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roller towel

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

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Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

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Santa Claus / Santa Clause

Ho. Ho. Ho.

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“The Heavens Declare the Glory”

From The Conqueror, page 144.

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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Thomas Power family

De Smet tailor.

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Have you seen the comet?

Tebbutt’s Great Comet of 1881.

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carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

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flag, the flower

An aquatic flower, Iris versicolor.

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Eliza Jane Wilder

Almanzo’s sister.

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silver castor

Rotating condiment set.

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Silver Lake

Kingsbury County prairie pothole lake.

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tableland

Elevated flat land; a plateau.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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Henry Hinz

Owner of first saloon in De Smet and boarder at the Ingallses’.

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primer

Used to teach someone to read.

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“Bo-peep has lost her sheep”

Game of hiding and surprise to amuse a small child.

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Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

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composition

The act of forming a written piece.

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twisting hay

Pioneer method by which dried grass is formed into compact...

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George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

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Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

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Tennyson’s Poems

Collection of works by Written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson,...

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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Laura Remington

Mrs. Phillip Aubrey Lawrence

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“The Burial of Sir John Moore”

1817 poem by Charles Wolfe.

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“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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“The Big Sunflower”

Pa’s trouble song.

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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whalebone

Baleen used in corsets.

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

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“Marching Through Georgia”

Union song from American Civil War.

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saleratus / soda

Leavening agents used in baking.

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“The Treadmill Song”

Oliver Wendell Holmes poem set to music.

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gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

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forfeits

Game in which items are deposited and redeemable by a sportive fine.

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depot / station

Railway station.

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Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Birthday

Happy Birthday, Laura!

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Quiner graves

Abandoned cemetery off Playhouse Road.

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Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

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whip

A lash tied to a handle.

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“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

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Mrs. Jarley’s Wax Works

Rise! Come forward!

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World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition

Destination of the Wilder brothers in the fall of 1884.

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acre

4840 square yards of land.

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pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

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bracket lamp

Affixed lighting fixture.

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bandana

Large handkerchief with white pattern on red or blue background.

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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

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“Three Blind Mice”

Popular nursery song, sung in rounds.

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icicle

Conical mass of ice, formed by water freezing as it flows downward.

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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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“The Swan’s Nest”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem.

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“Old Folks at Home”

Way down upon the Swanee River!

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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Delos Perry family

The Perry School was on his homestead.

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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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elephant

A very large quadruped.

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Marshall, Minnesota

Almanzo Wilder farmed here in 1879-1880.

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De Smet during the Little House years

The Ingalls family moved here in 1879.

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copperplate

Variable-width handwriting script made with a flexible, pointed nib.

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“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

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Lizzie

the child bride

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cupola

Dome-like vault on a public building.

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cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

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sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

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William H. Reed

Teacher in Burr Oak school, 1876-1877.

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Belgian horse

A heavy draft horse originally from the Brabant region of...

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Roman candle

Flaming stars and balls firework.

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gable

Triangular end of a building under the roof.

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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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George A. Williams

Superintendent of Schools, 1883.

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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Little House in the Big Woods – historical perspective

Pepin Twp., Pepin Co. Wisconsin

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Oh Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad

1793 Robert Burns poem.

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honey

Bee-made sweetness.

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brakeman

Person who stops the train.

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mother-of-pearl

Hard, silvery, brilliant, internal layer of several kinds of shells, particularly oysters.

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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“Pull for the Shore”

Sunshine for Sunday Schools hymn.

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copper-toed shoes

Metal shoe protector.

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Mansfield history

Town in Wright County, Missouri.

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“Uncle Ned”

One of the earliest Stephen Foster songs.

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“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

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Come Into the Garden, Maud

1855 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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apple pie / dried apple pie

Just like Ma used to make.

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“Coming Through the Rye”

Robert Burns tune.

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“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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literary society

Instructional and entertaining gathering.

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De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

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buck / buckskin

Male of the fallow deer, and leather made from its skin.

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swan

Cygnus Americanus

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“To a Girl”

Poem used to describe Beatrice Sorchan.

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Western Reserve

Land in Ohio, given to Connecticut upon agreement to give up claim to lands in Pennsylvania.

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“Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-Ay”

1891 Henry J. Sayers song.

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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hulled corn

Hominy.

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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“Tubal Cain”

Charles McKay poem.

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Old English letters

Variety of printing type.

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zebra

Part of Willie Oleson’s Noah’s Ark toy.

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Joseph Bouchie family

Fictional Brewster family in THGY.

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greenhorn / greeny

Immature, raw, awkward.

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turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls precious family figurine.

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fascinator

Pretty, light head covering.

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crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

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wild prairie rose

RWL was their namesake, my dear.

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President James Madison

4th President of the U.S.

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Missouri Pool

Smoked a pipe & grew pretty flowers.

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hardtack

Unleavened hard bread made from flour and water.

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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Waverly Novels

Sir Walter Scott books.

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Horace Woodworth family

Family of first depot agent in De Smet.

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“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Laura loved singing school. It began with singing scales to...

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Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

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“Uncle Sam’s Farm”

1848 Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. song.

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“The High Tide”

Jean Ingelow poem.

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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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Osage Indian Treaty

Legal agreement between nations or sovereigns.

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America / American

Pertaining to the United States of America.

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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stone fences

Rock wall enclosure.

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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ice-house

Stores ice blocks in warm weather.

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fichu

Light pointed cape worn by ladies, usually made of lace.

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Christopher Columbus

A native of Genoa, in Italy.

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roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

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Ella & Robert Boast

Friends of the Ingalls family in De Smet.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

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birthday

As near as I can figure, E.J. was right.

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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Will Barnes

Walnut Grove acquaintance of the Ingallses’ in the 1870s....

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bacon

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

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whiskey

Spirits distilled from grain.

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engine / locomotive / iron horse

Vehicle powered by steam and run on tracks.

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spelling / speller

The order of letters in a word. / A book of exercises on the order of letters.

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rags for paper

rag. A piece of cloth torn off; a tattered fragment; a shred; a...

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wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

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Congress

Legislative body of a country.

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lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

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vanity cakes

Egg and flour batter fried in oil into golden brown puffs.

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breast-pin / brooch

Ornament worn on clothing.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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John Ensign family

Quit crying, Howard.

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Robbins children

“froze stark stiff”

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De Smet today

Where I would like to be right now.

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“The Campbells are Coming”

Traditional Scottish jig.

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xanthophyll

I bet you can spell this word.

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dipper / ladle / skimmer

Used to remove foam when boiling maple sap.

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butter tester

Instrument used to remove core sample from a vat of butter, for the sake of testing.

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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tax

A certainty, as is death.

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

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huckleberry

Let’s have some pie!

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apron

Garment protector.

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“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

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Eleck Nelson family

Neighbors of the Ingalls family when living on their preemption claim north of Walnut Grove.

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carding-machine

Straightens fibers by combing.

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“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

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Visscher Barnes

Probate Judge, VP of Temperance Society, and first director of De Smet school board.

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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morning-glory

Climbing plant of the genus Ipomœa.

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Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

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gosh!

that wicked word

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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Florence Bell

Milliner and dressmaker in De Smet.

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Army bugle

Brass military horn.

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Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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turntable

Revolving railroad platform.

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Home Missionary Society

Group organized to raise money to start churches and Sunday schools in the west where there were none.

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sundogs

Bright spots on either side of the sun.

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Jesse French

Butchered oxen during the Hard Winter.

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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“Mountain of the Lord”

Hymn #52, Pure Gold for the Sunday School

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zenith

The point of the heavens directly overhead.

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New England States

ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, & CT.

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“yell like a Comanche”

Imitated Indian battle cry.

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thunder-pumps

American bittern, a member of the heron family.

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“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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bear grease

Bear fat hair dressing.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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starch

cloth stiffener

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popcorn

Heat makes it burst & it’s tasty.

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Jim River / James River

A tributary of the Missouri River.

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muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

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Almanzo Wilder

The Man of the Place

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pen / pen-wiper

An instrument used for writing. / Material used to clean it after writing.

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