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LauraPalooza… for Kids?

Posted on September 9, 2011 by

Laurapalooza… for kids?

Well, after all, the “Little House” books are kids’ books, right? But little ones at an “academic conference?”

When we were planning Laurapalooza 2010, we had some inquiries from the parents of younger Laura fans about its appropriateness for their children. We knew a separate event for children would be ideal, but we didn’t want to bite off more than we could chew at our very first conference. So we shelved the idea.

We did have a few children attend, and they reported that they loved it. But most of Laurapalooza really wasn’t geared toward young ones at all.

There are many great reasons to have a children’s event at Laurapalooza. Not only are children among Laura’s greatest fans, but the conference is held in Mankato, Minnesota — right in the heart of “Little House” country. With many conference attendees coming from long distances, it only makes sense to visit the “Little House” sites while out here — but those with children were faced with a quandary — go without the children, and then the children miss out on visiting the “Little House” sites, or take the children… but what do you do with them during the three days of the conference?

Camp Laura solves that problem!

We’ve gotten some questions since the Call for Proposals went out about Camp Laura, and who it’s intended for, and since some of you may be making preliminary plans for next year’s summer vacation, or trying to decide whether or not you want to attend Laurapalooza, I thought a bit of information might be of help.

Camp Laura is designed for school-aged children (those who will be entering kindergarten through sixth grade) whose parent (or other adult relative or friend) is attending Laurapalooza. The children’s activities will take place during the academic portions of the conference in a nearby room so the adult can enjoy the conference, knowing their child is happily engaged in learning more about Laura and pioneer life through hands-on activities.

So if you have a child in that age group, keep Camp Laura in mind when you make next summer’s plans. More specific information will become available in February when registration begins and schedules are released.

If you have a skill or area of expertise regarding Laura or any area of pioneer life (fashion, food preparation or preservation, music, handcrafts, etc.) you would be willing to share with the children, and you are planning to attend Laurapalooza, please contact us as we are still working out details of the programming and would be thrilled to add your expert help!

Kids, see you at Camp Laura!

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

Ingalls Homestead on the Today Show

Posted on September 2, 2011 by

Beyond Little House

The Today Show weekend edition is going to feature Ingalls Homestead on tomorrow’s show. Make sure you’re up to watch it, or set your DVRs!

UPDATE: Watch it here!

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: De Smet -- General, De Smet -- Ingalls Homestead, Homesites, Museums and Attractions, Little House Travel

LauraPalooza 2012: Call for Proposals

Posted on August 25, 2011 by

Beyond Little House

Call for Proposals, LauraPalooza 2012:
What Would Laura Do?

The National Laura Ingalls Wilder
Legacy and Research Association Conference

Sponsored by the Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association and the Department of Mass Media at Minnesota State University, Mankato

We invite submissions of paper, panel, and workshop proposals for review and possible acceptance for presentation at the second LauraPalooza conference, to be held on the campus of MSU, Mankato, July 12-14, 2012.

The theme of this year’s conference reflects the continuing interest in the lives and stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, particularly as related to American culture, history, values, and ideological practice. Participants may consider asking themselves, “What Would Laura Do?”

Topics may include:

The broad influence the stories have had on American popular culture in the last 75 years
The history of the books and their cultural, educational, political, and social influences
The renewed interest in women’s handwork as cultural artifacts of women’s history
The preservation of American folk music ways
The preservation of American food ways
The strategic and political influence of farming and farming culture in American history
The long-term ramifications of the 1862 Homestead Act on Western culture
The ever-widening circle of Lane’s politically Libertarian belief structures
Historical racism and its lasting effects
New discoveries in individual research that add to the Lane and Wilder legacies
Any other way you might interpret the legacies of Wilder and Lane.

Submit your proposal in the form of a 700- to 1,000-word abstract, outlining your idea and research, by midnight on December 15, 2011. All proposals should include a 200-word bio as would be appropriate for the conference program. Panel proposals should include bios for all panelists and his/her topic of discussion. Workshop proposals should include an outline of the workshop curriculum and materials needed.

We are also accepting proposals for presentations or programs for Camp Laura, an activity-based conference for elementary school children, running concurrently with Laurapalooza 2012. Please follow the same submission guidelines outlined above, but denote “Camp Laura” at the top of your abstract.

Be sure to include all contact information. Abstracts should be sent via email to [email protected], conference chair. Acceptance notifications will be sent out via email on the birthdate of Laura Ingalls Wilder: February 7. Those with accepted proposals will be expected to register for and attend the LauraPalooza 2012 conference. (Registration begins in February.)

[Find a PDF of the Call for Proposals here.]

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: LauraPalooza 2012

Happy Anniversary!

Posted on August 25, 2011 by

Laura Welser

Today is Almanzo and Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 126th wedding anniversary!

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?

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Almanzo Wilder

The Long Winter Researcher in the News!

Posted on August 21, 2011 by

Laura Welser

Check out this article in the USAToday about U. S. National Weather Service meteorologist Barb Mayes Boustead who was a presenter at LauraPalooza 2010. Barb has done extensive research on the weather during The Long Winter and, well, read the article to learn more! Great job, Barb!

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: LauraPalooza 2010: Legacies, Little House in the News, The Long Winter

While Supplies Last — LauraPalooza 2010 Programs For Sale

Posted on August 13, 2011 by

Sandra Hume

Did you miss last year’s inaugural LauraPalooza conference? We have a very limited number of gorgeous programs left. Between its covers you’ll find descriptions of all the presentations and panels, as well as biographies of the presenters and panelists. There’s also a page for autographs.

To add one to your LIW collection, a price of $6 includes postage.

Click on the image below for a PDF preview of the first two pages of the program, or go directly to to the Merchandise Page to buy.

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Administrivia, Announcements, LauraPalooza 2010: Legacies

Harvey Dunn Artist Event

Posted on August 9, 2011 by

Sarah Uthoff

For the past several years, The Harvey Dunn Society (formed to honor the work of wonderful artist Harvey Dunn) has held a plein air event at the Ingalls Homestead in De Smet, South Dakota. During this event artists gather to paint the prairie landscape that so inspired both Dunn and Laura Ingalls Wilder. Visitors can see the artists work in action and it’s followed by a “wet paint” sale where you can buy the work painted during the weekend. If you visit the Ingalls Homestead at other times you will find a small collection of these works from previous years on display. This year’s event will be held August 12, 13, and 14, 2011. I haven’t made it during the event yet, but if you’re on your way to South Dakota, be sure to attend and there will be another chance next year.

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

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Aubrey Sherwood, De Smet -- Ingalls Homestead, De Smet News, De Smet SD, Grace Ingalls Dow, Grant Wood, Harvey Dunn, Homesites, Museums and Attractions, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Manchester SD

Restoring Rocky Ridge?

Posted on August 7, 2011 by

Rebecca Brammer

Laura’s homesites are precious to me. Each of them has its own charm, its own pleasant remembrances of a time long ago when our beloved Laura lived there.

But there is something about Rocky Ridge Farm* that fills me with a sense of nostalgic awe like none of the others. I love that old house and the grounds surrounding it. It feels like home.

One might say it’s become a bit of an obsession for me. When in Mansfield, a simple visit and tour of the home isn’t nearly enough to satisfy me. I simply cannot be so near that home and not see it. I’ve driven over to see it in the blackness of night. I’ve come by to see the sun rise from its grounds, and also to watch it set. I’ve even gone over to say goodbye to it in the wee hours of the morning, when the fog was so thick it blanketed the house entirely so it wasn’t even visible. Simply knowing it was there was enough. I just love that old house.

Plans have been in the works for years to build an archival museum away from the home, tearing down the current museum and restoring the grounds as closely as possible to the way they looked when Laura and Almanzo were still living. I’ve spent hours poring over the architectural drawings available at the current museum building, trying to envision how the farm looked in the past, as well as what it will look like when the renovations are completed. I’ve long dreamed of the day when all of this will come to pass, but funding such an extensive project isn’t easy.

So I was very pleased to hear of the latest boost to the fundraising drive, including the news that former First Lady Laura Bush has agreed to serve as honorary chairman of the campaign. Check out Springfield’s local newspaper for more details.

* Rocky Ridge Farm was the final home of Laura and Almanzo Wilder, in Mansfield, Missouri.

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Little House in the News, Mansfield

Membership Reminder

Posted on August 5, 2011 by

Sarah Uthoff

Hey ho, it’s your friendly neighborhood membership chair again and I just want to encourage you to go ahead and renew your membership in the Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association (LIWLRA) if you haven’t already. Partly this is for a selfish reason, every person who just goes ahead and renews now is one less I have to track down and contact. So please, please, please go ahead and renew if you haven’t on this form.

One batch of renewed membership cards and letters have gone out, a second will hopefully go this weekend, so if you haven’t received your card yet don’t fret, I’m just batch printing them, yours will be coming soon.

In the meantime, if you need more convincing read about Membership Benefits or this Membership FAQ. If you don’t need convincing, Renew or Join NOW! If you already renewed, thank you very much. It’s the Laura thing to do after all.

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Administrivia, Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association, LIWLRA