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copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

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Maude Blair

Walnut Grove friend of Laura’s

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willow-ware

Blue-and-white tableware with Chinese story paintings.

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building paper / tar paper

Crude building paper used for covering.

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buttonhook

Curved metal tool for fastening shoes.

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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…

From Robert Herrick poem.

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auk

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

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parsnip

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

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stanchion

Support frame.

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“The Floating Scow of Old Virginia”

1847 Charles White song.

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sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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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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churn

Cream agitator.

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Reverend Edwin H. Alden

Walnut Grove Congregational minister and missionary in Dakota.

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“A Life on the Ocean Wave”

1847 Epes Sargent poem put to music.

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George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

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dragon-fly / dragonfly

Mosquito hunter.

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Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

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“Merry, Merry Christmas”

Hymn Number 150 in Pure Gold for Sunday Schools.

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cream of tartar / baking powder

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

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“Barbary Allen”

Old Scotch tune.

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Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

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“Mountain of the Lord”

Hymn #52, Pure Gold for the Sunday School

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literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

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“Sing a Song of Sixpence”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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Lewis Sasse

De Smet druggist

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Mother Goose

Fictionalized compiler of ancient nursery rhymes.

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mercury / thermometer

Used to measure air temperature.

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tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

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Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

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Good Templars Lodge

International temperance fraternal organization.

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Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

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“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

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wheelwright

One who makes wheels and carriages.

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awl

pokes holes

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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“Uncle Ned”

One of the earliest Stephen Foster songs.

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consumption

A wasting disease, pulmonary tuberculosis.

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mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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

1793 Robert Burns poem.

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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Indian camps

Look! Beads!

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Army bugle

Brass military horn.

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beet

Succulent root vegetable.

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crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

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elephant

A very large quadruped.

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Hamlin Garland

…and his first Christmas tree!

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buck / buckskin

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

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Hattie Dorchester

Jake Zickrick’s skating partner.

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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Little House on the Prairie – the fictional story

The Ingallses in Indian Territory.

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“Oft in the Stilly Night”

Song from Lalla Rookh.

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turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

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“In the Starlight”

1878 Glover & Carpenter song.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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Edward H. Couse

Early hardware store owner in De Smet.

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William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

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Arthur Sherwood

Brother of Carter Sherwood.

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mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

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Mary Power & Edwin Sanford

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

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water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

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The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

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squirrel

Rodent mammal of the genus Sciurus.

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“Keep the Horse Shoe Over the Door”

1880 Joseph Skelley song.

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ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

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windrow

Line of hay raked together.

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Joseph Bouchie family

Fictional Brewster family in THGY.

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winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

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copperplate

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

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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“Give us this day our daily bread”

“The City, a Mc Kee plain glassware pattern.

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blacking / stove-blacking / boot blacking

Preparation used to make things black.

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President James Madison

4th President of the U.S.

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ante-over / anti-over / anteover

Game in which a ball is thrown over a structure.

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powder horn / powder-horn

Animal horn in which gunpowder is carried.

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“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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“Paddle Your Own Canoe”

1850s Harry Clifton song.

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“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

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cottonwood tree

Wetland plains tree, Populus fremontii.

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Eliza Jane Wilder

Almanzo’s sister.

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George A. Williams

Superintendent of Schools, 1883.

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fever ‘n’ ague / malaria

malaria

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anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

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mustache

Hair above the lip.

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“Life Let Us Cherish”

1796 Swiss song translated to English.

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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Henry Hinz

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

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“Golden Years are Passing By”

1879 Will Thompson song.

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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Have you seen the comet?

Tebbutt’s Great Comet of 1881.

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“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

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William H. Reed

Teacher in Burr Oak school, 1876-1877.

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alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

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pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

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popcorn

Heat makes it burst & it’s tasty.

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storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

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Docia Ingalls / Hiram Forbes

Sister of Charles Ingalls married to railroad contractor.

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whip

A lash tied to a handle.

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Daniel Loftus

Early drygoods store owner in De Smet.

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wall-paper

Wall covering.

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Charles Lamson

Almanzo’s cousin.

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whiskey

Spirits distilled from grain.

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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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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

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rags for paper

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

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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Charles Mead

Proprietor of the Exchange Hotel in De Smet, 1880-1882.

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Visscher Barnes

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

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harvest moon

Full moon nearest autumnal equinox

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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Charles H. Tinkham

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

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udder

Where the milk is before milking.

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birthday

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

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St. Lawrence River

A streak of silver on the horizon.

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Come Into the Garden, Maud

1855 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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silver castor

Rotating condiment set.

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tax

A certainty, as is death.

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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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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roller towel

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

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Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

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wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

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Bibliography

LIW / RWL books & articles

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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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Mr. Clancy / Chauncey Clayson

Drygoods store owner, Chauncey Clayson

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velocipede

Carriage propelled by pedals or feet.

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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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birds in their little nests agree

Miss Wilder knew nothing about birds.

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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ash withe / ash-withe

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

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New Ulm, Minnesota

Town in Brown Co., MN.

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legal cap

legal document paper

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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Timothy Johnson family

De Smet Wagon Shop.

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Freddy Ingalls

Laura’s brother (1875-1876)

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The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

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Old Military Tract

Franklin Co. NY map reference

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Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

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spider

Legged cooking vessel.

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gaiters

Cloth ankle covering.

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“Am I a Soldier of the Cross”

Isaac Watts hymn.

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bacon

Hog’s flesh salted or pickled and dried, usually in smoke.

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Little Town on the Prairie – the fictional story

Homesteading and town life.

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fascinator

Pretty, light head covering.

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“The Sleighing Glee”

Singing school song.

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Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

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picket rope / pin / line

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

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cabin / log house

A small cottage; a hut or small house.

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fanning-mill

Machine for winnowing.

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De Smet today

Where I would like to be right now.

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Samuel O. Masters / William J. Masters families

Walnut Grove, Burr Oak, and De Smet family known by the Ingallses.

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milking-stool

Three legs (the cow has the udder).

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zebra

Part of Willie Oleson’s Noah’s Ark toy.

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missionary barrel

Collection of items distributed to the needy.

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icicle

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

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Jesse French

Butchered oxen during the Hard Winter.

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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hogshead

100-140 gallon cask.

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Rev. Royal Gould Wilder

Almanzo’s uncle.

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Turkey red

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

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claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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“The Blue Juniata”

1841 Marion Dix Sullivan song.

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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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Charles Ely

Early lumber man in De Smet.

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“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

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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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“All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border”

1829 Sir Walter Scott air.

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quinine

Medicine used to treat malaria, made from cinchona bark.

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Big Sioux River / Sioux River

SD-IA tributary of Missouri River.

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“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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Western Reserve

Land in Ohio, given to Connecticut upon agreement to give up claim to lands in Pennsylvania.

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whiffle-tree / whiffletree

Bar to attach traces to.

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watermelon-rind preserves

sugary jelly

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Almanzo Wilder

The Man of the Place

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The New York Ledger

Weekly story paper, published 1855-1898.

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Charles Barker

Early De Smet grocer.

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vanity cakes

Egg and flour batter fried in oil into golden brown puffs.

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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Governor of Orleans / The American Remount Association

Registered stallion leased to Almanzo Wilder 1923-1925.

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“By Lo, Baby Bunting”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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Old English letters

Variety of printing type.

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“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”

1863 Louis Lambert song.

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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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Thomas C. Wilkin family

Florence Wilkin’s father.

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“Old Folks at Home”

Way down upon the Swanee River!

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braid / plait

Entwined strands.

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De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

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