Wow, everyone did an awesome job with Laura’s A-Z, Summer Giveaway #4. The computer at random.org picked these two lucky winners: Amy and Elliemae. And for a surprise bonus, Kim gets one for posting the most words! Please email [email removed] with your mailing address. Remember, there is one more chance to win a copy so if you missed out this time, try again. Stay tuned for the next giveaway question…
Boys like Laura, too, don’t they?
In a conversation with my sister-cousin, Nicole Kohls, this weekend, talk turned to Little House.
Now, Nic is one of the cousins, along with her sister Sara, who regularly played with my sister, Tracy, and I when we were small. Games often included long-ranging arguments over who would make the best Mary, who should be Laura, and why Sara (the youngest) should be Grace–even though Grace rarely got to do anything. I also remember distinctly asking their maternal grandmother (we’re related through our fathers) how to pronounce “challis,” in order to more accurately portray going to town while playing “Plum Creek” in her farm house.
Nic now has two sons, both reaching that “tween” stage, and each of whom has a distinct personality. The older, Nathan, loves his books and games, drama, music, and Scouting. Tim, the younger, has a sturdy build suited to athleticism. He enjoys the outdoors, and he likes to go running with his father. He’s sort of a boy’s boy, destined to be a man’s man.
This past winter, Tim’s reading teacher asked the children to read a book of their choice that could be considered historical fiction. The long-term project involved a final presentation/book report in which the child had to dress as the primary character in the story.
Tim had to think about his book choice. In a discussion with him, Nic suggested something from the Little House series. What do you think about Little House in the Big Woods? she’d ask. Or Little House on the Prairie?
He thought about it. “Mom,” he said. “I don’t want to dress up like a girl.”
That’s why he chose to read Farmer Boy.
For his presentation, Nic helped him find homespun brown pants at a local thrift store; a red-striped dress shirt; suspenders; straw hat; and boots. Tim wanted to go barefoot, but in a Wisconsin February, bare feet are ill-advised. They also came up with a whip, using a handle made of bamboo fishing pole with a braided, black yarn tail.
He was a hit.
And it turns out, he likes the other books in the series, too.
He just won’t dress up like a girl.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Almanzo Wilder, Amy, Crafting, Cultural Impact, Farmer Boy, Playing Laura
From Oprah to Guideposts, Little House Has Something for Everyone
More than fifty years after her death, Laura Ingalls Wilder is still changing lives.
Read this heartwarming article in Guideposts magazine about a little girl who came to understand the meaning of family through a visit to the Little House sites.
Then page on over to O, The Oprah Magazine, to read of the influence the Ingalls family has had on a writer and her daughter during this past year of economic hardship.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Cultural Impact, Homesites, Museums and Attractions, Little House in the News
Ask the Experts: A Little House Wedding?
I am getting married next summer and as I have been a huge LIW fan my whole life, I would like to include something LIW into my wedding…I think I’m looking for a quote to put on the programs or a reading that could be done during the ceremony, but I’m not coming up with much…I was just wondering if you might have any suggestions, or have any other ideas for incorporating LIW into a wedding? Thanks for any help you can offer!
~Erica
We thought we’d open this one up to you, the readers of Beyond Little House. What suggestions do you have for Erica? We look forward to hearing them.
The Truth About Silver Lake
We really need to have a talk about Silver Lake.
You see, just this week I’ve read comments concerning it on two different blogs of recent visitors to De Smet. One states that she is going to visit “Silver Lake (which, sadly, is no longer a lake)” and the other remarks, “Silver Lake is now a slough.”
Interesting. You see, I was in De Smet last week too, and this is what I saw at the “former location” of Silver Lake.
And last summer, I took this video at the same location.
I don’t know about you, but that looks an awful lot like a lake to me.
So why the confusion? Why do people think Silver Lake no longer exists, that it is nothing but a slough?
The story goes back to 1923, when extensive ditching was completed, running the entire length of Silver Lake and connecting to a ditch leading to Lake Henry. According to the De Smet News, August 24, 1923, “The ditching will clean up a large tract of land that has been of little use. It will entirely drain Silver Lake, and while it may be a long time before all the land is made tillable, it will turn the wet marsh into hay and pasture land, and the outlay is justified.”
Interestingly enough, early in 1924, it was decided that the drained Silver Lake bed would make an excellent location for a new town dump, and it was used as such for many years.
But at some point in time as the decades passed, the lake refilled with water. It varies from year to year, season to season, its size dependent upon amounts of rainfall, and the current lake is smaller than the Silver Lake of Laura’s day, but there is indeed a lake present. It’s truly a beautiful lake, if you don’t look too closely. (Remember, it was a dump for many years, so you can only imagine what is under all that water… and a careful look along the edge will reveal some of the junk deposited there among the grasses.)
There is a turnoff on Highway 14 between the Ingalls Homestead road and the town of De Smet, with a walking trail through the slough grasses and an interpretive display about the wetlands and the lakes. The westernmost portion of Silver Lake originally lay due east of this display and is therefore the area often photographed by tourists as what used to be Silver Lake.
But the next time you go to De Smet and stop at this display, take a closer look at its map. Clearly marked by a large dot on the map (at the east end of 4th Street) but apparently overlooked by most tourists is the Silver Lake Viewing Area. And it is at this location that the above pictures and video were taken.
So Silver Lake? It is still a lake. It’s surrounded by marsh and wetlands, signs warn of sewage waste, and there is no good public viewing access.
But it is a lake. So please… let’s stop saying it’s not.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: By The Shores of Silver Lake, De Smet -- General, Homesite Vacations, Rebecca
Racism Revisited
Recently the blog Anti-Racist Parent used my post on how to discuss racism in Little Town on the Prairie as a launchpad for a post digging deeper into this issue from the perspective of parents of children of color. It’s a pretty interesting post that led to numerous comments, most of which were helpful and made me think. While I can’t say I’m a fan of being called an irresponsible parent (from a commenter), it is nevertheless a fascinating discussion well worth reading.
Carrie Said … What?
A week and a half ago, on the long ride to the airport, I was reading The Long Winter aloud to my family when I discovered a lifelong error. That is, an error of mine. Remember when Laura and Carrie are walking in the Big Slough, taking a shortcut home from town where they bought the mowing machine section for Pa? Well, before they stumble upon the Wilder brothers when they finally make it out, they’re convinced they’re lost in the slough. Carrie even says to Laura: “I know. We’re lost.”
Except she doesn’t.
Carrie’s mouth opened a little. Her big eyes looked up at Laura and they said, “I know. We’re lost.” Her mouth shut without a word. If they were lost, they were lost. There was nothing to say about it.
Carrie doesn’t say “I know. We’re lost”; her eyes do.
Fascinating, isn’t it? Did any of you all make this mistake too? Or am I more of a careless reader than most? I know I read fast. Perhaps, I’m now thinking, I read a little too fast.
This is only one of many misconceptions that has been clarified for me as I read various sections of the Little House books aloud. One other that I’ll mention is that Ma never put the tablecloth on the table during meals; it was used only between meals.
Reading aloud is fun! I highly recommend it. I can’t wait to see what else I discover.
Playing Laura and Mary
In my “other” (non-Laura) life as an early interventionist, I am often discouraged at the playthings available to children. Toys of today do all the work for the kids; children don’t have to pretend anything because the toys do it all for them. As an imaginative child who spent hours each day pretending, the thought of children no longer developing such skills saddens me.
Like many of you, one of the imaginings I engaged in as a child was “playing Laura.” My cousin and I took turns being Mary and Laura and spent many happy afternoons acting out both the stories in the books and the stories we created in our imaginations. I often read comments by other grown Laura fans reflecting upon similar play from their own childhoods.
But do children today play Laura? I never hear of it anymore. I don’t see it happening. It seems like children are too busy with their electronic playthings to enjoy such simplistic but pleasurable play.
At least, that’s what I thought. And then I visited “Lauraland” and was pleasantly surprised at what I saw. I don’t know if children are still “playing Laura” when they’re at home, but come take a peek with me at what children do when they visit the land of Little House.
In Walnut Grove, Minnesota, little girls splash in Plum Creek, as Mary and Laura did more than a hundred years ago. They look under rocks, hoping to find the crab, and they stay far away from any muddy water lest they emerge with legs covered by bloodsuckers!
Then they walk across the Ingalls farm, as Mary and Laura walked to school each day. (But only one of them is a long-legged snipe.)
In Little House land, you will find little prairie girls sitting quietly at their desks, ready to study their primers and write on their slates. You may even catch a naughty little girl rocking her desk!
Even babies join in the fun. This handsome young Almanzo courts a wee Laura, proving himself an able horseman. (Hmm, now we know why Laura expressed concern about being thought of as a child bride!)
On the Ingalls Homestead in De Smet, South Dakota, children love doing the laundry pioneer-style. Ma would certainly have been pleased to have such willing helpers!
And if anyone dares think the art of pretending to be Mary and Laura is lost in the children of today, they need only watch these little girls at work. Yes, Mary is blind… and Laura is guiding her across the prairie for their evening walk.
Want to see your children play Laura the way you used to do when you were a child? Take them to Little House land. You won’t regret it.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: De Smet -- Ingalls Homestead, Homesite Vacations, Homesites, Museums and Attractions, Playing Laura, Rebecca, Walnut Grove
Summer Giveaway #4
No question this time… just a little game. Let’s do an A-Z Laura Ingalls Wilder/Rose Wilder Lane. I will start us out with A and the next person to comment must leave a word (or phrase) that starts with B and is associated with Laura’s (or Rose’s) life or books. Let’s continue through the whole alphabet and see how far we can get! For example:
- A – Apples
- B – Buttonholes
Play along in the comment section and be entered in a drawing for a copy of my book Rose Wilder Lane’s San Francisco. In approximately two weeks I will let the computer at random.org pick the winners. There will be several opportunities throughout the summer to win a copy so if you miss out this time, keep trying. Feel free to enter the drawing, even if you already have a copy of the book. (And, you are welcome to comment more than once. However, your name will only be entered once.) Win one for a friend or for your local library. Most of all have fun! (For more information on Rose Wilder Lane’s San Francisco visit www.PrairieMania.com.)
Ask the Experts
We apologize for the interruption in blogging this week. The Beyond Little House blogging team has been exploring “Little House” land together while planning the Laurapalooza 2010 conference. Expect a return to regular blogging next week.
In the meantime, we received a question that doesn’t have a clear-cut answer, so we thought you might like to add your two cents to our response.
I’m a newcomer to Laura Wilder. I’ve just read and very much enjoyed Helen Wetmore’s biography of her brother (Buffalo Bill), “Last of the Great Scouts.” In addition to the story of Buffalo Bill himself, the setting showing the opening up of America was of great interest to me (I’m South African). In the introduction to Helen Wetmore’s story, Joy S. Kasson writes that both Hamlin Garland and Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about their childhood experiences on the frontier. I would therefore appreciate it very much if you could recommend one or two (or more!) of Laura Wilder’s books that best portray that frontier life.
Errol Collen
Johannesburg, South Africa
Our answer: The Little House series forms a beautiful compilation of life on the American frontier from the perspective of one individual’s experience. It would be difficult to isolate one or two of the books and truly grasp the full pioneering experience. Therefore, our recommendation is to read the entire series if at all possible.
However, individual books do capture different aspects of the frontier experience. Therefore, we’re opening this one up to our readers. If you had to recommend one or two Little House books that best portray that frontier life, which would you choose and why?