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copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

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“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

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osage orange

no good to eat or for anything else

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“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

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Almanzo Wilder

The Man of the Place

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whip

A lash tied to a handle.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

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building paper / tar paper

Crude building paper used for covering.

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Have you seen the comet?

Tebbutt’s Great Comet of 1881.

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David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

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sundogs

Bright spots on either side of the sun.

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whiffle-tree / whiffletree

Bar to attach traces to.

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poll

No horns.

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reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

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isinglass

mica for stove windows

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bracket lamp

Affixed lighting fixture.

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cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

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elephant

A very large quadruped.

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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windrow

Line of hay raked together.

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Reverend Edwin H. Alden

Walnut Grove Congregational minister and missionary in Dakota.

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Grace Pearl Ingalls

Youngest sister of Laura Ingalls; she lived 1877-1941.

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popcorn

Heat makes it burst & it’s tasty.

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water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

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cradle scythe

Blade and handle used to cut oats.

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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…

From Robert Herrick poem.

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herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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“For the Sake o’ Somebody”

1794 Robert Burns poem.

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breast-pin / brooch

Ornament worn on clothing.

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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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slate

Stone used as tablet for writing upon.

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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fascinator

Pretty, light head covering.

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black bird / blackbird

Name given to various American birds.

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“The Heavens Declare the Glory”

From The Conqueror, page 144.

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dried-raspberry sauce

Dried sauce good on biscuits.

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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udder

Where the milk is before milking.

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harvest moon

Full moon nearest autumnal equinox

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Burke / Malone during the Little House years

Almanzo Wilder birthplace.

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button lamp

Improvised grease lamp.

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Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

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Peter Pfeiffer family

John May’s son-in-law.

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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Lost, between sunrise and sunset…

Horace Mann quotation from his Writings, published in 1872.

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crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

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“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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nine-patch / Laura’s double nine-patch Irish chain quilt

Quilt block pattern.

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Edelbert Harthorn family / Frank Harthorn & Mabel Burd

Father and son owners of early drygoods store in De Smet.

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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Samuel O. Masters / William J. Masters families

Walnut Grove, Burr Oak, and De Smet family known by the Ingallses.

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Little House Songs

Prairie Song Companion

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ash withe / ash-withe

A flexible, slender twig or branch used as a band for tying.

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Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

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Joseph Bouchie family

Fictional Brewster family in THGY.

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carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

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“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Uncle Sam

Figure symbolizing the United States.

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ice-house

Stores ice blocks in warm weather.

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Will Barnes

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

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

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Stories of the Moorland

1869 book by Lizzie Bates about a young boy growing up in Scotland.

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Mansfield history

Town in Wright County, Missouri.

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bastion

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

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Thomas Huleatt family

Neighbors of Ingalls family in Pepin Co.

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“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

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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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“The Evergreen Shore”

1861 William Hunter song.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

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Will Knight

Walnut Grove revival singer.

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quarter section / quarter-section

One-fourth of a square mile, consisting of 160 acres.

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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“Nobody Ask’d You”

In the frosty mornings and the chilly evenings when they went...

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Martha Perry / Mrs. White

Laura helped her sew shirts.

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – historical perspective

Walnut Grove in the 1870s.

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“Coming Through the Rye”

Robert Burns tune.

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velocipede

Carriage propelled by pedals or feet.

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“Don’t Leave the Farm, Boys”

Song from The Conqueror.

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Introspections of an Individualist

Norma Lee Browning article about Rose Wilder Lane.

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“The Blue Juniata”

1841 Marion Dix Sullivan song.

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copper-toed shoes

Metal shoe protector.

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spoon holder / spoon-holder / spoonholder

Any vessel used to hold and display spoons.

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George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

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Congress

Legislative body of a country.

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Arthur Sherwood

Brother of Carter Sherwood.

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parsnip

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

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“I Wish I Was in Dixie’s Land”

1860 Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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yeast / yeast cakes

Bread-leavening organism.

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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Laura, the Prairie Girl

1975-76 animated series.

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Charlotte Holbrook

Laura’s “Aunt Lotty”

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P A T

one seven seven ought

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“A Shelter in the Time of Storm”

Ira Sankey hymn.

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nickel

The metal. Or five-cent piece.

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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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Thomas H. Ruth

President of Kingsbury County Bank in De Smet.

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what-not / whatnot

An étagère for books & ornaments.

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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cameo

Aunt Docia’s pretty collar pin.

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Daniel Loftus

Early drygoods store owner in De Smet.

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Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

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“Uncle Sam’s Farm”

1848 Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. song.

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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“The Gum-Tree Canoe”

1847 Steele & Winnemore song.

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“The Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

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De Smet today

Where I would like to be right now.

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by jingo!

A corruption of St. Gengoulph.

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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William H. Reed

Teacher in Burr Oak school, 1876-1877.

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“The Burial of Sir John Moore”

1817 poem by Charles Wolfe.

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“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

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poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

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chestnut / horse chestnut

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

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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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Young Pioneers

David and Molly Beaton.

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literary society

Instructional and entertaining gathering.

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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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chapel

Place of worship.

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swan

Cygnus Americanus

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drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

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hatchet

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

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tiger

Noah’s ark toy piece.

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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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galluses / suspenders

Straps worn for holding up pants.

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census taker

Statistical registration of members of a country.

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icicle

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

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Birthday

Happy Birthday, Laura!

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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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tax

A certainty, as is death.

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vanity cakes

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

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

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Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

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mercury / thermometer

Used to measure air temperature.

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

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hulled corn

Hominy.

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“Old Folks at Home”

Way down upon the Swanee River!

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tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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The Youth’s Companion

Weekly instructional magazine for children, first published in 1827.

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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Lizzie

the child bride

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Docia Ingalls / Hiram Forbes

Sister of Charles Ingalls married to railroad contractor.

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gable

Triangular end of a building under the roof.

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Christopher Columbus

A native of Genoa, in Italy.

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Army bugle

Brass military horn.

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

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apple pie / dried apple pie

Just like Ma used to make.

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“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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cupola

Dome-like vault on a public building.

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The Athenians

Hartville, Mo. study club.

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Brownsville, Texas 1906

Did Eliza Jane sell fruit to these soldiers?

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wild prairie rose

RWL was their namesake, my dear.

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wintergreen

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

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Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

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basque

Jacket-like part of a lady’s dress.

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Peytona & Fashion

Currier & Ives print at Rocky Ridge Farm.

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Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

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“Daisy Deane”

1863 song by Union soldiers.

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Pure Gold for the Sunday School

Hymnal owned by the Ingalls family.

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Old Military Tract

Franklin Co. NY map reference

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squirrel

Rodent mammal of the genus Sciurus.

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xanthophyll

I bet you can spell this word.

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Mrs. Jarley’s Wax Works

Rise! Come forward!

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America / American

Pertaining to the United States of America.

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“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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elevator

Warehouse for seed and grain.

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butter

Edible fatty substance made by churning cream.

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Tennyson’s Poems

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

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brakeman

Person who stops the train.

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Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

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huckleberry

Let’s have some pie!

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

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Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

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buckwheat pancakes

Seeds of the flowering plant Eriogonum used as a grain.

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Minnie Johnson

Laura’s schoolmate in De Smet

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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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pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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“The Star-Spangled Banner”

Our National Anthem; words by Francis Scott Key.

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“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

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“Tubal Cain”

Charles McKay poem.

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watermelon-rind preserves

sugary jelly

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