Life Before Laura

- posted by pioneergirl at 6:13 PM

 
malone sez
"I am replying to your request for information on the first wife of James Wilder, father of Almanzo. Unfortunately, we have no verifiable information to share with you. All we know is that there is a headstone in a local cemetary that bears a woman's first name, which I cannot remember, the last name Wilder and the inscription 'wife of James.' There is also a reference to an infant."
- posted by pioneergirl at 1:15 AM

 
christmas in may.... or june
Scheduled for release in June 2008, Anita Clair Fellman's Little House, Long Shadow: Laura Ingalls Wilder's Impact on American Culture (University of Missouri Press). 376 pages, $34.95 to preorder on amazon.com.

At the New Perspectives Conference at Herbert Hoover Library in 1998, Fellman was just beginning to collect information about personal experiences and Laura Ingalls Wilder "for a book."

I guess this is it?
- posted by pioneergirl at 2:04 AM

 
a little heavy on the starches
What Mary Ingalls ate at college:

MONDAY
Breakfast - Meat, bread and butter, a vegetable, coffee.
Dinner - Meat, bread and butter, corn bread, a vegetable.
Supper - Dried beef, rice, bread and butter, tea.

TUESDAY
Breakfast - Meat, warm bread and butter, coffee.
Dinner - Meat, bread and butter, two vegetables, dessert.
Supper - Bread and butter, ginger bread, sauce, tea.

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast - Pancakes, hash, bread and butter, coffee.
Dinner - Meat or fowl, bread and butter, two vegetables, pickles, dessert.
Supper - Bread and butter, cakes, custard or sauce, tea.

THURSDAY
Breakfast - Meat, a vegetable, bread and butter, coffee.
Dinner - Meat, two vegetables, bread and butter, dessert.
Supper - Cold meat, a vegetable, sauce, bread and butter, tea.

FRIDAY
Breakfast - Meat pie, fried cakes, bread and butter, coffee.
Dinner - Meat or fish, vegetable, bread and butter.
Supper - Bread and butter, ginger snaps, sauce, tea.

SATURDAY
Breakfast - Meat, vegetable, bread and butter, coffee.
Dinner - Meat, soup, vegetable, bread and butter.
Supper - Bread and butter, sauce, tea.

SUNDAY
Breakfast - Meat, buns, vegetable, bread and butter, coffee.
Dinner - Meat, two vegetables, pickles, bread and butter, dessert.
Supper - Bread and butter, cake, sauce, tea.
- posted by pioneergirl at 2:01 AM

 
horses for christmas

In On the Banks of Plum Creek (Chapter 12, "The Christmas Horses"), Laura and Mary tell Ma what they want Santa Claus to bring them for Christmas. Their lists include candy, tandy (that would be Carrie), a new winter dress, a coat, a hood, and a new dress for Charlotte...

But Pa wants horses, and if they "all wished for horses, and nothing but horses--"

I don't know why the above Lincoln Log set (since when have Lincoln Logs been made by K-nex?) made me think of the Christmas horses, other than it contains horses. And logs, and a roof, and a wagon, and little people.

And I would be buying that set for Christmas. For me. Except that it's made in China.
- posted by pioneergirl at 11:47 AM

 
why isn't this man doing liw research?
Alan Davies and I are a 100% intellectual match.
- posted by pioneergirl at 11:00 PM

 
fresh water to drink
He must dig the well first, so that Ma could have water while he was gone. (Little House on the Prairie, Chapter 12, "Fresh Water to Drink")

In honor of fresh water to drink, please join me in thinking outside the bottle:
http://www.thinkoutsidethebottle.org/
- posted by pioneergirl at 3:31 AM

 
the n-word
In "A Note on the Text" (page 11) of Stephen Hines' Laura Ingalls Wilder: Farm Journalist, he writes: The n-word appears in one column because that is the word Laura Ingalls Wilder heard when she was reporting on the San Francisco exhibition of 1915. So far as I know, it did not reflect her own thinking about blacks of the time but only what some sailors said.

Let's all go play "find the n-word."

Well, Mr. Hines, so far as I know, Laura also used the n-word in Pioneer Girl and in multiple manuscripts for her "Little House" books. Almanzo used it in a letter to Rose. And I have heard from someone who was Mrs. Wilder's friend in Mansfield, that she was known to have used the n-word in speech.
- posted by pioneergirl at 11:30 PM

 
a family christmas

JFK's daughter shares holiday poetry, prose, and lyrics that are most dear to her...

...Including Laura Ingalls Wilder.

A Family Christmas, edited by Caroline Kennedy. New York: Hyperion, 2007. ISBN 10: 1401322271
- posted by pioneergirl at 10:19 PM

 
pit bull?
Thanks to the undeniably cruel actions of Michael Vick, pit bulls have been in the news quite a bit recently, and it hasn't been good.

Eleven cities and states have banned pit bulls, and similar legislation is being considered in nine more. Despite common misconceptions about the breed, pit bulls are wonderful dogs. They are not inherently dangerous and banning the breed based on inaccurate stereotypes is a savage injustice.

Though they are feared today, the pit bull was once America's sweetheart. Propaganda posters from World War I and World War II featured the dog as a representation of the United States' bravery and loyalty. There was also Sergeant Stubby, a pit bull whose remarkable service in World War II with the 102nd Infantry captured the hearts of Americans. RCA, Buster Brown shoes and Levi's jeans used pit bulls to sell their products. The Little Rascals' dog, Petey, was a pit bull. American writers like John Steinbeck, Mark Twain and James Thurber included tales of the terriers in their works. For a while, pit bulls were lovingly referred to as "the Yankee terrier." They were America's favorite dogs. What happened?

With the development of the inner-city underclass in the second half of the 20th century, there was a drastic rise in drugs, crime and illegal dog fighting. Additionally, the sensationalistic media of the 1980s limited its coverage of the animals to their involvement in this bloodsport and the frequently inaccurate accounts of their brutal attacks - significantly contributing to the rampant misconceptions about pit bulls today.

Stories about pit bulls that snap one day and kill their owners are shocking and sensational, and the press loves to report them - regardless of what actually happened. There have been numerous cases where a person was attacked by a dog that was not a pit bull, but blamed the attack on one to protect the actual attacker, or to get more media coverage.

There are 26 breeds commonly confused with the pit bull, and mutts often have pit-like features. Because of this, and because stories about psychotic pit bulls are more sellable than say, Boston terriers, it is more than likely that many of the attacks attributed to pits are wrongful accusations.

Though the media makes it seem that there is a pit bull crisis where packs of dogs roam the streets in search of children to attack, in perspective the problem is not so severe. Pit bulls kill fewer than three children a year, whereas 1,100 die at the hands of their parents. It is not hard to see where the real crisis lies.

Many people attribute their belief that pits are unusually aggressive towards humans to the breed's history of being bred for dog fighting. While it is true that pits tend to be aggressive toward other dogs - as are terriers in general - this is hardly the same as aggression towards humans. Back when dog fighting was legal and the foundations of the breed were being established, handlers were often in the ring with their animals. Because aggression towards the handler was obviously dangerous, it wasn't tolerated and was selected against in breeding.

Pit bulls are one of the most stable breeds in existence. The American Temperament Test Society tests the stability of dogs across their breed by confronting them with a series of confrontational situations. If the dog exhibits signs of aggression or panic, they fail the test. Out of the 542 pit bulls tested, 84.1 percent passed. Not only is this score better than average, it is also higher than scores earned by beagles, collies, yorkies and golden retrievers.

Though stereotypes associate pits with crime and thugs, they are owned by people of all walks of life and perform a variety of tasks. A few past and present pit bull owners include Steve Irwin, Usher, Jon Stewart, Teddy Roosevelt, Jessica Biel, Michael J. Fox, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Mark Twain. Helen Keller even had a pit bull therapy dog. Many pit bulls work as service animals, sniffing bombs and drugs, or alongside search and rescue teams.

Texas prohibits breed specific legislation, and it needs to stay this way. Other states and cities can essentially ban an entire breed, or classify dogs as "dangerous" simply because they are of a certain breed. In Texas, dogs are defined as dangerous based on their previous behavior, not simply because of what breed they are. Because pit bulls make loving family companions for countless Texans, and because a dog of any breed can be dangerous, breed specific legislation is unjust, illogical and needs to stay out of the state. -- Amanda Kiser, senior sociology major, Texas A&M
- posted by pioneergirl at 2:59 PM

 
"little house" musical to hit the stage
A.P. - A musical based on the "Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder is coming to the stage and will make its debut in the state where the author spent many of her childhood years, a theater spokesperson said Monday.

"Little House on the Prairie" will premiere at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, be directed next summer by Francesca Zambello and could go national, said Guthrie director Joe Dowling.

"Obviously we're hoping that if it's a success it will have a future life," Dowling said. "We're looking at, in conjunction with our national partners, a national tour."

Zambello called the property to Dowling's attention, saying he thought the musical would be a natural for the Guthrie, given the books are set in the Midwest.

The books present a version of Wilder's years growing up in the 1870s and 1880s, when the Ingalls family lived in Wisconsin, Kansas, Minnesota and South Dakota.

Wilder's work "has a deep and powerful connection to the people of the Midwest," Dowling said. "This musical fits perfectly within the Guthrie's goal to develop new work that speaks directly to this community."

Zambello said she wanted to make a musical of the "Little House" stories from the moment she rediscovered them as an adult.

"Our musical focuses on the independent spirit of the teenager Laura Ingalls Wilder and her struggles to become an adult, alongside the story of the land as it becomes the American West," Zambello said.

Zambello has directed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Washington Opera, Houston Grand Opera and the Royal Opera in London.

The book for the musical is being written by Rachel Sheinkin, who in 2005 won the Tony for best book of a musical for Broadway's "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee."

Rachel Portman, an Oscar winner for her score of "Emma," will compose the music with lyrics by Donna DiNovelli. Adrianne Lobel is designing the sets, and Martin Pakledinaz is the costume designer.
- posted by pioneergirl at 2:42 PM

 
centers of attention

Each year, some half a million history buffs make the trek to the Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave in Golden, Colo., about 30 minutes outside Denver, for a first-hand peek into the life of the Wild West celebrity gunslinger. For $3 or so, visitors can poke around vintage cowboy gear and firearms. But the real draw is the spectacular view of Lookout Mountain, where William "Buffalo Bill" Cody is allegedly buried.

"Allegedly" being the key word. Scuttlebutt abounds that in the 1920s, Cody's body may have been exhumed and transferred to Cody, Wyo., where a branch of local residents, led by Cody's niece, had begun a movement to have his body buried there. (Buffalo Bill resided there for a period.) That may help explain why, in addition to the Colorado museum, there is yet another shrine devoted to Buffalo Bill 500 miles north in Cody, founded by the same niece. Some 250,000 visitors a year shell out as much as $15 for admission to the seven-acre facility.

Controversy and family discord help explain the need for two museums devoted to one celebrity. Yet another reason: demand. That's the case with Laura Ingalls Wilder, the homespun prairie author who boasts eight different museums in her honor around the country.

"We all have our own story to tell," explains Nicole Elzenga, collections manager at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, Minn., where the Ingalls family lived during Laura's adolescence. It's also largely the site of the famed TV series starring Melissa Gilbert. Naturally, the museum boasts show memorabilia in addition to actual possessions of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

There's another Wilder museum in Mansfield, Mo., where the Little House books were written; another is based in Burr Oak, Iowa, where Wilder spent a portion of her early childhood. Malone, N.Y., claims its own piece of the Wilder lore--that's where Laura's husband Almonzo [sic] was raised.

It takes a true superstar with iconic status to command multiple museums. Typically one of the institutions is well-endowed by either the heirs or the celebrity himself. Graceland, the famous Elvis compound in Memphis, Tenn., is now operated by publicly traded CKX Entertainment. Last year, Graceland generated $35 million in revenue from King fans shelling out for everything from the $68-per-person "VIP" tour; $14.99 Elvis flip-flops; and $545 for a night in a themed suite at Graceland's Heartbreak Hotel.

Graceland, formerly owned and operated by Elvis heirs (daughter Lisa Marie still owns 15%), overshadows the four other Elvis museums in the U.S. The Elvis Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., founded by uber-fan J.D. Sumner, boasts the first dollar Elvis ever earned in 1951 and the 1967 Cadillac Coupe de Ville that Elvis and his young bride Priscilla drove on their Palm Springs honeymoon. Elvis' home in Tupelo, Miss., houses another Elvis museum. And still another is situated off the Las Vegas Strip (natch).

These museums are filled with relics culled from either family and friends or from fans themselves. The Judy Garland Museum, located in her childhood home in Grand Rapids, Mich., practically pleads for memorabilia from fans. Its Web site has a page called "Our Wish List," in which devotees are asked for everything from movie stills and props to vintage Christmas ornaments from the 1920s.

The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown, N.Y., raises money to buy Lucy memorabilia at auction. For $2,500, Lucy fans can join the museum's "Acquisitions Society." In 2005, the group paid $34,500 at auction for the cello used in the I Love Lucy pilot, in which Lucy auditions for her husband's band.

While gift shop sales are critical to the livelihood of any celebrity museum, some raise funds by offering special "membership" options. Lifetime members of the Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery, Ala., get an engraved plaque on the museum walls for their $200 lifetime membership. There are several levels of membership at the Louis Armstrong House & Archives, based in Corona, N.Y. The $35 individual membership gets free admission (normally $8) and a 10% discount in the gift shop. For $1,000, "All Stars" get four guest passes to the museum, a copy of Satchmo's biography and a T-shirt. --Emily Douglas, forbes.com
- posted by pioneergirl at 1:33 AM

 
we hear there's a settlement on the jim
In the James river valley, as one would naturally say in New England -- in the Jim, as they would say out here -- fifteen hundred miles of railroad are projected, and nine hundred miles of it completed, in a single year, and this through regions comparatively unknown twelve months before. It is marvelous to see how the work goes forward. Great, mammoth machines are used, to each of which are attached twelve span of mules or horses, these machines tearing into the ground and throwing up an embankment for a railroad bed for more than a hundred miles in length, while in other places squads of men work with their plows and scrapers. Once in about a dozen miles a town site is projected. Depots, hotels, stores, saloons, blacksmith shops, carpenter shops, dwelling houses and the like go up like magic.

For the time being, great railroad kings seem to rule in these new regions, and everybody cheerfully submits to the new order of things.

At a point similar to scores of places, the sanctuary for the Sabbath is a little rough structure of one room, containing a bed, a cooking stove and a family of six persons, while it serves as a public house also, where no less than thirty or forty people take their meals, and eight or ten men crowd up to their bunks for the night in a little attic so low that they can not begin to stand up straight, and where railroad magnates, homesteaders, bricklayers, carpenters, well diggers, and missionary pack themselves away for sleep and rest, all good natured, and all glad to get as good quarters as this, even.

It is a wonderful departure in the settling up of a new country. The most gigantic railroad building, with nothing but the right of way, which sometimes has to be purchased, goes in advance of civilization, and challenges the world to come and select free farms where a market is furnished before there is time to raise a crop, and where facilities for a speedy transit to the great centers of the East are provided at once.

Then suddenly does the engine whistle wake the prairies where hitherto the Indian war whoop and the crack of the red man's rifle have been the principal music.

Surely a nation is born in a day. The wild prairies quickly blossom like the rose.

The ground strewn with the bleaching bones of the buffalo soon exhibits fruitful fields of wheat and corn; and the antelope and deer give way to herds of cattle and flocks of sheep.

Thousands of farms are everywhere taken, as a gift from Uncle Sam.

--Stewart Sheldon, Territorial Superintendent, Report of the Home Missionary Society, Missionary Congregational Churches, Dakota
- posted by pioneergirl at 2:59 AM

 
better than new boots

- posted by pioneergirl at 12:51 AM