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copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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bandana

Large handkerchief with white pattern on red or blue background.

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John D. Peirson

Early De Smet liveryman.

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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geranium

Winter windowsill flowers.

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Kingsbury County, D.T.

County in eastern South Dakota, organized in 1879.

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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beet

Succulent root vegetable.

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copper-toed shoes

Metal shoe protector.

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Alfred N. Waters

Attorney and land agent in De Smet.

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“The Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

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“Ben Bolt”

1842 Thomas Dunn English song.

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Timothy Johnson family

De Smet Wagon Shop.

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roller towel

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

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rags for paper

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

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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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hatchet

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

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“Daisy Deane”

1863 song by Union soldiers.

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Jerome Beardsley family

De Smet hotel keeper.

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ostrich tips / feathers

Short bobbing feather used for hat decoration.

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Jesse French

Butchered oxen during the Hard Winter.

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Becky Newhall / Rebecca Stewart

Classmate of Laura Ingalls in De Smet.

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galumphing

To move in a clumsy, ponderous, or noisy manner.

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Henry Hinz

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

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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Young Pioneers

David and Molly Beaton.

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Thomas C. Wilkin family

Florence Wilkin’s father.

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“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

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wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

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“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

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hoity-toity snip

Thoughtless, giddy, haughty, flighty, gay, and noisy.

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“Rock Me to Sleep”

Elizabeth Allen poem.

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literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

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James Glover family

Students in the Wilkin School.

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snowplow

Clears the tracks.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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Rev. Royal Gould Wilder

Almanzo’s uncle.

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Good Templars Lodge

International temperance fraternal organization.

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bear grease

Bear fat hair dressing.

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hardtack

Unleavened hard bread made from flour and water.

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blacking / stove-blacking / boot blacking

Preparation used to make things black.

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Hiram Ingalls

Pa’s brother.

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roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

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dictionary

The words of a language.

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xanthophyll

I bet you can spell this word.

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Alfred Ely

One of the younger boys in school.

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amen / amen corner

Expression used at the end of prayers.

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thunder-pumps

American bittern, a member of the heron family.

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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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grippe

influenza

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“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

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wheelwright

One who makes wheels and carriages.

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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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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“The Big Sunflower”

Pa’s trouble song.

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willow-ware

Blue-and-white tableware with Chinese story paintings.

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“Down in Alabam'” / “The Old Gray Mare”

1858 J. Warner song.

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Horace Woodworth family

Family of first depot agent in De Smet.

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birds’-nest pudding

Dessert made of apples baked in syrup and served with cream.

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door knob

Grab to open a door.

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Mary Power & Edwin Sanford

Laura’s friend and the new clerk at Ruth’s bank.

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cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

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anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

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Ida Belle Wright

Laura’s best friend in De Smet

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James McKee family

Early homesteader north of Manchester D.T. Laura Ingalls stayed with them during the spring of 1883.

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spinning wheel / spinning-wheel

Turns wool into yarn.

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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Robbins children

“froze stark stiff”

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isinglass

mica for stove windows

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Little House on the Prairie – the fictional story

The Ingallses in Indian Territory.

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black-berry / blackberry

The berry of the bramble, Rubus fruticosous.

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ice cream / ice-cream

Sweetened cream, congealed by freezing.

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“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

17th century Irish tune.

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depot / station

Railway station.

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Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography

Laura’s handwritten manuscript.

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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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Edward H. Couse

Early hardware store owner in De Smet.

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Thomas Huleatt family

Neighbors of Ingalls family in Pepin Co.

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A Tribute to the Early Day Teachers

Neva Whaley Harding tribute.

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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Bad Lands

Area eroded by wind & water.

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hulled corn

Hominy.

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button

who’s got one?

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lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

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“The Sleighing Glee”

Singing school song.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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Little House in the Big Woods – historical perspective

Pepin Twp., Pepin Co. Wisconsin

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custard / ice-cream

Sweetened milk and eggs, cooked.

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dragon-fly / dragonfly

Mosquito hunter.

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copperplate

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

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Pure Gold for the Sunday School

Hymnal owned by the Ingalls family.

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vanity cakes

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

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“Paul Revere’s Ride”

Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

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braid / plait

Entwined strands.

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Big Green Animal Book

George Hartwig’s The Polar and Tropical Worlds: A Description of Man and Nature.

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George Whiting Ingalls

Bugle-blowing, jigging uncle.

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emigrant car

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

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“Rock of Ages”

1760s Augustus Toplady hymn.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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The New York Ledger

Weekly story paper, published 1855-1898.

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swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

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Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

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Congress

Legislative body of a country.

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

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William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

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whalebone

Baleen used in corsets.

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“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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Almanzo Wilder

The Man of the Place

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“The Floating Scow of Old Virginia”

1847 Charles White song.

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tiger

Noah’s ark toy piece.

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galluses / suspenders

Straps worn for holding up pants.

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bison / “The Bison Track”

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

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“Billy Boy”

English folk song.

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The House that Jack Built

…for two pieces of money.

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“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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Poverty Flat

Early De Smet residential area.

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Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

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squirrel

Rodent mammal of the genus Sciurus.

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stone fences

Rock wall enclosure.

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what-not / whatnot

An étagère for books & ornaments.

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Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

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Henry Burvee

One of the first settlers in Kingsbury Co.

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cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – historical perspective

Dakota Central comes to De Smet.

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poll

No horns.

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butter

Edible fatty substance made by churning cream.

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Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

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chestnut / horse chestnut

A large nut, the fruit of a species of Æsculus.

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carding-machine

Straightens fibers by combing.

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“Life Let Us Cherish”

1796 Swiss song translated to English.

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saleratus / soda

Leavening agents used in baking.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

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“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

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bushel / peck

Dry quart measurements.

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leap frog / leap-frog

Run and jump game.

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oranges

Citrus fruit.

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“Lilly Dale” / “Lily Dale”

1852 song by H.S. Thomson.

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Frank Schaub

Early harness maker in De Smet.

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Introspections of an Individualist

Norma Lee Browning article about Rose Wilder Lane.

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perforated paper embroidery

Stitched designs.

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De Smet today

Where I would like to be right now.

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“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

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John H. Carroll

Early De Smet banker.

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Doxology

Old Hundred.

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parsnip

Pastinaca edulis, a white, spindle-shaped root vegetable.

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“There is a Happy Land”

Whoop! How those eggs do smell!

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George C. Bradley

Early De Smet druggist.

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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Marvin Hughitt

Officer and President of the Chicago & NorthWestern Railway Company.

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the children’s blizzard

January 12, 1888, blizzard.

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“The Burial of Sir John Moore”

1817 poem by Charles Wolfe.

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peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

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claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

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Charles Philip Ingalls

Father of Laura Ingalls. He lived 1836-1902.

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twilight

Light when the sun is 0-18 degrees below the horizon.

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“It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary”

1912 Judge & Williams song.

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cradle scythe

Blade and handle used to cut oats.

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fanning-mill

Machine for winnowing.

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pullaway

Outdoor tagging game.

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sundogs

Bright spots on either side of the sun.

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Charlotte Holbrook

Laura’s “Aunt Lotty”

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“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

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Little House in the Big Woods – the fictional story

Once upon a time, 60 years ago…

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awl

pokes holes

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“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

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Hamlin Garland

…and his first Christmas tree!

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Hotel keeper’s family struck by lightning

E.P. LeSuer of Canby, Minnesota.

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Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

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scour / scouring brick

To rub hard for the purpose of cleaning.

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equinoctial storm

Severe wind and heavy rain that occurs at or near the time of an equinox.

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“Keep the Horse Shoe Over the Door”

1880 Joseph Skelley song.

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“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

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“The Battle-Cry of Freedom”

We’ll Rally Round the Flag, Boys!

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“Pull for the Shore”

Sunshine for Sunday Schools hymn.

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milking-stool

Three legs (the cow has the udder).

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De Smet during the Little House years

The Ingalls family moved here in 1879.

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gable

Triangular end of a building under the roof.

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Fred Fields / Big Jerry

Railroad boss and his brother-in-law.

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“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

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clove apple / clove-apple

Spice-preserved fruit decoration.

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Old Military Tract

Franklin Co. NY map reference

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Ven Owen

Teacher and principal of the first graded school in De Smet

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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Farmer Boy – the fictional story

Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in Burke NY.

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“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

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“Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-Ay”

1891 Henry J. Sayers song.

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building paper / tar paper

Crude building paper used for covering.

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Farmer Boy – historical perspective

1860s Burke / Malone NY.

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consumption

A wasting disease, pulmonary tuberculosis.

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