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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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Dr. Robert Hoyt

Husband of Mattie Masters.

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Visscher Barnes

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

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Introspections of an Individualist

Norma Lee Browning article about Rose Wilder Lane.

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Thomas Huleatt family

Neighbors of Ingalls family in Pepin Co.

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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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Hamlin Garland

…and his first Christmas tree!

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missionary barrel

Collection of items distributed to the needy.

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“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

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snowplow

Clears the tracks.

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clear, pure green sky

Sunlight separated into colored bands at sunset.

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Charles H. Tinkham

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

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anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

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gaiters

Cloth ankle covering.

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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mother-of-pearl

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

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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morning-glory

Climbing plant of the genus Ipomœa.

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“Rock of Ages”

1760s Augustus Toplady hymn.

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turntable

Revolving railroad platform.

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The House that Jack Built

…for two pieces of money.

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“Rock Me to Sleep”

Elizabeth Allen poem.

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Carrie Ingalls

Younger sister of Laura Ingalls; she lived 1870-1946.

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Missouri Pool

Smoked a pipe & grew pretty flowers.

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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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The New York Ledger

Weekly story paper, published 1855-1898.

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“all’s well that ends well”

A proverb.

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hoity-toity snip

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

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“The Heavens Declare the Glory”

From The Conqueror, page 144.

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

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grippe

influenza

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls during the Little House years

Ingallses lived here with Uncle Peter.

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Margaret Garland family / Cap Garland

Family living behind the Ingallses in De Smet.

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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honey

Bee-made sweetness.

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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popcorn

Heat makes it burst & it’s tasty.

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buckwheat pancakes

Seeds of the flowering plant Eriogonum used as a grain.

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Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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Peytona & Fashion

Currier & Ives print at Rocky Ridge Farm.

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – historical perspective

Walnut Grove in the 1870s.

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The Youth’s Companion

Weekly instructional magazine for children, first published in 1827.

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Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

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twilight

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

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hogshead

100-140 gallon cask.

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Santa Claus / Santa Clause

Ho. Ho. Ho.

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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wintergreen

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

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Jim River / James River

A tributary of the Missouri River.

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Charles Ingalls: The Civil War Years

Charles Ingalls: the Civil War Years

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quarter section / quarter-section

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

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“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

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Ella & Robert Boast

Friends of the Ingalls family in De Smet.

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hair receiver / hair-receiver

Container to save strands of hair in.

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Freddy Ingalls

Laura’s brother (1875-1876)

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door knob

Grab to open a door.

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riot / Tracy railroad strike

Tracy in June, not De Smet in September

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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button lamp

Improvised grease lamp.

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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Pa’s red & white checked mittens

Fair Isle pattern.

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“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

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whip

A lash tied to a handle.

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poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

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Albert Quiner

Laura’s cousin.

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birds in their little nests agree

Miss Wilder knew nothing about birds.

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breast-pin / brooch

Ornament worn on clothing.

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windrow

Line of hay raked together.

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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biscuits

A kind of un-fermented bread, formed into flat cakes, and baked.

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isinglass

mica for stove windows

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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

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“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

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twin lakes

Lake Henry & Lake Thompson

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Big Tracy Cut

“100 feet deep & tapering off for 1/4 mile”

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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“I Wish I Was in Dixie’s Land”

1860 Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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birthday

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

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Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

Heather Williams book.

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freeze drying

sublimation!

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De Smet today

Where I would like to be right now.

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patent / title

official property ownership document

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“Here’s to the Maiden”

1780 R.B. Sheridan drinking song.

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churn

Cream agitator.

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mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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Farmer Boy – the fictional story

Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in Burke NY.

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John Ensign family

Quit crying, Howard.

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“De Boatmen’s Dance”

Away Down the RIver on the O-hi-o.

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Little Georgie Dwight

He could not learn his letters!

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chewing gum

Long white sticks of chewiness.

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gable

Triangular end of a building under the roof.

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Come Into the Garden, Maud

1855 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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The Long Winter – historical perspective

The Hard Winter of 1880-1881.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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Peter Pfeiffer family

John May’s son-in-law.

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“The Blue Juniata”

1841 Marion Dix Sullivan song.

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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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Bad Lands

Area eroded by wind & water.

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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emigrant car

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

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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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stone fences

Rock wall enclosure.

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cornice

Roof overhang.

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huckleberry

Let’s have some pie!

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scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

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pieplant

Rhubarb.

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

1793 Robert Burns poem.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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harvest moon

Full moon nearest autumnal equinox

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“The Battle-Cry of Freedom”

We’ll Rally Round the Flag, Boys!

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copperplate

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

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David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

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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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Reverend Stewart Sheldon

American Home Missionary Society Superintendent 1874-1886.

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Laura’s Bible references

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s hand-written list of Bible verses to be read in times of trouble or stress.

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

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cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

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cupola

Dome-like vault on a public building.

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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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Henry Hinz

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

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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Mrs. Jarley’s Wax Works

Rise! Come forward!

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cottage cheese

Curdled skim milk.

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“The Treadmill Song”

Oliver Wendell Holmes poem set to music.

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George A. Williams

Superintendent of Schools, 1883.

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Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

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

Quilt block pattern.

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“Don’t Leave the Farm, Boys”

Song from The Conqueror.

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Ernest & Minnie Green

This is not Mary & Edwin Sanford!

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“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

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scour / scouring brick

To rub hard for the purpose of cleaning.

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Women’s Christian Temperance Union

W.C.T.U.

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dipper / ladle / skimmer

Used to remove foam when boiling maple sap.

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“Coming Through the Rye”

Robert Burns tune.

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bison / “The Bison Track”

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

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Minnie Johnson

Laura’s schoolmate in De Smet

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The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

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“The Campbells are Coming”

Traditional Scottish jig.

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thunder-pumps

American bittern, a member of the heron family.

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Marshall, Minnesota

Almanzo Wilder farmed here in 1879-1880.

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needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

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ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

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Horace Woodworth family

Family of first depot agent in De Smet.

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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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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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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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Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

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tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

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Doxology

Old Hundred.

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willow

Tree of the genus Salix.

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bake oven / bake-oven

Coals on top and below.

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“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

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lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

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“Barbary Allen”

Old Scotch tune.

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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“Golden Years are Passing By”

1879 Will Thompson song.

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swan

Cygnus Americanus

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alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

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“The Singing School”

1869 P. Benson song.

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A Modern Musketeer

In which Rose becomes a great actress.

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Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

      The Ingalls and Quiner families...

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watermelon-rind preserves

sugary jelly

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starch

cloth stiffener

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tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

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“Keep the Horse Shoe Over the Door”

1880 Joseph Skelley song.

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Volga, Dakota Territory

Town on the Dakota Central R.R. between Brookings and Arlington, platted in 1879.

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Becky Newhall / Rebecca Stewart

Classmate of Laura Ingalls in De Smet.

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pumpkin

The plant and fruit of Curcubita pepo

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“A Shelter in the Time of Storm”

Ira Sankey hymn.

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Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography

Laura’s handwritten manuscript.

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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Charles Mead

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

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auk

Extinct sea bird used to describe dovekie found by Charles Ingalls.

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“Old Dan Tucker”

Mr. Edwards sings it!

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“The Swan’s Nest”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem.

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Tennyson’s Poems

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

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“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

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“yell like a Comanche”

Imitated Indian battle cry.

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Jack Frost

A popular personification of frost.

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Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

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Farmer Boy – historical perspective

1860s Burke / Malone NY.

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spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

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Thomas C. Wilkin family

Florence Wilkin’s father.

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“Give us this day our daily bread”

“The City, a Mc Kee plain glassware pattern.

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bushel / peck

Dry quart measurements.

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pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

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galumphing

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

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