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braid / plait

Entwined strands.

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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

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mustache

Hair above the lip.

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tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

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“Rock of Ages”

1760s Augustus Toplady hymn.

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greenhorn / greeny

Immature, raw, awkward.

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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cornice

Roof overhang.

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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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Jesse French

Butchered oxen during the Hard Winter.

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chewing gum

Long white sticks of chewiness.

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velocipede

Carriage propelled by pedals or feet.

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Alfred N. Waters

Attorney and land agent in De Smet.

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Maude Blair

Walnut Grove friend of Laura’s

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

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Waverly Novels

Sir Walter Scott books.

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“Home, Sweet Home”

1823 Payne & Bishop song.

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The Floweret

1842 book of verse by Anna Maria Wells.

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orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

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“All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border”

1829 Sir Walter Scott air.

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door knob

Grab to open a door.

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“Highland Mary”

1799 Robert Burns songs, favorite of Mary Ingalls.

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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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A Tribute to the Early Day Teachers

Neva Whaley Harding tribute.

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anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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picket rope / pin / line

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

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Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

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buck / buckskin

Male of the fallow deer, and leather made from its skin.

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biscuits

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

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“Am I a Soldier of the Cross”

Isaac Watts hymn.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

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Timothy Johnson family

De Smet Wagon Shop.

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wristlets

Knitted bands worn around the wrists for warmth.

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breast-pin / brooch

Ornament worn on clothing.

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xanthophyll

I bet you can spell this word.

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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

1858 J. Warner song.

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chapel

Place of worship.

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“Daisy Deane”

1863 song by Union soldiers.

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Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

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lone cottonwood / lone tree

The big one between the lakes.

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“The Polish Boy”

Poem by Ann S. Stephens

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Charles Philip Ingalls

Father of Laura Ingalls. He lived 1836-1902.

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quarter section / quarter-section

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

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photographs

There’s a little birdie in the camera, Rose.

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by jingo!

A corruption of St. Gengoulph.

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snowplow

Clears the tracks.

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Bibliography

LIW / RWL books & articles

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Fred Fields / Big Jerry

Railroad boss and his brother-in-law.

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“It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary”

1912 Judge & Williams song.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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gosh!

that wicked word

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“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Singing school exercise

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links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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“Mountain of the Lord”

Hymn #52, Pure Gold for the Sunday School

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

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candy hearts

Mary’s had a candy poem on it!

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America / American

Pertaining to the United States of America.

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Jacob Hopp

Printer and De Smet newspaper owner.

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Charles H. Tinkham

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

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copper-toed shoes

Metal shoe protector.

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ostrich tips / feathers

Short bobbing feather used for hat decoration.

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New England States

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

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Laura Remington

Mrs. Phillip Aubrey Lawrence

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James Kennedy family

Walnut Grove farming family, originally from Canada.

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“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

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George Whiting Ingalls

Bugle-blowing, jigging uncle.

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apron

Garment protector.

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Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

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twisting hay

Pioneer method by which dried grass is formed into compact...

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Laura, the Prairie Girl

1975-76 animated series.

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sundogs

Bright spots on either side of the sun.

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“The Campbells are Coming”

Traditional Scottish jig.

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

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legal cap

legal document paper

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windrow

Line of hay raked together.

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Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

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“The Rock of Ages”

Painting at Rev. Brown’s.

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“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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buckwheat pancakes

Seeds of the flowering plant Eriogonum used as a grain.

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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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isinglass

mica for stove windows

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Doxology

Old Hundred.

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muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

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tiger lily

Native spotted flower of tallgrass prairie.

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Ernest & Minnie Green

This is not Mary & Edwin Sanford!

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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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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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mother-of-pearl

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

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

Quilt block pattern.

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sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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Jack Frost

A popular personification of frost.

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claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

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turntable

Revolving railroad platform.

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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mercury / thermometer

Used to measure air temperature.

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blizzard

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

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literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

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Uncle Sam

Figure symbolizing the United States.

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Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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missionary barrel

Collection of items distributed to the needy.

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census taker

Statistical registration of members of a country.

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Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

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pork-pickle

Salt and sugar pork brine.

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basket

Woven container.

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cream of tartar / baking powder

Byproduct of wine-making process, used in baking as leavening agent.

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thunder-pumps

American bittern, a member of the heron family.

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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locust

Buy this book.

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Willard Seelye

De Smet teacher, 1881-1882.

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Turkey red

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

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jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

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dictionary

The words of a language.

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Lost, between sunrise and sunset…

Horace Mann quotation from his Writings, published in 1872.

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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“Wait for the Wagon”

Buckley and Knauff song.

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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auk

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

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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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“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

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Charles Trousdale

De Smet drayman and his performing sons.

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spinning wheel / spinning-wheel

Turns wool into yarn.

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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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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le cadeau du cheval

2008 horse mural composed of smaller paintings of horses,...

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morning-glory

Climbing plant of the genus Ipomœa.

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galumphing

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

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hogshead

100-140 gallon cask.

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“The Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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spider

Legged cooking vessel.

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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ice cream / ice-cream

Sweetened cream, congealed by freezing.

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Johnny Johnson

“Wake up and watch the cattle!”

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icicle

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

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“Lilly Dale” / “Lily Dale”

1852 song by H.S. Thomson.

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Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

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Farmer Boy – historical perspective

1860s Burke / Malone NY.

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oranges

Citrus fruit.

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“Keep the Horse Shoe Over the Door”

1880 Joseph Skelley song.

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Lansford James Ingalls family

Pa’s brother and Laura’s uncle.

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“Nobody Ask’d You”

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

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button lamp

Improvised grease lamp.

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willow-ware

Blue-and-white tableware with Chinese story paintings.

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Charles Barker

Early De Smet grocer.

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“Song of the Grass”

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

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silver castor

Rotating condiment set.

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“Hail Columbia”

1789 Philip Phile march.

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Ella & Robert Boast

Friends of the Ingalls family in De Smet.

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ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

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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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honey

Bee-made sweetness.

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“There is a Happy Land”

Whoop! How those eggs do smell!

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primer

Used to teach someone to read.

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“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

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Lizzie

the child bride

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“Uncle Sam’s Farm”

1848 Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. song.

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William H. Reed

Teacher in Burr Oak school, 1876-1877.

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water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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poll

No horns.

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black bird / blackbird

Name given to various American birds.

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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dipper / ladle / skimmer

Used to remove foam when boiling maple sap.

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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ante-over / anti-over / anteover

Game in which a ball is thrown over a structure.

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“Lend a Helping Hand”

Hymn #22, Pure Gold for Sunday School.

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Army bugle

Brass military horn.

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literary society

Instructional and entertaining gathering.

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“Buy a Broom”

O Du Leiber Augustin.

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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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Docia Ingalls / Hiram Forbes

Sister of Charles Ingalls married to railroad contractor.

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Old Military Tract

Franklin Co. NY map reference

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Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

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turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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Frank M. Cooley family

On the Way home travelers.

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Horace / Homer Heath

Railroad-working brothers.

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roller towel

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

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Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

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slate

Stone used as tablet for writing upon.

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