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composition

The act of forming a written piece.

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Bibliography

LIW / RWL books & articles

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Henry Hinz

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

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Pa’s red & white checked mittens

Fair Isle pattern.

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mercury / thermometer

Used to measure air temperature.

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Timothy Johnson family

De Smet Wagon Shop.

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“Life Let Us Cherish”

1796 Swiss song translated to English.

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“The Polish Boy”

Poem by Ann S. Stephens

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“All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border”

1829 Sir Walter Scott air.

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Big Green Animal Book

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

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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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chilblain

Cold sores on hands and feet.

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Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

      The Ingalls and Quiner families...

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Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

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black bird / blackbird

Name given to various American birds.

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ice cream / ice-cream

Sweetened cream, congealed by freezing.

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needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

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muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

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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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“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

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Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

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spider

Legged cooking vessel.

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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“Highland Mary”

1799 Robert Burns songs, favorite of Mary Ingalls.

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Laura Remington

Mrs. Phillip Aubrey Lawrence

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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elephant

A very large quadruped.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls during the Little House years

Ingallses lived here with Uncle Peter.

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clear, pure green sky

Sunlight separated into colored bands at sunset.

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forfeits

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

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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Mr. Anderson / Niels Kopperud

Hard Winter wheat settler

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Edward H. Couse

Early hardware store owner in De Smet.

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scour / scouring brick

To rub hard for the purpose of cleaning.

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Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

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yeast / yeast cakes

Bread-leavening organism.

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“Pull for the Shore”

Sunshine for Sunday Schools hymn.

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links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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popcorn

Heat makes it burst & it’s tasty.

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gopher

Four don’t go fur…

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“Golden Years are Passing By”

1879 Will Thompson song.

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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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“The Burial of Sir John Moore”

1817 poem by Charles Wolfe.

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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Osage Indian Treaty

Legal agreement between nations or sovereigns.

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The Missouri Ruralist

Twice monthly Missouri farm periodical.

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cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

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building paper / tar paper

Crude building paper used for covering.

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Florence Bell

Milliner and dressmaker in De Smet.

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perforated paper embroidery

Stitched designs.

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Rev. Royal Gould Wilder

Almanzo’s uncle.

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“Tubal Cain”

Charles McKay poem.

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Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

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“The Heavens Declare the Glory”

From The Conqueror, page 144.

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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New England States

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

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certificate

Written testimony of fact.

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gable

Triangular end of a building under the roof.

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“The Swan’s Nest”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem.

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auger

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

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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oranges

Citrus fruit.

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John D. Peirson

Early De Smet liveryman.

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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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“The Gum-Tree Canoe”

1847 Steele & Winnemore song.

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“Nellie was a Lady”

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

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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birds in their little nests agree

Miss Wilder knew nothing about birds.

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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black-berry / blackberry

The berry of the bramble, Rubus fruticosous.

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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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literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

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“The Evergreen Shore”

1861 William Hunter song.

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These Happy Golden Years – historical perspective

De Smet, D.T., 1883-1885.

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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…

From Robert Herrick poem.

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Joseph Bouchie family

Fictional Brewster family in THGY.

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“Polly Wolly Doodle”

Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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Almanzo Wilder

The Man of the Place

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“The Sculptor Boy”

Carrie recited it.

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cradle scythe

Blade and handle used to cut oats.

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Eliza Jane Wilder

Almanzo’s sister.

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engine / locomotive / iron horse

Vehicle powered by steam and run on tracks.

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“Old Folks at Home”

Way down upon the Swanee River!

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Frank Schaub

Early harness maker in De Smet.

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Reverend Edward Brown

Minister of the First Congregational Church of De Smet, 1880-1884.

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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“The Gypsy King”

Young Laura and Mary’s favorite song!

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winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

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“Ben Bolt”

1842 Thomas Dunn English song.

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chapel

Place of worship.

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Visscher Barnes

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

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Delos Perry family

The Perry School was on his homestead.

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Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

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Uncle Sam

Figure symbolizing the United States.

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Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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“Oh! Susanna”

Stephen Foster song.

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locust

Buy this book.

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ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

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Jerome Beardsley family

De Smet hotel keeper.

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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ante-over / anti-over / anteover

Game in which a ball is thrown over a structure.

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wristlets

Knitted bands worn around the wrists for warmth.

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

Quilt block pattern.

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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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acre

4840 square yards of land.

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dried-raspberry sauce

Dried sauce good on biscuits.

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tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

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“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Singing school exercise

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Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

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“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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quarter section / quarter-section

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

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pasteboard / lambrequin

Paperboard used as base for decorative edging.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

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wall-paper

Wall covering.

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George C. Bradley

Early De Smet druggist.

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consumption

A wasting disease, pulmonary tuberculosis.

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Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

Heather Williams book.

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

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dickcissel / dickie-bird

A semi-nomadic finch, Spiza americana.

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Have you seen the comet?

Tebbutt’s Great Comet of 1881.

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parsnip

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

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anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

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Charles Lamson

Almanzo’s cousin.

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Henry O. Quiner family

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

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primer

Used to teach someone to read.

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Little Town on the Prairie – the fictional story

Homesteading and town life.

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Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

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Millbank

1871 novel by Mary Jane Holmes.

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roller towel

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

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Hamlin Garland

…and his first Christmas tree!

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button lamp

Improvised grease lamp.

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Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Birthday

Happy Birthday, Laura!

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Marshall, Minnesota

Almanzo Wilder farmed here in 1879-1880.

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apprentice

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

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rags for paper

rag. A piece of cloth torn off; a tattered fragment; a shred; a...

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“Paddle Your Own Canoe”

1850s Harry Clifton song.

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Margaret Garland family / Cap Garland

Family living behind the Ingallses in De Smet.

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willow

Tree of the genus Salix.

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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“Marching Through Georgia”

Union song from American Civil War.

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basque

Jacket-like part of a lady’s dress.

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antelope

Antilocapra cervicapra of North America.

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Indian camps

Look! Beads!

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Charles H. Tinkham

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

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Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

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carding-machine

Straightens fibers by combing.

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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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bandana

Large handkerchief with white pattern on red or blue background.

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Come Into the Garden, Maud

1855 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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“Rock Me to Sleep”

Elizabeth Allen poem.

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“Wait for the Wagon”

Buckley and Knauff song.

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land office

Where sales of public lands are registered.

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bear grease

Bear fat hair dressing.

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Commentators on the Ac’s

Pa’s charade pun.

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“Nobody Ask’d You”

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

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“Buy a Broom”

O Du Leiber Augustin.

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“The Battle-Cry of Freedom”

We’ll Rally Round the Flag, Boys!

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Alfred Ely

One of the younger boys in school.

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Ven Owen

Teacher and principal of the first graded school in De Smet

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Good Templars Lodge

International temperance fraternal organization.

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copper-toed shoes

Metal shoe protector.

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chewing gum

Long white sticks of chewiness.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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James Glover family

Students in the Wilkin School.

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“Here’s to the Maiden”

1780 R.B. Sheridan drinking song.

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ostrich tips / feathers

Short bobbing feather used for hat decoration.

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“The Campbells are Coming”

Traditional Scottish jig.

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silver castor

Rotating condiment set.

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what-not / whatnot

An étagère for books & ornaments.

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orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

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zenith

The point of the heavens directly overhead.

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osage orange

no good to eat or for anything else

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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“Hail Columbia”

1789 Philip Phile march.

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braid / plait

Entwined strands.

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George A. Williams

Superintendent of Schools, 1883.

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Waverly Novels

Sir Walter Scott books.

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – the fictional story

The railroad comes to Dakota.

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The Modern Musketeer

How Rose became a great actress.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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“The Mulligan Guard” / “The Skidmore Guard”

Harrigan & Hart minstrel show.

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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Ida Belle Wright

Laura’s best friend in De Smet

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claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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turntable

Revolving railroad platform.

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“The Floating Scow of Old Virginia”

1847 Charles White song.

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Eleck Nelson family

Neighbors of the Ingalls family when living on their preemption claim north of Walnut Grove.

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copperplate

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

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le cadeau du cheval

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

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