore

kind of neat tourist spots. Enjoy!

During the 20th Century, television used to be a uniter with 3 or 4 channels at most almost everyone watched the same shows while they were actively being produced. Add to this number the people who learned about once popular primetime shows through strip syndication (where a show would be offered on a local channel 5 times a week at a set time each day) and a vast percentage of the population knows the major classic 1960s shows like Mary Tyler Moore .

TVLand, a cable channel that specializes in showing classic mid-20th century shows, has begun a campaign to put statues of characters in iconic images as close to the setting of the show as possible. The Mary Tyler Moore Statue in the photo is just one of this series. Many exterior shots used on the show are still identifiable around the Twin Cities today. Guided bus tours are available that show you sites around. Most general tours will show at least some of the Mary sites. Find a good list with at least general directions on this site.

Mary, Sarah and the Beret

I really loved this statue so much that I went to visit, not once, but twice. In fact I must confess that I even bought my own wool beret, just so I can throw it in the air like Mary did in the opening of her show.

 

Sarah Throwing her Beret

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

Posted in Homesites, Museums and Attractions, Little House Travel Tagged with: , , , ,

The Daily Planet is Out | Beyond Little House

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff

LauraPalooza, the conference of the National Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association, has made the Daily Planet! Sadly the Twin Cities Daily Planet instead of Metropolis’s, but it’s exciting just the same. Read it here.

Posted in Administrivia, LauraPalooza 2012 Tagged with: ,

And One More on the Way: Sail Lake Pepin | Beyond Little House

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff

Our next stop is a definite must for every Laura fan. I haven’t been yet, but after several years of trying to make it up early enough on the Friday night, I have given up and made my reservation for Sunday morning during this September during Pepin’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Days.

Lake Pepin

Every Laura Ingalls Wilder fan who goes to Pepin probably stops to see Lake Pepin. It actually is a widening of the Mississippi River, but it forms a lake with bridges crossing it at each end at Red Wing and Wabasha, Minnesota. The town of Pepin has a beach and a marina where the town meets the lake. It is very popular with people coming down for the weekend from the Twin Cities which gives it a unique flavor for a small town. Several restaurants and artist guild type stores line the waterfront. However, you can actually see the lake from the surface of its waters if you sign up for a trip with Sail Lake Pepin. You can cruise the lake in the daytime, at sunset, or take a moonlight  cruise. Cruises depart on a regular schedule. You’ll want to contact them ahead of time.

It’s best if passengers can call ahead and make a reservation, especially if around Laura Ingalls Wilder Days. June-September are their busiest months, but they  do take walk-ins – if there is room. You are more likely to successfully find a walk-in space on Friday or Monday. Check their website for the schedule when you’ll be here. They adjust it during the season to keep the sunset cruise at sunset. Reservations can be made at any time, as far ahead as you like, but if you do end up just showing up, be sure to be at their office along the lakefront road at least 15 minutes before scheduled departure times. Trips are the same price no matter when you go during the day, but the sunset tours are the most popular.

Used with permission from Sail Lake Pepin

David Sheridan, who runs Sail Lake Pepin, chose to move to Pepin because of same kind of love of land as Laura and her family. He’s carving out a living on a seasonal occupation like Pa and he loves introducing people to this area. David lives in Pepin all year, so be sure to ask him questions about crossing the ice over the frozen lake.

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

Posted in Homesites, Museums and Attractions, LauraPalooza 2012, Little House Travel Tagged with: , , , ,

Don’t Panic | Beyond Little House

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff

One of the reasons The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was so popular was the calming message Don’t Panic on the cover. That’s one of the top 10 pieces of advice I’ve gotten from literature. I think it may also be something to bear in mind during the conference.

First memberships, I got 52 envelopes of membership letters ready to be mailed first thing tomorrow. Except for one couple that I’ve been trying to get a hold of for about a month to clarify something and they haven’t responded, everyone who renewed or joined (paid) before July 1st should be going out in that batch. I’ll be doing another batch before I leave for the conference, but even if you don’t receive the card in time – Don’t Panic. We’ll have lists of both charter and current members there. Stop at the LIWLRA booth at the conference to get stickers for your badge for Current Members and Charter Members. However, if you still haven’t renewed and you’re planning on it, the sooner the better.

Some people have been worried because they are leaving very early for the conference and are afraid they won’t get something critical in our mailings. While we hope the information will be useful, anything crucial will be given out at the conference so – Don’t Panic. If you leave before they arrive, and they are in the mail en route as we speak, I am putting the same information below.

PacketLetter

Laura Palooza Map_06-12-1

Schedule

I am changing the format a little bit of the schedule, but the information is the same as you will get in the mailed packet. It is possible it may still have to be adjusted on site.

Wednesday, July 11

4 PM – 7 PM Dorm check in

7 PM – ? Ice Cream Social at Sears Residence Hall  – Pioneer Clothing Encouraged!
End time is open ended until ice cream is gone and people have talked themselves out for the night, but probably to 9 PM at least.

Thursday, July 12

8 AM Amy Lauters

9 AM Literary Laura:

Elizabeth Nolan Connors: Laura and Louisa: ‘Little House’ and ‘Little Women’ Through Time

Kay Weisman: What Would Laura Read? A Look at the Youth’s Companion of 1879

Emily Woster: Little Books on the Prairie: Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Reading Life

Eddie Higgins: Translating Little House into “English” a UK Fan’s Perspective (Cancelled)

10:45 AM Break

11 AM History and Context

Barb Mayes Boustead: Wilder Weather: What Laura Witnessed

Jim Hicks: Children of the Brewster School

Susan Thurlow: Dr. George Tann, Black Frontier Physician

Helen Gunnarson: The Legalities of Roger and Rose

12:45 PM Break

1 PM Legacy Luncheon

2 PM Dale Cockrell & Dean Butler: Pa’s Fiddle Project Presentation

3 PM Break

3:15 Pa’s Fiddle Project Viewing

5 PM Dinner Break

7 PM Author’s Reception with Amber Waves Band

Friday, July 13

8 AM Linda Halpin

Three Concurrent Repeating Sessions Follow

9 AM Food of the Little House (Wieking Center)

10:15 AM Walking Time

10:30 AM Needlework of the Little House (Ballroom) Neumann/Halpin

11:45 AM Walking Time

12 PM Music of the Little House/ Amber Wave Band (Ballroom)

1:15 PM Box Lunch Social with Sitting in Interest Group of Your Choice

2:30 PM Speaker: Bill Anderson

3:30 PM Break

3:45 PM Barbara Walker

4:45 PM Dinner Break

6 PM LIWLRA Member Meeting/Member Early Admission to Alison Arngrim Show for Festival Seating

7 PM Showtime: Alison Arngrim, “Confessions”

Saturday, July 14

8 AM Julie Williams

9 AM Educator Panel

Judy Ziegler Green

Melanie Stringer

Ann Weller Dahl

Connie Neumann

11 AM Farm and Handwork

Kelly Kathleen Ferguson: A Twenty-First Century Look at the “Farm Cure”

Sarah Uthoff: Laura Ingalls Wilder: What A Doll!

12 PM Spelling Bee/Silent Auction

1 PM Closing Lunch

2 PM Load Buses for Walnut Grove (Optional)

4 PM Museum Tours

5 PM Dinner at the Community Center

7 PM Pageant

End of Show – Board Buses back to Mankato (Optional)

UPDATED: Made a couple of small changes, some times were adjusted on the fly and I didn’t correct for those.

Posted in Administrivia, Announcements, LauraPalooza 2012 Tagged with: , ,

These Happy Golden Years, Chapter 32: Haste to the Wedding | Beyond Little House

Posted on by Beyond Little House

Guest post by Sue Poremba

When my daughter married six years ago, it was a quiet affair in front of the justice of the peace with only parents, siblings, and grandparents in attendance, and a garden party afterwards. We planned that wedding in less than a month. I’m still not sure how we made it all work – and we didn’t have to hand-sew dresses and sheets and underwear.  

The chapter Haste to the Wedding, Ma and Laura are working double time to finish the black cashmere dress that Laura will wear on her wedding day, a dress so complicated that even though I’ve read this chapter dozens of times, I’m still blown away that it could be finished in a matter of days.  It took me a full nine-week marking period to make a jumper that required nothing more than sewing the seams – and my mother still had to help me finish it.

The part of the chapter I like the best is the packing of the trunk and the bundle.  It is a subtle nod to the other books, to the other parts of Laura’s life that we got to see. Charlotte and her clothes. The Dove-in-the-Window quilt. The goose-down pillows. The glass boxes. The red-checked tablecloth.  Even the calf Pa hitches to the back of Almanzo’s wagon.

When I was a little girl, this scene made me wish for a hope chest, and I’d look around my bedroom, wondering what I would want to bring with me to my new life. When the time came, I remember packing, very gently, the stuffed animal that I loved as much as Laura loved Charlotte.  The quilt my great-grandmother made for me. Special presents. The Christmas ornament that would connect my new tree to that of the trees of my childhood.  Laura’s packing is a universal theme and perhaps it is the scene that shows the true closure of her life as only a daughter of Ma and Pa.

This is a quiet chapter, a reflective chapter. It ends with Laura asking to hear all of the old songs from her childhood, the last time we readers “hear” Pa’s fiddle. Laura is wistful. We are wistful. This is the point where Miss Laura Ingalls ends. In the morning, she’ll be Mrs. Laura Wilder. More importantly, we are saying good-bye to Pa and Ma, even though we will see them one more time in the next chapter. But we will never see them quite the same.

I wonder how many times during the making of the wedding dress, Ma thought about the “dress in black, wish yourself back” saying and worried about Laura’s future.  I never got the impression she liked Almanzo very much.  Of course, we know that Laura and Manly were married for a very long time – and through those hard times, I wonder, too, if that saying ever entered Laura’s mind.

When my daughter married in haste, she too wore a black dress and I thought of Laura’s and Almanzo’s wedding.  Maybe there isn’t anything to those old sayings.

Posted in These Happy Golden Years Tagged with: ,

Mankato on the Radio | Beyond Little House

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff

Today we had Christine Nesser from Greater Mankato on Travel Times. She talked about what there is going on in Mankato while we’re at the conference. We had some issues at the beginning of the episode, but we finally got out of the voice mail loop.

Find walking tours and more information:

  • U.S.-Dakota Conflict (mentioned in Little House on the Prairie as the Minnesota Massacre)
  • Betsy-Tacy in Mankato

She also mentions these two books.

  • Maude Hart Lovelace’s  Deep Valley
  • Discover Deep Valley

Listen to our episode about Mankato (again forgive the technical problems at the beginning, it does straighten out fairly quickly).

And here is the list of Christine’s other events:

While you’re in town for the conference you can enjoy some of the following events:
Thursday – July 12
– Songs on the Lawn – 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  –  right across from the Verizon Wireless Center at the Mankato City Government Offices.
– The fantastic Sunday Punch Barbershop Quartet will share music of the Betsy-Tacy and author Maud Hart Lovelace eras. From 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.  – at the New Ulm Public Library (600 N German Street)
– Croquet and Chardonnay – 5 to 8 p.m. – Chankaska Creek  Ranch and Winery
– Crazy Day Sidewalk Sales – River Hills Mall – Thursday through Sunday
– The Sound of Music Musical – 7:30 to 10 pm. – Minnesota State University Ted Paul Theatre – Thursday, Friday and Saturday

Friday
– Music by Duke Zecco (50s, 60s & 70s) 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. –  Indian Island Winery
– Music by Fish Frye – 7 to 10 p.m. – Chankaska Creek Ranch and Winery
– FREE Outdoor Movie Night, Featuring: GHOSTBUSTERS! –  9 to 11 p.m. – 10 Civic Center Plaza
– Live Jazz & Classical keyboard performed by pianist Ben Marti – 6:30 to 9 p.m. – Morgan Creek Vineyard

Saturday
– Discover the Dakota Culture & Heritage – National Eagle Center Traveling Program – 10 a.m. to noon – Hubbard House (Brought to you by the Blue Earth County Historical Society)
– Live Country music by Tess Erickson – 6 to 8:30 p.m. –  Indian Island Winery
– Live Music Entertainment by the Eric Zimmerman Jazz Trio – 7 to 10 p.m. – Chankaska Creek Ranch and Winery
– Neon & the Noble Gases (Classic Rock and Funk ) – 9 p.m. to midnight – Pub 500

Sunday
– Ice Cream Social and Open House – 1 to 4 p.m. – Our Lady of Good Counsel Campus (Enjoy listening to live music by Warren Streets
and SSNDs featuring favorite songs from the past, touring the grounds, visiting with sisters, and shopping for unique handmade crafts. A chapel
tour and organ demonstrations will be offered at 2 and 3 p.m. Children’s activities such as a bounce house, sidewalk chalk and bubbles will be available.)
– Club Sundays – 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. – Indian Island Winery – (Every Sunday throughout the summer. Bring your club out to the winery and receive $1 off wine tastings and 10% off all food orders!! Club minimum of 8 people. Please call ahead of time if you’d like to bring your club out! 507-317-7914 and ask for Ray.)

Other activities
– CityArt Walking Sculpture Tours
– Hubbard House – 10 to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday
– City Center Historical Walking Tour
– Veterans Memorial Tour
– Beautiful trails and parks
– Betsy-Tacy Houses

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

 

Posted in Homesites, Museums and Attractions, LauraPalooza 2012, Little House Travel Tagged with: , ,

And One More on the Way: Lanesboro MN | Beyond Little House

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff

Lanesboro MN

Another post in our continuing series of places you might want to add on to your Laura trip, whether coming to the conference or not.

Rick Steves, of Europe Through the Back Door fame, always says when you plan a big trip to build in a day or two as a vacation from your vacation.  He recommends planning in a day where you don’t have much to do or places to rush to see, where you can just relax. The number one spot I’d recommend for doing that in Laura Ingalls Wilder country is Lanesboro, Minnesota. Nestled in Fillmore County, also home to Spring Valley, Lanesboro is set up for relaxation and adventure. The entire county has invested in supporting bike and hiking trails and river sports along side the Root River.  The town bills itself as Minnesota’s bed and breakfast capitol. It also has lovely restaurants overlooking the river and you can rent all sorts of bicycles and water craft to get the full effect of the area.

Overlooking the Root River

There is also a small community historical museum, with a very clever buy the step fund raiser, and some delicious ice cream at the local meat market. There’s plenty of tourist friendly shopping and even a day spa. If you’re looking for a place to relax during your Laura vacation, this is definitely the spot.

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

Posted in Homesites, Museums and Attractions, Little House Travel, Uncategorized Tagged with: , ,