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!

Have a "Little House" Christmas!

The holiday season is upon us, and if you're like most "Little House" fans, you may be hoping to work a bit of "Little House" into your Christmas celebration this year. The Christmas chapters of the "Little House" series are among the most beloved, despite (and probably because of) the simplicity of the Ingalls and Wilder celebrations.

Here are just a few ways that you can have a "Little House" Christmas:

1. Christmas with Almanzo

The Almanzo Wilder Farm in Burke, NY, will be open Saturday, December 6, from 11 am to 3 pm, for a special Christmas event.

Come into Mother Wilder's cozy kitchen for homemade cookies and apple cider, then gather in the parlor for a reading of the Farmer Boy Christmas chapter. Other enjoyable activities will be provided for the children, as weather permits.

The house and museum will be open to the public but there will be no tours (self-guided only). The gift shop will be stocked with all things "Little House" (including the new Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura DVD, which if you haven't already ordered, would make a lovely Christmas present for any Wilder fan), and free gift wrapping will be provided.


2. Go see a "Little House" Christmas play.

"A Little House Christmas" is being shown in local theatres around the United States over the next couple of weeks. (Known locations include Houston and Dallas, Texas; Eau Claire and Menomonie, Wisconsin; and Warren, Ohio.) Check with your local theaters, or do a google search on "Little House Christmas" and your state name to see if there is a showing near you.

Also showing are "A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas"(known locations include Nampa and Caldwell, Idaho, and Mount Airy, North Carolina), "A Laura Ingalls Wilder Pioneer Christmas" (known locations include New Richmond, Wisconsin), and "A Little House Christmas at Plum Creek" (known locations include Boone, Iowa).

If you are aware of any other locations not mentioned, please leave the information in the comments section and we will update this post accordingly.


3. Attend "The Ingalls Family's Long Winter".

Raleigh, North Carolina, is the location for this unique holiday celebration, which will enable participants to learn about and experience the tasks used by the Ingalls family to survive during the Hard Winter of 1880-81. The event will be held from 2 to 4 pm on December 11, 13, and 14. The event is geared for children 6 to 13 and their accompanying adults, and requires a pre-registration fee of $2. Call (919) 856-6675 to register.


4. Enjoy a reread of the "Little House" Christmas chapters.

Live too far from any of the Christmas events? Have your own "Little House" party. Read the Christmas chapters and simply enjoy them, or use them to find ideas you can incorporate into your own family's Christmas traditions.

Questions and Answers

As I was looking through the statistics for this blog, checking to see how people were discovering it, I became increasingly aware of a need that webpages don't fill. There are so many "Little House" related questions that people are asking on search engines, and I read through some of these shaking my head, knowing that the answers to those questions were not found on this blog, and probably weren't found anywhere else online either. The people asking those questions were experiencing fruitless searches, and yet their questions aren't difficult to answer.

Questions like, "Did Laura Ingalls go to college?" (No), "Is there any film footage of Laura Ingalls Wilder?" (No), "Where is an interview with Laura Ingalls Wilder?" (on the Laura Speaks recording available from the Wilder Home in Mansfield or the Memorial Society in De Smet).

Then, I received a suggestion from a reader that "Little House" trivia (bits of information not known to the casual reader of the books, but that budding fans would find interesting) be made a part of the blog.

So I will combine those two thoughts together to add this new feature: the Questions and Answers series. If you have questions about anything related to Laura Ingalls Wilder or the "Little House" books, ask them here -- chances are, someone else out there is wondering the same thing. The questions, which I will answer to the best of my ability, will be posted on a regular basis, as long as the need exists and the questions are still coming.

Email your questions to frontiergirl@hotmail.com (you will not be identified when your question is posted).

Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane: Authorship, Place, Time, and Culture

Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane: Authorship, Place, Time, and Culture, by John E. Miller, is a compilation of critical essays exploring the themes of place, time, and culture in the lives and writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane.

Miller first addresses the question of authorship, explaining that any serious assessment of the "Little House" series must begin with an understanding of the collaborative process between Wilder and Lane in the creation and development of the books, and then expounding on his interpretation of that process and the role each woman played in the writing and editing of the series.

In terms of "place", Miller provides an interesting discussion on the significance of the differing attractions of both Wilder and Lane to houses.

He then looks at "time" through a series of articles: an in-depth historical look at 1932, the year Little House in the Big Woods was published; a comparison of Wilder and Frederick Jackson Turner as frontier mythologists; and a look at an unpublished Missouri history written by Lane, compared and contrasted with Thomas Hart Benton's historical Missouri mural.

Finally, the concept of "culture" as it relates to the "Little House" books is examined as Miller readdresses first the development of Wilder's writing skills through her experiences as columnist for the Missouri Ruralist, and then the controversy and criticism surrounding the treatment of Native Americans in Wilder's books. Miller concludes with thoughtful commentary on the political views of Wilder and Lane, and how these beliefs were (and were not) evidenced in their writings.

This book is a welcome addition to the collection of scholarly critical works produced in recent years on Wilder and Lane. We recommend it for anyone interested in academic study of Laura Ingalls Wilder or Rose Wilder Lane.

Click here to purchase this book (all proceeds donated to LIW Homesites.)

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.

Meet William Anderson, Wilder scholar

William Anderson, well-known "Little House" historian and the author of many Wilder-related publications, will speak in Junction City, Kansas, Sunday October 19, at 1:30 pm.

The event will begin with fiddle music by a local musician, followed by Bill Anderson's presentation on the life and works of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Anderson will sell and sign some of his books after his talk.

This program is sponsored by the Dorothy Bramlage Public Library in Junction City, KS, but will be held at the Junction City High School auditorium, located at 900 North Eisenhower. The event is free, but tickets are required, and can be picked up at the library anytime during regular hours at 230 West Seventh.

The library currently has a Wilder display featuring items on loan from the Wilder Home in Mansfield, Missouri, as well as two autographed "Little House" books. Stop in before October 31 to see this exhibit.

For more information, contact Patty Collins at (785) 238-4311 or pattyc@jclib.org.

Save America's Treasures: Rocky Ridge Farm

The visit paid by First Lady Laura Bush earlier today to Rocky Ridge Farm in Mansfield, Missouri, turned out to be more than just a visit. Mrs. Bush awarded the museum a certificate designating it as an official Save America's Treasures project. This will make it possible for the museum to apply for grants to assist in preserving the Wilder home and artifacts for the generations to come.

For more information on Mrs. Bush's visit and the museum's long-term preservation goals, watch the following two local news videos. (Please wait a few seconds for the advertisement, and then the news brief will begin.)

KY3 news video

OzarksFirst news video (KOLR)

Ingalls Family and Friends Picnic -- Florida

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive here at Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frontier Girl is, "Are there any descendants of the Ingalls family still living today?" Laura's daughter Rose Wilder Lane was the only biological grandchild of Charles and Caroline Ingalls to survive infancy, and she had no surviving children, therefore if referring to Laura's immediate family, the answer is no. (Note: Carrie did have two stepchildren, and there are surviving descendants of her stepdaughter Mary.)

However, there are many descendants still living of some of Laura's cousins, and now you have an opportunity to meet some of them!

For a few months in 1891-1892, Laura, Almanzo, and Rose lived in Holmes County, Florida, with Peter Ingalls and his family -- "Cousin Peter" from Little House in the Big Woods and The First Four Years. Another cousin, Joseph Quiner Carpenter (not mentioned in the books, but he is the son of Ma's and Aunt Eliza's sister Martha) also owned land nearby.

Peter's grandson still owns the family land in Westville, Florida, and a historical marker commemorates the site where Peter's home formerly stood.

The third annual Ingalls Family and Friends Reunion Picnic will be held on the Peter Ingalls farm from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, October 18. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Peter Ingalls will be in attendance. You are welcome to attend this picnic, see the historical marker, and visit with other Laura fans and the Ingalls family.

While in the area, you may also wish to visit the Mt. Ida Church where Laura and Almanzo attended, along with the Peter Ingalls family. Beside the church is the cemetery where Peter, his wife Mary ("Molly") and one son, Alex, are buried.

For more information, including directions to the farm, please contact John Bass at JohnBass@aol.com.