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A Modern Musketeer

In which Rose becomes a great actress.

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beet

Succulent root vegetable.

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Marshall, Minnesota

Almanzo Wilder farmed here in 1879-1880.

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Pure Gold for the Sunday School

Hymnal owned by the Ingalls family.

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“To a Girl”

Poem used to describe Beatrice Sorchan.

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“Sing a Song of Sixpence”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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icicle

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

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Farmer Boy – historical perspective

1860s Burke / Malone NY.

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Burr Oak during the Little House years

Town in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

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“Keep the Horse Shoe Over the Door”

1880 Joseph Skelley song.

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Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

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New England Supper

Fund-raising communal pot-luck meal.

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De Smet today

Where I would like to be right now.

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“The Star-Spangled Banner”

Our National Anthem; words by Francis Scott Key.

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dipper / ladle / skimmer

Used to remove foam when boiling maple sap.

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“The Blue Juniata”

1841 Marion Dix Sullivan song.

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starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

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hoity-toity snip

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

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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greenhorn / greeny

Immature, raw, awkward.

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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claim shanty

Temporary dwelling.

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Kingsbury County, D.T.

County in eastern South Dakota, organized in 1879.

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primer

Used to teach someone to read.

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locust

Buy this book.

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picket rope / pin / line

n. A stake sharpened or pointed, used in fortification and...

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prairie danglers

seventhwinter whimsey’s glass slide pendants!

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“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

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“Three Blind Mice”

Popular nursery song, sung in rounds.

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Young Pioneers

David and Molly Beaton.

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popcorn

Heat makes it burst & it’s tasty.

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Willard Seelye

De Smet teacher, 1881-1882.

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“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”

1863 Louis Lambert song.

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“A Life on the Ocean Wave”

1847 Epes Sargent poem put to music.

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dragon-fly / dragonfly

Mosquito hunter.

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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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pieplant

Rhubarb.

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Ernest & Minnie Green

This is not Mary & Edwin Sanford!

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Reverend Stewart Sheldon

American Home Missionary Society Superintendent 1874-1886.

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“Oh Boys, Carry Me Along”

Stephen Foster song.

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hogshead

100-140 gallon cask.

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oyster

A mollusk of the genus Ostrea, having a bivalve shell.

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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carding-machine

Straightens fibers by combing.

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tiger lily

Native spotted flower of tallgrass prairie.

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“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

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biscuits

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

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Doxology

Old Hundred.

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Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

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ash withe / ash-withe

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

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“The Singing School”

1869 P. Benson song.

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Bibliography

LIW / RWL books & articles

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Henry O. Quiner family

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

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“Nobody Ask’d You”

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

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apprentice

One who is legally bound to another to learn a trade or art.

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Little Town on the Prairie – the fictional story

Homesteading and town life.

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Missouri Pool

Smoked a pipe & grew pretty flowers.

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Chicago Inter-Ocean / Inter-Ocean

Republican political newspaper.

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“Haste to the Wedding”

Traditional Irish fiddle tune.

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David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

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by jingo!

A corruption of St. Gengoulph.

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“Daisy Deane”

1863 song by Union soldiers.

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emigrant car

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

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – the fictional story

The railroad comes to Dakota.

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Frank M. Cooley family

On the Way home travelers.

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George Whiting Ingalls

Bugle-blowing, jigging uncle.

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Henry J. Stebbins

Railroad contractor who inspired a song.

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“Give us this day our daily bread”

“The City, a Mc Kee plain glassware pattern.

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braid / plait

Entwined strands.

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mowing machine

Farm implement for cutting hay or grain.

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

Quilt block pattern.

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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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birthday

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

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parsnip

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

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Delos Perry family

The Perry School was on his homestead.

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“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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The Youth’s Companion

Weekly instructional magazine for children, first published in 1827.

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galumphing

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

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crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

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zenith

The point of the heavens directly overhead.

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cabin / log house

A small cottage; a hut or small house.

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patent / title

official property ownership document

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bandana

Large handkerchief with white pattern on red or blue background.

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Poverty Flat

Early De Smet residential area.

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“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

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Edward H. Couse

Early hardware store owner in De Smet.

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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Alice Maria Wilder

Older sister and playmate of Almanzo Wilder. She lived 1853-1892.

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catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls family figurine.

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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St. Lawrence River

A streak of silver on the horizon.

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chewing gum

Long white sticks of chewiness.

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Mary Amelia Ingalls

First child of Caroline and Charles Ingalls, 1865-1928; she lost her sight at age 15.

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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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muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

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awl

pokes holes

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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Charles H. Tinkham

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

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Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

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“yell like a Comanche”

Imitated Indian battle cry.

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

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Peter Riley Ingalls family

Uncle Peter & Aunt Eliza.

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Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

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xanthophyll

I bet you can spell this word.

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auger

A carpenter’s instrument for boring holes, chiefly in...

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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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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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surveyor

One who measures land and delineates the same on paper.

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“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

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needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

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New England States

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

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ice-house

Stores ice blocks in warm weather.

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roller towel

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

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blueing bag

Whiter whites.

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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The Missouri Ruralist

Twice monthly Missouri farm periodical.

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ostrich tips / feathers

Short bobbing feather used for hat decoration.

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birds’-nest pudding

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

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isinglass

mica for stove windows

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Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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“In the Starlight”

1878 Glover & Carpenter song.

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mother-of-pearl

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

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mustache

Hair above the lip.

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Little Georgie Dwight

He could not learn his letters!

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Jacob Hopp

Printer and De Smet newspaper owner.

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“all’s well that ends well”

A proverb.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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Old Settler’s Day

De Smet annual reunion.

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Visscher Barnes

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

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oranges

Citrus fruit.

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Alfred N. Waters

Attorney and land agent in De Smet.

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Will Barnes

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

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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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poll

No horns.

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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“Tubal Cain”

Charles McKay poem.

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“De Boatmen’s Dance”

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

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Laura Speaks

Al-MAN-zo, Al-MAN-zo, Al-MAN-zo

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Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

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Tennyson’s Poems

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

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“Uncle Sam’s Farm”

1848 Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. song.

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spinning wheel / spinning-wheel

Turns wool into yarn.

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“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

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claim

The land to which one has a right.

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“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

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stanchion

Support frame.

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swan

Cygnus Americanus

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Introspections of an Individualist

Norma Lee Browning article about Rose Wilder Lane.

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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bear grease

Bear fat hair dressing.

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“The Campbells are Coming”

Traditional Scottish jig.

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ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

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Santa Claus / Santa Clause

Ho. Ho. Ho.

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Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

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copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

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Daniel Loftus

Early drygoods store owner in De Smet.

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forfeits

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

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Roman candle

Flaming stars and balls firework.

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watermelon-rind preserves

sugary jelly

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

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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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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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Baby Boy Wilder

Son of Laura and Almanzo Wilder

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depot / station

Railway station.

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Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

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legal cap

legal document paper

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wristlets

Knitted bands worn around the wrists for warmth.

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“Paul Revere’s Ride”

Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

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fascinator

Pretty, light head covering.

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certificate

Written testimony of fact.

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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dickcissel / dickie-bird

A semi-nomadic finch, Spiza americana.

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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

1793 Robert Burns poem.

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Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

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anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

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peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

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“Barbary Allen”

Old Scotch tune.

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“The Sleighing Glee”

Singing school song.

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“Arkansas Traveler”

Traditional American folk song.

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Commentators on the Ac’s

Pa’s charade pun.

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“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

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whip

A lash tied to a handle.

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“Mountain of the Lord”

Hymn #52, Pure Gold for the Sunday School

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