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Ven Owen

Teacher and principal of the first graded school in De Smet

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hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

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bacon

Hog’s flesh salted or pickled and dried, usually in smoke.

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galluses / suspenders

Straps worn for holding up pants.

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churn

Cream agitator.

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Fred Fields / Big Jerry

Railroad boss and his brother-in-law.

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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Bibliography

LIW / RWL books & articles

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Charles H. Tinkham

Early undertaker and owner of the first furniture store in De Smet.

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

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tiger lily

Native spotted flower of tallgrass prairie.

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carpet-bag / carpetbag

Traveling-bag

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locust

Buy this book.

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Laura, the Prairie Girl

1975-76 animated series.

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De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

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Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

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Horace / Homer Heath

Railroad-working brothers.

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Joseph Bouchie family

Fictional Brewster family in THGY.

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“Old Folks at Home”

Way down upon the Swanee River!

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Godey’s Lady’s Book

Women’s magazine, 1830-1898.

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hatchet

A small ax with a short handle, to be used with one hand.

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“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

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poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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smoke stack / smokestack

locomotive firebox chimney

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St. Lawrence River

A streak of silver on the horizon.

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bison / “The Bison Track”

Bayard Taylor poem about Bos Americanus, found in Independent Fifth Reader.

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Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

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“all’s well that ends well”

A proverb.

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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Timothy Johnson family

De Smet Wagon Shop.

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“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

17th century Irish tune.

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James McKee family

Homesteader north of Manchester D.T.

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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls family figurine.

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windrow

Line of hay raked together.

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braid / plait

Entwined strands.

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beet

Succulent root vegetable.

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Great American Desert

Varying area of North America, believed at times to be uninhabitable by civilized man.

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New England Supper

Fund-raising communal pot-luck meal.

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Charles Mead

Proprietor of the Exchange Hotel in De Smet, 1880-1882.

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“Golden Years are Passing By”

1879 Will Thompson song.

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W

wage – writ of attachment

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“Am I a Soldier of the Cross”

Isaac Watts hymn.

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“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Singing school exercise

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bobolink

On Mary Power’s name card.

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bushel / peck

Dry quart measurements.

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G

gable – “Gypsy’s Warning”

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beard / whiskers

Facial hair.

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cameo

Aunt Docia’s pretty collar pin.

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“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

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“Polly Wolly Doodle”

Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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How well do you know the Little House books?

a quiz for you!

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“Little Annie Rooney”

1889 song by Michael Nolan.

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sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

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George C. Bradley

Early De Smet druggist.

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mud hen / mudhen

American coot.

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A Tribute to the Early Day Teachers

Neva Whaley Harding tribute.

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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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udder

Where the milk is before milking.

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Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

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organ

musical instrument

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lemon

The citrus fruit

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“The High Tide”

Jean Ingelow poem.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

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emigrant car

Railroad car used to move a settler and/or a settler’s goods.

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bandana

Large handkerchief with white pattern on red or blue background.

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President George Washington

First President of the U.S.A.

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pullaway

Outdoor tagging game.

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“To a Girl”

Poem used to describe Beatrice Sorchan.

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Royal Wilder

Almanzo’s older brother.

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custard / ice-cream

Sweetened milk and eggs, cooked.

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P

Pa – pussy-in-the-corner

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bastion

A part of a main enclosure which projects toward the exterior.

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depot / station

Railway station.

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“The Singing School”

1869 P. Benson song.

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“Life Let Us Cherish”

1796 Swiss song translated to English.

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wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

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“The Gum-Tree Canoe”

1847 Steele & Winnemore song.

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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bank

financial institution

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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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mowing machine

Farm implement for cutting hay or grain.

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Turkey red

Durable red color, dyed with madder upon calico or woolen cloth.

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O

oak – oyster

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chapel

Place of worship.

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Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

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John Ensign family

Quit crying, Howard.

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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hogshead

100-140 gallon cask.

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Tennyson’s Poems

Christmas present for Laura

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Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

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“Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-Ay”

1891 Henry J. Sayers song.

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Henry Burvee

One of the first settlers in Kingsbury Co.

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jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

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Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

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wonderful house / frame house

Wooden house built on Charles Ingalls’ Plum Creek preemption claim.

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The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

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candy hearts

Mary’s had a candy poem on it!

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spider

Legged cooking vessel.

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“yell like a Comanche”

Imitated Indian battle cry.

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Bad Lands

Area eroded by wind & water.

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“Lend a Helping Hand”

Hymn #22, Pure Gold for Sunday School.

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Protected: private post

Go away AI; you are not welcome here.

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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

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dove-in-the-window / bear’s tracks

Patchwork pattern variations.

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beef

tough! juicy!

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Hiram Ingalls

Pa’s brother.

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pasteboard / lambrequin

Paperboard used as base for decorative edging.

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“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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John Anderson

Walnut Grove store clerk & more

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huckleberry

Let’s have some pie!

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Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

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Protected: Alfred Ely

One of the younger boys in school.

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reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

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Women’s Christian Temperance Union

W.C.T.U.

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“Uncle Sam’s Farm”

1848 Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. song.

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Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

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Little House in the Big Woods – historical perspective

Pepin Twp., Pepin Co. Wisconsin

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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Q

quaker meeting – quinine

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Henry J. Stebbins

Railroad contractor who inspired a song.

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drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

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ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

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“The Heavens Declare the Glory”

From The Conqueror, page 144.

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Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

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roller towel

Long towel with ends sewn together, hung on a rod.

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Florence Bell

Milliner and dressmaker in De Smet.

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Mr. Edwards / Edmund Mason

Was he Edmund Mason?

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Henry O. Quiner family

Ma’s brother, married to Pa’s sister Polly.

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Lost, between sunrise and sunset…

Horace Mann quotation from his Writings, published in 1872.

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Robbins children

“froze stark stiff”

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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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wintergreen

Aromatic, creeping evergreen, Gaultheria procumbens, having bright red berries.

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

Now is now. It can never be a long time ago.

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Lansford James Ingalls family

Pa’s brother and Laura’s uncle.

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Spin-offs and Adaptations of the Little House Books

Not by LIW, but kindred publications.

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“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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Sale of School Lands on the Osage Diminished Reserve

LHOP cabin was on Section 36

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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poll

No horns.

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orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

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swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

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These Happy Golden Years – the fictional story

Laura teaches and falls in love.

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gloves / mittens / mitts

fingerless hand and wrist cover

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Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

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Doxology

Old Hundred.

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starch

cloth stiffener

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bell

The noise-maker, not the milliner.

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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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Farmer Boy – historical perspective

1860s Burke / Malone NY.

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geranium

Winter windowsill flowers.

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Thomas Huleatt family

Neighbors of Ingalls family in Pepin Co.

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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James Glover family

Students in the Wilkin School.

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Ida Belle Wright

Laura’s best friend in De Smet

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door knob

Grab to open a door.

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Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

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Sam Owen

De Smet boot & shoe maker… and horseman!

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Mr. Hanson

Walnut Grove land trader.

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railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

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Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

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J

jabot – Justice of the Peace

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

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“The Treadmill Song”

Oliver Wendell Holmes poem set to music.

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roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

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L

lace – lynx

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“Barbary Allen”

Old Scotch tune.

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Carrie Ingalls, Homesteader

W-NW & W-SW 9-4N-20E of Black Hills Meridian

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claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

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These Happy Golden Years – historical perspective

De Smet, D.T., 1883-1885.

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surveyors’ house

railroad section house occupied by the Ingallses in 1879-1880

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Arthur Sherwood

Brother of Carter Sherwood.

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Little House Songs

Prairie Song Companion

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apron

Garment protector.

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crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

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Lewis Sasse

De Smet druggist

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Commentators on the Ac’s

Pa’s charade pun.

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Thanksgiving

Public celebration of divine goodness.

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Alfred N. Waters

Attorney and land agent in De Smet.

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fever ‘n’ ague / malaria

malaria

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button lamp

Improvised grease lamp.

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Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

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“It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary”

1912 Judge & Williams song.

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Pioneer Press

St. Paul newspaper read by Charles Ingalls in De Smet

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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Z

zebra – Zion City

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“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

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muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

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Margaret Garland family / Cap Garland

Family living behind the Ingallses in De Smet.

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justice / Justice of the Peace

Limited jurisdiction magistrate.

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