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Happy Independence Day | Beyond Little House

Posted on by Beyond Little House

The Fourth of July was a big event in many of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, from the canon and celebration in Malone’s famous three corner square after the freak freeze in Malone, New York to Rose Wilder Lane’s additions to the celebration in De Smet when Laura realizes she’ll soon be an adult and free and independent herself, the Fourth of July is always front and center. Celebrate the way Laura did with lemonade and reading the Declaration of Independence.

Find photos and the text at the National Archives.

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Facebook, Twitter , YouTube,  Blog Talk Radio, Google+, LinkedIn, and Academia.edu Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association, President.

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Walnut Grove Reunion | Beyond Little House

Posted on by Beyond Little House

2014 marks the 40th anniversary of both the NBC Little House on the Prairie TV Show and the Walnut Grove Museum and the 140th anniversary of Laura and her family arriving in Walnut Grove. In honor of all that they are having a cast reunion with special programs around the pageant. On a local TV show Nicole Elzenga of the Walnut Grove Museum talks about the special events coming up, shows photos of the museum (including interior shots of the exhibits) and shows off new items from the gift shop. Take a look!

And to learn more about the reunion, check out this link:
http://www.walnutgrove.org/Reunion.htm

And see the promo by Dean Butler here:

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Facebook, Twitter , YouTube,  Blog Talk Radio, Google+, LinkedIn, and Academia.edu Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association, President.

Posted in Little House Travel, Television series — Little House on the Prairie Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Mary Ingalls Society Pageant Announcement | Beyond Little House

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff

I first did my first post about the Mary Ingalls Society in November 2012. Since then they’ve unveiled a design for their new signs and hosted their first event, but what we’re really looking forward to is Vinton, Iowa joining the ranks of the Laura Ingalls Wilder pageants. They just came out with this press release. The accompanying image is a line drawing that they are going to use as the logo of the society. – SSU

“Mary Ingalls – Her Journey” world premiere Pageant is coming to the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton, Iowa at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, August 1 and 2, 2014. This production has received the endorsement of the Ingalls Wilder Heritage Trust.  Seating will be by general admission and the cost of attendance at each performance is  $10.00.  Make plans to get your tickets now.  Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of an historic event, held at an historic site.

You will see Mary’s journey from young girl full of dreams to a blind adolescent who believed those dreams were lost.  Learn with her about the school in Iowa that would allow her to continue her education and give her tools for an independent life but at a cost nearly impossible for a family struggling for daily survival.   Follow her from the day she arrives at the Iowa College for the blind through graduation.  See her life in DeSmet, South Dakota until age 63 when she died.

You will walk the same halls Mary walked for 8 years in the building where she lived and attended classes and listen to the bell at the top of Old Main that rang for Mary’s graduation and every graduation from 1877 up to the last one in June 2011.   There will be displays of historic photos, tools used in the education of the blind and in their daily life, and copies of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” books in print and Braille.

A major roofing and repair of Old Main made necessary by the 2011 wind storm is just coming to an end so the grounds are not as tidy and well-manicured as usual, but you will see the majesty of the campus as you stroll over the grounds or join an organized tour.

So make plans to join us.  Information on overnight accommodations and restaurants are available upon request.

Tickets can be ordered online at www.act1.org or by calling 319-214-0096.

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Facebook, Twitter , YouTube,  Blog Talk Radio, Google+, LinkedIn, and Academia.edu Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association, Acting President.

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

De Smet SD Around the Web | Beyond Little House

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff

We’re continuing around the Laura Ingalls Wilder homesite towns (with museums) in the order that Laura lived there. Our next stop is De Smet, South Dakota. De Smet is the county seat of Kingsbury County. Situated on Highway 14 with a fairly short and direct route from I-90, De Smet is well situated for the ease of tourists….assuming they get near South Dakota in the first place.

Camping in a Covered Wagon

Camping in a Covered Wagon

De Smet is one of the largest homesite towns proper and a couple of college towns (the one people pass through most is Brookings) are nearby with even more options. De Smet can boast all sorts of accommodations from a modern hotel with a pool to a covered wagon you can rent to camp in for the night and about everything in between. There are also several restaurants, including a Country Club. So there is plenty to do in De Smet, Laura related or not.  Since the majority of Laura’s books and her growing up years were spent in De Smet and Pa, Ma, Mary, Carrie, and Grace continued to live in the area after Laura left, there are more places to see in and around De Smet related to Laura and her family than any other homesite town. It formed the setting for five of Laura’s books as a result many places, both mentioned in the books and important in real life are still around for people to visit. While some have been lost, like Pa’s original store building and the Wilder Feed and Seed, many are still around and visitable. For example, you can shop at the Loftus Store, stay over night at Banker Ruth’s house (the Prairie Manor Bed and Breakfast), tour the Surveyor’s house and De Smet’s first school, walk or ride over the Ingalls Homestead, pay your respects to the family at the local cemetery, and that’s just a fraction of everything to see and do in De Smet. I never have enough time to spend there.

Check out some of these resources to help you plan your trip:

  • South Dakota Tourism
    South Dakota Tourism Facebook
  • De Smet Visitor Information Center
  • Southeast South Dakota Visitor Information
  • Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society (Surveyors House, First School, Ingalls Third Street Home)
    Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society Facebook
  • Ingalls Homestead (Site of the Ingalls Homestead, recreated buildings, LOTS of hands on activities)
    Ingalls Homestead Facebook
    Ingalls Homestead YouTube
  • De Smet Pageant
    De Smet Pageant Facebook
  • Depot Museum
  • De Smet News
  • De Smet News Facebook
  • Loftus Store

De Smet is one of my favorite Laura Ingalls Wilder homesite towns. I go as often as I can and I know of a couple of families who went there to visit and ended up moving there.

Find a round up of my posts about De Smet on my personal blog here.  Some businesses that I enjoy visiting and mention in various blog posts are listed here, find more options on the Official City Website and Chamber of Commerce Website under the appropriate tab (shopping, where to stay, etc.):

  • Prairie Manor (Home of the Pancake Man breakfast, unlike most places you do have to pre-pay for your room)
  • Super Deluxe Inn (the most modern motel in town, it offers lovely rooms, a pool, and a strong wifi signal for guests, run by the family who previously ran the Prairie Manor, it was built roughly 10 years ago as a Super 8 and follows the format and guest expectations of a newer Super 8 even if they no longer are associated with the chain, the continental breakfast is very basic)
  • Cottage Inn Motel (owned by the same family as the Oxbow, they have taken care of Laura tourists for decades, basic accommodations but serviceable, ask for one of the newer rooms and mention it when you make the reservation if you want wifi access)
  • Camp in Covered Wagon or Your Gear on Ingalls Homestead
  • Oxbow Restaurant(very tourist friendly, neighborhood restaurant level, family has owned it for decades, they also participate regularly in the PBS restaurant discount program if you got one with your local PBS pledge make sure you have a South Dakota listing before you go – contact your local station if you didn’t get one and ask)
  • Ward’s Store
  • Dairy Queen/Subway (Home of the best iced tea in De Smet and free wifi access)
  • Country Club De Smet
  • Lake Thompson Recreational Area
  • South Dakota State Art Museum
    South Dakota State Art Museum Facebook
  • South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum
    South Dakota State Ag Museum on Facebook

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Facebook, Twitter , YouTube,  Blog Talk Radio, Google+, LinkedIn, and Academia.edu Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association, Acting President.

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

Countdown to LauraPalooza 2015: Timeline

Posted on by Sandra Hume
Logo from LauraPalooza 2010

The gorgeous LP logo from our first conference in 2010

It’s coming! The countdown is on.

LauraPalooza 2015

July 16-17, 2015

South Dakota State University

Brookings, South Dakota

(with optional day in De Smet on July 18)

Here are the pertinent dates and the handy ways to remember them:

Call for papers: August 25, 2014 (wedding anniversary of Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder)

Deadline for papers: December 5, 2014 (Rose Wilder Lane’s birthday)

Acceptances for papers sent out: February 7, 2015 (birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder)

Registration opens: February 2015

Remember, to get all the conference news as it happens, make sure your LIWLRA membership is current. (Hint: If you haven’t renewed since January 1, 2014, it’s time.)

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: , ,

Location Announced for LauraPalooza 2015

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff
Harvey Dunn Street Sign on SDSU Campus

Harvey Dunn Street Sign on SDSU Campus

At long last, we are very pleased to share that the 2015 LauraPalooza conference will be July 16-17, at the South Dakota State University campus in Brookings, SD, with July 18 spent at De Smet, SD.

SDSU has long had a strong association with Laura’s world. It is William T. Anderson’s alma mater and where John E. Miller still serves as Professor Emeritus. SDSU also houses the South Dakota State Art Museum, which features Harvey Dunn’s works. The school has long been involved in the De Smet pageant, recording the soundtrack back when it was still taped and often providing volunteers for both the cast and crew.

We are thrilled to connect SDSU with LauraPalooza and we will release more details of next summer’s event as they come.

This is an excellent time to check on your membership status to make sure that you keep receiving the newsletter as more conference news comes out.

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Facebook, Twitter , YouTube,  Blog Talk Radio, Google+, LinkedIn, and Academia.edu Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association, Acting President.

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Burr Oak IA Around the Web

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff

 

Burr Oak, Iowa

We’re continuing around the Laura Ingalls Wilder homesite towns (with museums) in the order that Laura lived there. Our next stop is Burr Oak, Iowa. While I cautioned you last time that Walnut Grove is smaller than a lot of the homesite towns, Burr Oak is the smallest one that actually boasts a museum.

 

Burr Oak is a true crossroads town, set back in an oxbow of the highway that circles around it. The museum itself is usually the biggest source of activity in town, although there are at least two active churches and a bar (that serves food). The rest of the town is just homes and a handful of occasional hobby type businesses that aren’t open to the public most of the time. It is, however, just 10 minutes north of Decorah, which is huge by comparison. Decorah offers multiple hotels and bed and breakfasts of all price ranges, a variety of restaurants, one of the busiest downtowns at all hours that you will find in Iowa (worth walking down just to see what one looks like), several museums (including the nationally known Norwegian heritage center, the Vesterheim), and Luther College. They recently invested in trail system that circles the entire town which only adds to their incredible park system that offers several spots, both natural and man-made, that make you think you’ve stepped into a fairytale. The rural area between Burr Oak and Decorah is active too, housing among other things What’s New Antiques and the world famous Seed Savers Exchange.

Check out these resources to help you plan your trip:

  • Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum
    Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum Facebook
    Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum YouTube
  • Decorah Area Visitor and Information Center – Get maps of the area from them
  • Historic Bluff Country – Right over the state border into Minnesota, a few minutes north of Burr Oak

Being from Iowa, Burr Oak was the first homesite I visited and I go back a lot. My route to any of the northern homesites CAN reasonably go through Burr Oak, so I make sure it does. I often tell people if you’re planning a trip on a weekend when none of the three sites is having a special event, Burr Oak/Spring Valley/Pepin makes a real nice weekend trip. Back in 2007 they offered this suggestion for including Burr Oak in a 5 Homesite Trip Itinerary (note it hasn’t been updated, but will give you a basic idea).

Find a round up of my posts about Burr Oak on my personal blog here. Some businesses that I enjoy visiting and mention in various blog posts are listed here, find more options on the Official City Website and Chamber of Commerce Website under the appropriate tab (shopping, where to stay, etc.):

  • Hotel Winnishiek
  • Little Brown Church
  • Locust School
  • One More on the Way
  • Phelps Park
  • Seed Savers Exchange
  • Trout Run Trail (the 11 mile trail that circles Decorah)
  • Vesterheim
  • What’s New Antiques
  • Sadly my two frequently mentioned restaurants, the Victorian Rose and its worthy successor Tea and Tarts are both out of business. The one place I tried out as successor so far I didn’t enjoy, but there are lots of restaurants to try out in Decorah Rubaiyat is next on my list. I’ve heard good things about it from people.

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Facebook, Twitter , YouTube,  Blog Talk Radio, Google+, LinkedIn, and Academia.edu Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association, Acting President.

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Walnut Grove MN Around the Web

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff

 

Walnut Grove Museum Grounds

 

We’re continuing around the Laura Ingalls Wilder homesite towns (with museums) in the order that Laura lived there. Our next stop is Walnut Grove, Minnesota home of On the Banks of Plum Creek and the setting, in a fictionalized form, of the NBC TV series Little House on the Prairie.

Walnut Grove is not the county seat and is smaller than some of the other Laura homesite towns. For instance, while there are a couple of restaurants there is NO motel or bed and breakfast in Walnut Grove. This is especially important to realize if you visit to attend the pageant. Be sure to have a reservation at a lodging in the surroundings communities and check in before coming for the show so you’ll be sure of a bed for the night. While there are restaurants, in order to accommodate the huge influx of people for pageant nights they also have community groups do a fundraiser meal in the community center on pageant nights which they call Pageant Suppers. Also, on the pageant grounds themselves there is a concessions stand which provides the type of food you’d normally find at a high school game.

Walnut Grove sits close to the center of the portion of Highway 14 that is designated as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway and is a great place to take photos of the Laura Highway signs. Most of the town sits south of the highway. Look for helpful directional signs to point you towards the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and the Pageant Grounds south of the highway and the dugout site north of it. Be sure not to miss the downtown area of Walnut Grove which includes a large Laura mural and some neat shops. Since they are a smaller community the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum has taken on many of the responsibilities for travel information that in a larger town would be carried out by a Chamber of Commerce or a Visitor’s Information Bureau. Be sure to check all aspects of their website.

The town’s has benefited by a large immigration of Hmong people who were looking for a safer place than the Twin Cities after they immigrated to the United States. One of their leader’s daughters was a Laura fan and suggested Walnut Grove. They now make up a significant percentage of the population.

Check out these resources to plan your trip:

  • City website
  • Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum
    Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum Lodging
    Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum Food
    Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant
    Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum Facebook
    Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum Twitter

 

Plum Creek at Eye Level

Plum Creek from the water surface

Walnut Grove is another one of the homesites that I visit a lot. Whether I’m specifically going to Walnut Grove or heading to De Smet unless I’m incredibly pushed for time, Walnut Grove is going to get a stop. I like to visit during the pageant weeks when they go out of their way to have extra stuff to do for visitors, but it’s worth a friendly visit at any time. Find a round up of my posts about Walnut Grove on my personal blog here. Some businesses that I enjoy visiting and mention in various blog posts are listed here, find more options on the Official City Website and Chamber of Commerce Website under the appropriate tab (shopping, where to stay, etc.):

 

  • Redwood Falls is a larger town nearby and their visitor information center covers the region.
  • Fond Memories
  • Walnut Grove Bar and Grill
  • Nellie’s Restaurant They don’t seem to have an official website or Facebook page
  • Plum Creek Park – Lake Laura and Camping
  • Bubai Food Store
  • Sanborn Sod House – It’s actually outside of the town of Sanborn continue up Highway 71 until just before it junctions with 14 and look for the signs. There is also a sign and a way there off 14, but both ways require you drive about a mile on gravel.

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Facebook, Twitter , YouTube,  Blog Talk Radio, Google+, LinkedIn, and Academia.edu Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association, Acting President.

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Millbank by Mary J. Holmes

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff

The only novel mentioned by title in the “Little House” series is in On the Banks of Plum Creek when Laura is trying to convince Ma that she doesn’t really have to go to school because she can already read. She really can’t, but has heard Ma read aloud from Millbank by Mary J. Holmes so often that she has the beginning at least memorized. The author’s name isn’t mentioned in the text so full credit to Constructing the Little House by Ann Romines for pointing it out. I was excited to learn it was Holmes because she has a connection to my family (my grandmother was named for one of her characters from Homestead on the Hillside). So when I was trying to decide what to do for World Read Aloud Day I decided I couldn’t do better than to emulate Ma and read Millbank.

Listen to the first chapter of Millbank. You can either stream it from the website or download it for free from iTunes.

You can also buy your own copy of it used or from one of the out of copyright re-print houses or you can read it as an e-book.

Millbank e-book from Google Books

If you want to hear more, be sure to let me know. Next year I may read a chapter out of Pa’s Big Green Animal Book.

UPDATE: After I posted this, Nancy Cleaveland contacted and let me know Romines and I both missed a novel by title. “In Little Town on the Prairie Chapter 19 – Whirl of Gaiety. Carrie receives a novel for Christmas. Laura calls it Stories OF the Moorland, but the correct title is Stories FROM the Moorland.” I thought it might be short stories based on the title, but Nancy confirmed “It does have stories, but in the same way that Pa tells Laura stories.” Thanks for the correction. -SSU

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Facebook, Twitter , YouTube,  Blog Talk Radio, Google+, LinkedIn, and Academia.edu Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association, Acting President.

 

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Independence KS Around the Web

Posted on by Sarah Uthoff

We’re continuing around the Laura Ingalls Wilder homesite towns (with museums) in the order that Laura lived there. We move on to Independence, Kansas and the rural Montgomery County area just outside it.

New fans and uninitiated writers of newspaper articles and blog posts often confuse Independence, Kansas with its larger cousin Independence, Missouri. Part of the confusion comes from the face that Independence, Missouri is a larger town and more famous as the home of former President Harry S. Truman and site of a major incident that helped push the Mormons to immigrate to Utah (then outside of official U.S. boundaries). It also is right on the border of Missouri and Kansas and is now a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri to further confuse people on whether the suburb is in Kansas or Missouri. However, it’s at the opposite side of the state from our Independence, being practically on the southern border of Kansas and Independence, Missouri being near the northern border.

Independence is a county seat and benefits by being the largest town in the area. It’s what is sometimes known as a market town meaning people come from the smaller towns around to it when they want to do shopping. It’s fairly isolated off of main travel routes and while there are Interstates in the general area I think most people only end up in Independence if they deliberately head there. It’s so close to Oklahoma that you see signs directing you to the Will Rogers Expressway. The town is large enough to support a large number of restaurants, a couple of hotels, and good size museum besides the Laura site out of town. The homesite itself, owned by the Kurtis family, is now officially known as the Little House on the Prairie Museum.

Check out these resources to plan your trip:

  • Official City Website
  • Independence KS Chamber of Commerce
  • Little House on the Prairie Museum
    Little House on the Prairie Museum Facebook
    Little House on the Prairie Twitter
  • Kansas Travel Information Page on Little House on the Prairie Museum
  • Mount Hope Cemetery

Independence is one of the homesites that I visit least. It just doesn’t seem to be on the way to anywhere and so far I’ve just made it there twice, although I hope to get back soon.  Find a round up of my posts about Independence on my personal blog here. Some businesses that I enjoy visiting and mention in various blog posts are listed here, find more options on the Official City Website and Chamber of Commerce Website under the appropriate tab (shopping, where to stay, etc.):

  • Brothers Railroad Inn
  • Independence Public Library
  • Independence Historical Museum Note: A previous version of their website included an Ingalls Room. I can’t find that on the current site.

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Facebook, Twitter , YouTube,  Blog Talk Radio, Google+, LinkedIn, and Academia.edu Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association, Acting President.

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