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B

bachelor – “by the pale, silver light…”

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Mary Blanche Howard

Mary’s roommate in Vinton.

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land office

Where sales of public lands are registered.

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starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

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Dr. William H. York

Bender victim

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catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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threshing

Beating to separate.

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cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

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“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

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honey

Bee-made sweetness.

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barber

Shave and a haircut, two bits!

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How well do you know the Little House books?

a quiz for you!

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carpet-bag / carpetbag

Traveling-bag

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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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Spookendyke

Rose’s stubborn donkey

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

1858 J. Warner song.

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Ella & Robert Boast

Friends of the Ingalls family in De Smet.

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“The Big Sunflower”

Pa’s trouble song.

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composition

The act of forming a written piece.

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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nickel

The metal. Or five-cent piece.

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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Turkey red

Durable red color, dyed with madder upon calico or woolen cloth.

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wheelwright

One who makes wheels and carriages.

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Marshall, Minnesota

Almanzo Wilder farmed here in 1879-1880.

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pullaway

Outdoor tagging game.

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dictionary

The words of a language.

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railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

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Little House in the Big Woods – the fictional story

Once upon a time, 60 years ago…

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“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

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“Uncle Sam’s Farm”

1848 Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. song.

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Charles Barker

Early De Smet grocer.

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“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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Uncle Sam

Figure symbolizing the United States.

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“Lilly Dale” / “Lily Dale”

1852 song by H.S. Thomson.

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Pure Gold for the Sunday School

Hymnal owned by the Ingalls family.

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

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C

cabbage – cyclone

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P A T

one seven seven ought

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“Uncle Ned”

One of the earliest Stephen Foster songs.

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pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

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“The Gypsy King”

Young Laura and Mary’s favorite song!

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twin lakes

Lake Henry & Lake Thompson

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tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

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bear grease

Bear fat hair dressing.

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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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A Modern Musketeer

In which Rose becomes a great actress.

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Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

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chestnut / horse chestnut

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

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mustache

Hair above the lip.

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leap frog / leap-frog

Run and jump game.

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“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

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copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

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I

“I am Mrs. Jinks…” – “I wouldn’t marry a farmer”

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“I Wish I Was in Dixie’s Land”

1860 Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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Willard Seelye

De Smet teacher, 1881-1882.

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“Don’t Leave the Farm, Boys”

Song from The Conqueror.

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Alfred Ely

One of the younger boys in school.

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ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

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gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

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chilblain

Cold sores on hands and feet.

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Old Settler’s Day

De Smet annual reunion.

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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Mrs. Jarley’s Wax Works

Rise! Come forward!

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Docia Ingalls / Hiram Forbes

Sister of Charles Ingalls married to railroad contractor.

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greenhorn / greeny

Immature, raw, awkward.

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Lizzie

the child bride

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poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

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Jack Frost

A popular personification of frost.

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G

gable – “Gypsy’s Warning”

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Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

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“Barbary Allen”

Old Scotch tune.

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George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

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“The Singing School”

1869 P. Benson song.

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cornice

Molded roof or window projection.

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“Wait for the Wagon”

Buckley and Knauff song.

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Missouri Pool

Smoked a pipe & grew pretty flowers.

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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“Golden Years are Passing By”

1879 Will Thompson song.

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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“Haste to the Wedding”

Traditional Irish fiddle tune.

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emigrant car

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

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George George

1874 Minnesota traveling companion of the Ingallses

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antelope

Antilocapra cervicapra of North America.

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auger

hand drill

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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silver castor

Rotating condiment set.

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spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

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“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

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Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

Heather Williams book.

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roller towel

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

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the children’s blizzard

January 12, 1888, blizzard.

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winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

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swan

Cygnus Americanus

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icicle

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

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harvest moon

Full moon nearest autumnal equinox

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twisting hay

makes a hot, quick fire

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Z

zebra – Zion City

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locust

Buy this book.

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birds’-nest pudding

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

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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Mary Power & Edwin Sanford

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

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udder

Where the milk is before milking.

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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Ernest & Minnie Green

This is not Mary & Edwin Sanford!

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chapel

Place of worship.

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copper

Cu

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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claim

The land to which one has a right.

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“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

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twine

A strong twisted thread.

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ticket

All aboard!

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bandana

Large handkerchief with white pattern on red or blue background.

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“Song of the Grass”

Song from Leslie and Randall’s The Conqueror, page 16.

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peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

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“The Sculptor Boy”

Carrie recited it.

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Burr Oak during the Little House years

Town in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

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Carrie Ingalls, Homesteader

W-NW & W-SW 9-4N-20E of Black Hills Meridian

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cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

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Good Templars Lodge

International temperance fraternal organization.

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slate

Stone used as tablet for writing upon.

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thunder-pumps

American bittern, a member of the heron family.

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Quiner graves

Abandoned cemetery off Playhouse Road.

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Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

LHOP history

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calendar

What’s today’s date?

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census taker

Statistical registration of members of a country.

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Minnie Johnson

Laura’s schoolmate in De Smet

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Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

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dickcissel / dickie-bird

A semi-nomadic finch, Spiza americana.

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“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

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isinglass

mica for stove windows

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“The Blue Juniata”

1841 Marion Dix Sullivan song.

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buckwheat pancakes

Seeds of the flowering plant Eriogonum used as a grain.

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“Nellie was a Lady”

…last night she died

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mother-of-pearl

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

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Horace / Homer Heath

Railroad-working brothers.

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basque

Jacket-like part of a lady’s dress.

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bale

Specific bundle of goods packaged for transport.

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Pa’s red & white checked mittens

Fair Isle pattern.

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latch / latch-string

It’s always out!

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“The Pied Piper”

Robert Browning poem.

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Charles H. Tinkham

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

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canvas

Coarse hemp or flax cloth.

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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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“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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Godey’s Lady’s Book

Women’s magazine, 1830-1898.

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cosy / cozy

snug and comfortable

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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Christopher Columbus

A native of Genoa, in Italy.

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Jim River / James River

A tributary of the Missouri River.

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Ven Owen

Teacher and principal of the first graded school in De Smet

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Pa’s “big green book”

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

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tattoo

Sounds like beating drums!

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Mansfield history

Town in Wright County, Missouri.

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David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

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powder horn / powder-horn

Animal horn in which gunpowder is carried.

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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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jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…

From Robert Herrick poem.

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks”

Long Winter song

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Visscher Barnes

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

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ash withe / ash-withe

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

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basket

Woven container.

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Julia & Amasa Tower

Walnut Grove church friends.

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name card / name-card

Pasteboard identification.

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“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

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Peter Riley Ingalls family

Uncle Peter & Aunt Eliza.

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“Home, Sweet Home”

1823 Payne & Bishop song.

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mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

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“The Evergreen Shore”

1861 William Hunter song.

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De Smet today

Where I would like to be right now.

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Royal Wilder

Almanzo’s older brother.

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Charles Ely

Early lumber man in De Smet.

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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Pittsburgh Courier

Widely-circulated black newspaper, which Rose Wilder Lane wrote a column for in the 1940s.

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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Fred Fields / Big Jerry

Railroad boss and his brother-in-law.

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satchel

Small, soft-sided handled luggage.

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claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

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surveyors’ house

railroad section house occupied by the Ingallses in 1879-1880

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reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

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Little Town on the Prairie – the fictional story

Homesteading and town life.

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tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

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Reverend Edwin H. Alden

Walnut Grove Congregational minister and missionary in Dakota.

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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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bobolink

On Mary Power’s name card.

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lone cottonwood / lone tree

The big one between the lakes.

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stanchion

Support frame.

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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