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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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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

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“Coming Through the Rye”

Robert Burns tune.

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“The Pied Piper”

Robert Browning poem.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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hulled corn

Hominy.

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Edward H. Couse

Early hardware store owner in De Smet.

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Lewis Sasse

De Smet druggist

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“A Life on the Ocean Wave”

1847 Epes Sargent poem put to music.

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“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

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Delos Perry family

The Perry School was on his homestead.

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“The Singing School”

1869 P. Benson song.

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

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Alfred N. Waters

Attorney and land agent in De Smet.

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Becky Newhall / Rebecca Stewart

Classmate of Laura Ingalls in De Smet.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

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wall-paper

Wall covering.

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Mr. Edwards

Was he Edmund Mason?

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“Old Folks at Home”

Way down upon the Swanee River!

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

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udder

Where the milk is before milking.

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Introspections of an Individualist

Norma Lee Browning article about Rose Wilder Lane.

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“Billy Boy”

English folk song.

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gaiters

Cloth ankle covering.

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scour / scouring brick

To rub hard for the purpose of cleaning.

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Silver Lake

Kingsbury County prairie pothole lake.

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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…

From Robert Herrick poem.

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wristlets

Knitted bands worn around the wrists for warmth.

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Joseph Bouchie family

Fictional Brewster family in THGY.

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

1793 Robert Burns poem.

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Rev. Royal Gould Wilder

Almanzo’s uncle.

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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

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“Oft in the Stilly Night”

Song from Lalla Rookh.

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The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

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“Pop! Goes the Weasel”

Traditional American song.

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A Tribute to the Early Day Teachers

Neva Whaley Harding tribute.

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Martha Perry / Mrs. White

Laura helped her sew shirts.

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“Don’t Leave the Farm, Boys”

Song from The Conqueror.

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literary society

Instructional and entertaining gathering.

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Tennyson’s Poems

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

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“Wait for the Wagon”

Buckley and Knauff song.

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Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

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Jack Frost

A popular personification of frost.

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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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lime / whitewash

Oxide of calcium mixed with water and used for whitening.

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“The High Tide”

Jean Ingelow poem.

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birds’-nest pudding

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

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anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

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Arthur Sherwood

Brother of Carter Sherwood.

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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“yell like a Comanche”

Imitated Indian battle cry.

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cabin / log house

A small cottage; a hut or small house.

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Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

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carding-machine

Straightens fibers by combing.

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“Polly Wolly Doodle”

Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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by jingo!

A corruption of St. Gengoulph.

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

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Henry Burvee

One of the first settlers in Kingsbury Co.

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tiger

Noah’s ark toy piece.

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ante-over / anti-over / anteover

Game in which a ball is thrown over a structure.

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mercury / thermometer

Used to measure air temperature.

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“Little Annie Rooney”

1889 song by Michael Nolan.

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“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

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Frank M. Cooley family

On the Way home travelers.

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velocipede

Carriage propelled by pedals or feet.

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Missouri Pool

Smoked a pipe & grew pretty flowers.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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Charles Trousdale

De Smet drayman and his performing sons.

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claim shanty

Temporary dwelling.

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The Missouri Ruralist

Twice monthly Missouri farm periodical.

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dragon-fly / dragonfly

Mosquito hunter.

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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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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ash withe / ash-withe

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

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chilblain

Cold sores on hands and feet.

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President James Madison

4th President of the U.S.

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New Ulm, Minnesota

Town in Brown Co., MN.

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The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

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“Three Blind Mice”

Popular nursery song, sung in rounds.

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De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

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bison / “The Bison Track”

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

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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Brownsville, Texas 1906

Did Eliza Jane sell fruit to these soldiers?

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birds in their little nests agree

Miss Wilder knew nothing about birds.

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Belgian horse

A heavy draft horse originally from the Brabant region of...

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xanthophyll

I bet you can spell this word.

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Mary Power & Edwin Sanford

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

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biscuits

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

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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Horace / Homer Heath

Railroad-working brothers.

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powder horn / powder-horn

Animal horn in which gunpowder is carried.

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Laura Remington

Mrs. Phillip Aubrey Lawrence

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sewing machine

“Such beautiful stitching!”

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Ernest & Minnie Green

This is not Mary & Edwin Sanford!

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“The Big Sunflower”

Pa’s trouble song.

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“Keep the Horse Shoe Over the Door”

1880 Joseph Skelley song.

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“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

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copper-toed shoes

Metal shoe protector.

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cannon

Military engine used for throwing balls and other instruments of death by the force of gunpowder.

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poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

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poll

No horns.

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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

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watermelon-rind preserves

sugary jelly

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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

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Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

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wintergreen

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

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bracket lamp

Affixed lighting fixture.

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“The Burial of Sir John Moore”

1817 poem by Charles Wolfe.

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wheelwright

One who makes wheels and carriages.

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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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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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oranges

Citrus fruit.

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blizzard

In 1880-1881, a long, severe, blinding, and bitterly cold snowstorm.

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amen / amen corner

Expression used at the end of prayers.

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pullaway

Outdoor tagging game.

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“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

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snowplow

Clears the tracks.

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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Pure Gold for the Sunday School

Hymnal owned by the Ingalls family.

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whiffle-tree / whiffletree

Bar to attach traces to.

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sundogs

Bright spots on either side of the sun.

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Horace Woodworth family

Family of first depot agent in De Smet.

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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Robbins children

“froze stark stiff”

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Daniel Loftus

Early drygoods store owner in De Smet.

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Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

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mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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apple pie / dried apple pie

Just like Ma used to make.

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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basket

Woven container.

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“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

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muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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John D. Peirson

Early De Smet liveryman.

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hoity-toity snip

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

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mustache

Hair above the lip.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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Fred Fields / Big Jerry

Railroad boss and his brother-in-law.

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – historical perspective

Walnut Grove in the 1870s.

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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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crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

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“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

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Governor of Orleans / The American Remount Association

Registered stallion leased to Almanzo Wilder 1923-1925.

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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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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cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

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sulky / sulky plow

One-seated conveyance.

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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls precious family figurine.

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“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”

1863 Louis Lambert song.

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breast-pin / brooch

Ornament worn on clothing.

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“Nellie was a Lady”

Pa would play some of the old songs, ‘to go to sleep...

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black bird / blackbird

Name given to various American birds.

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gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

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Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

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Farmer Boy – the fictional story

Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in Burke NY.

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herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

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mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

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George C. Bradley

Early De Smet druggist.

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quarter section / quarter-section

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

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apprentice

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

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quinine

Medicine used to treat malaria, made from cinchona bark.

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claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

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pasteboard / lambrequin

Paperboard used as base for decorative edging.

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popcorn

Heat makes it burst & it’s tasty.

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pork-pickle

Salt and sugar pork brine.

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Kingsbury County, D.T.

County in eastern South Dakota, organized in 1879.

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spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

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honey

Bee-made sweetness.

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Charles Barker

Early De Smet grocer.

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fever ‘n’ ague / malaria

malaria

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Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

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twin lakes

Lake Henry & Lake Thompson

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forfeits

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

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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Charles H. Tinkham

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

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“De Boatmen’s Dance”

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

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Frank Schaub

Early harness maker in De Smet.

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“It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary”

1912 Judge & Williams song.

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“Oh! Susanna”

Stephen Foster song.

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railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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