Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farm Journalist Book Discussion with Stephen Hines

Update: The group discussion on the articles that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote for the Missouri Ruralist from 1911-1924, and in 1931, which have been published by editor Stephen Hines as Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farm Journalist, is now taking place on the Frontier Girl Message Board.

Anyone can read the posts but to participate in the discussion, you will need to register. You can do this by clicking on the "REGISTER" link at the top of the message board page. This discussion is located in its own sub-board entitled Laura Ingalls Wilder Farm Journalist about halfway down the page, or you can click here to go straight to it.

Stephen Hines, the editor of the book, and myself will be hosting this discussion, but all are invited to participate. This promises to be a thoughtful and interesting discussion. We look forward to seeing you there.


P.S. The Questions and Answers feature mentioned some time ago is temporarily on hold. You may continue to send your questions, and we will be answering these, but it may take a month or two before we are ready to start posting these. Thank you for your patience. :)

Join Us: Online Book Discussion with Stephen Hines

Stephen Hines, author of I Remember Laura and editor of several collections of Laura's Missouri Ruralist articles, will be joining us for an ongoing book discussion of his latest publication, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farm Journalist. The book discussion will take place on the Frontier Girl Message Board, beginning in January. More details will be given in the near future, but we wanted to give everyone advance notice so that all who wish to participate would have time to obtain a copy of the book before the discussion begins.

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farm Journalist is the most complete published collection of Laura's writings for the Missouri Ruralist. Laura wrote regularly for the Ruralist for many years prior to writing the "Little House" books, and the articles convey a wealth of information about daily life on Rocky Ridge Farm with Almanzo, the "Man of the Place", as well as afford the reader a look into the views and opinions held by Laura during these years. Anecdotes from childhood days (some of which were later included in the "Little House" series) are an occasional treat.

Stephen Hines first collected these articles and made them available to Wilder fans everywhere with the publication of Little House in the Ozarks in 1991. Since then, several other article collections have been compiled, as well as Laura Ingalls Wilder's Fairy Poems, a collection of children's verses that Laura wrote for the San Francisco Bulletin in 1915. Hines has also published long lost works of author Louisa May Alcott, and hosts the Literary Prospector website.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to read and discuss each article with Stephen Hines himself, as well as other Wilder fans and researchers who will be participating in the discussion. If you don't own the book, it can be purchased here. Stay tuned for more information!

Video Tour of Rocky Ridge Farm

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frontier Girl has just added a video tour of Rocky Ridge Farm, located in Mansfield, Missouri. We encourage you to watch the video, then start planning your own trip to the Wilder home and museum.

Click here to watch the video.

Video Tour of the real Little House on the Prairie

The "Little House on the Prairie" homesite in Wayside, Kansas, has received extensive coverage in the media over the last week due to a lawsuit filed by Friendly Family Productions against the site. The small nonprofit site is located on the land that historians have determined to most likely be where the Charles Ingalls family settled in 1869-1870. Carrie Ingalls was born here on August 3, 1870. Laura wrote about the family's stay here in Indian Territory in her book entitled Little House on the Prairie.

The premiere movie "Little House on the Prairie", starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, which later became the popular television series, is based on this novel. The Friendlys claim that they purchased all rights for television, as well as for merchandise. However, the Kansas homesite owns the registered trademark "Little House on the Prairie" for clothing and toys. The Friendlys attempted to purchase the trademark but the homesite did not wish to sell it. Now the Friendlys are sueing for damages and for all the money the site has made from use of the name.

The site has no admission fee but operates on donations only, and reportedly brings in barely enough money to make ends meet.

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frontier Girl, has just added a video tour of the Little House on the Prairie site. We encourage you to stop in for a visit if you are traveling through Kansas. The site is located off Highway 75, thirteen miles southwest of Independence, Kansas.

Click here to watch the video.

If you wish to help defray the homesite's legal costs involved with this lawsuit, you may send donations to:

Little House on the Prairie, Inc.
Box 110
Independence, KS 67301

We hope this case will be quickly dismissed, and the Little House on the Prairie can continue to bring pleasure to Laura's fans for many years to come.

Welcome to Our Blog

Welcome to the Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frontier Girl blog.

This blog was created for Frontier Girl fans who wish to keep updated on the latest happenings in the world of "Little House", as well as new features added to the website. Check the sidebar to subscribe so you will be notified of all new posts.

Your feedback is always welcome in our comments section.

For new readers, here is a list of useful links:

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frontier Girl -- This is our main website, providing information about the people and places of the "Little House" books. Have fun exploring and learning more about this wonderful author!

Frontier Girl Message Board -- While this blog is intended to be fully interactive, and to establish a sense of community among you, the readers, it will be more limited to announcements of upcoming events, new additions to the website, and reviews of the latest books, events, etc. Our message board provides a different interactive opportunity, where you can post questions or comments on any topic related to Wilder, her life, books, television show, etc. and engage in discussions with other fans.

We hope you will enjoy this latest addition to the Frontier Girl website. Don't forget to subscribe on the left sidebar, and feel free to leave your comments below!