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copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

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Mrs. Jarley’s Wax Works

Rise! Come forward!

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“Nobody Ask’d You”

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

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zebra

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

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dried-raspberry sauce

Dried sauce good on biscuits.

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poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

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“Mountain of the Lord”

Hymn #52, Pure Gold for the Sunday School

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jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

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needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

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“Wait for the Wagon”

Buckley and Knauff song.

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“Keep the Horse Shoe Over the Door”

1880 Joseph Skelley song.

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starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

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Henry O. Quiner family

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

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

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Noah’s ark toy

Willie’s toy boat with animals.

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Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

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“The Treadmill Song”

Oliver Wendell Holmes poem set to music.

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Mary Power & Edwin Sanford

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

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Charles H. Tinkham

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

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Grace Pearl Ingalls

Youngest sister of Laura Ingalls; she lived 1877-1941.

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galumphing

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

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

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birds’-nest pudding

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

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Marshall, Minnesota

Almanzo Wilder farmed here in 1879-1880.

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“Marching Through Georgia”

Union song from American Civil War.

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Fred Fields / Big Jerry

Railroad boss and his brother-in-law.

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“There is a Happy Land”

Whoop! How those eggs do smell!

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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Albert Quiner

Laura’s cousin.

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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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“To a Girl”

Poem used to describe Beatrice Sorchan.

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“Here’s to the Maiden”

1780 R.B. Sheridan drinking song.

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biscuits

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

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“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

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album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

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silver castor

Rotating condiment set.

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Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

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pork-pickle

Salt and sugar pork brine.

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willow

Tree of the genus Salix.

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“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks”

Long Winter song

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Little House in the Big Woods – the fictional story

Once upon a time, 60 years ago…

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spinning wheel / spinning-wheel

Turns wool into yarn.

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black bird / blackbird

Name given to various American birds.

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“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

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“The Rock of Ages”

Painting at Rev. Brown’s.

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bastion

A part of a main enclosure which projects toward the exterior.

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“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”

1863 Louis Lambert song.

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Dr. Robert Hoyt

Husband of Mattie Masters.

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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“Beware!”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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blizzard

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

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wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

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Roman candle

Flaming stars and balls firework.

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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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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

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literary society

Instructional and entertaining gathering.

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basket

Woven container.

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Orion E. Stearns

Caught by blizzard of ’88.

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Freddy Ingalls

Laura’s brother (1875-1876)

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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Reverend Edwin H. Alden

Walnut Grove Congregational minister and missionary in Dakota.

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awl

pokes holes

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

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buttonhook

Curved metal tool for fastening shoes.

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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claim jumper / Mr. Hunter / Jack Hunt

One who ousts another from their land.

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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Pure Gold for the Sunday School

Hymnal owned by the Ingalls family.

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Thomas Power family

De Smet tailor.

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vanity cakes

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

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basque

Jacket-like part of a lady’s dress.

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nickel

The metal. Or five-cent piece.

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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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bandana

Large handkerchief with white pattern on red or blue background.

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“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

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“I Wish I Was in Dixie’s Land”

1860 Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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harvest moon

Full moon nearest autumnal equinox

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whalebone

Baleen used in corsets.

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railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

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wintergreen

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

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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Old English letters

Variety of printing type.

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

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catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

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clear, pure green sky

Sunlight separated into colored bands at sunset.

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Poverty Flat

Early De Smet residential area.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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dictionary

The words of a language.

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Brownsville, Texas 1906

Did Eliza Jane sell fruit to these soldiers?

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sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

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Jerome Beardsley family

De Smet hotel keeper.

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The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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greenhorn / greeny

Immature, raw, awkward.

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scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

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fever ‘n’ ague / malaria

malaria

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carved wooden bracket

Place for a china shepherdess.

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roller towel

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

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De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

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cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

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willow-ware

Blue-and-white tableware with Chinese story paintings.

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Commentators on the Ac’s

Pa’s charade pun.

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President George Washington

First President of the U.S.A.

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

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Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

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cottage cheese

Curdled skim milk.

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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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missionary barrel

Collection of items distributed to the needy.

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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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roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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shoe pegs

A small, pointed piece of wood, used in fastening.

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cottonwood tree

Wetland plains tree, Populus fremontii.

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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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Laura Speaks

Al-MAN-zo, Al-MAN-zo, Al-MAN-zo

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literature

Knowledge and fancy preserved in writing.

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claim

The land to which one has a right.

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turntable

Revolving railroad platform.

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starch

cloth stiffener

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dove-in-the-window / bear’s tracks

Patchwork pattern variations.

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wall-paper

Wall covering.

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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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Charles Lamson

Almanzo’s cousin.

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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

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Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

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“Paddle Your Own Canoe”

1850s Harry Clifton song.

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twin lakes

Lake Henry & Lake Thompson

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Minnie Johnson

Laura’s schoolmate in De Smet

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“The Mulligan Guard” / “The Skidmore Guard”

Harrigan & Hart minstrel show.

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – historical perspective

Dakota Central comes to De Smet.

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Good Templars Lodge

International temperance fraternal organization.

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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braid / plait

Entwined strands.

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Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography

Laura’s handwritten manuscript.

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muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

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Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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chilblain

Cold sores on hands and feet.

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

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“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

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“Nellie was a Lady”

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

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parsnip

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

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“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

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Old Military Tract

Franklin Co. NY map reference

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fichu

Light pointed cape worn by ladies, usually made of lace.

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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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hardtack

Unleavened hard bread made from flour and water.

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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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Lost, between sunrise and sunset…

Horace Mann quotation from his Writings, published in 1872.

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“Buy a Broom”

O Du Leiber Augustin.

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“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Laura loved singing school. It began with singing scales to...

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“The Polish Boy”

Poem by Ann S. Stephens

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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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De Smet during the Little House years

The Ingalls family moved here in 1879.

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“Uncle Ned”

One of the earliest Stephen Foster songs.

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“Arkansas Traveler”

Traditional American folk song.

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fascinator

Pretty, light head covering.

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twine

A strong twisted thread.

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the children’s blizzard

January 12, 1888, blizzard.

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Hattie Dorchester

Jake Zickrick’s skating partner.

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kerosene / kerosine

Oil used for lighting.

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apple pie / dried apple pie

Just like Ma used to make.

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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Big Sioux River / Sioux River

SD-IA tributary of Missouri River.

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Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

Heather Williams book.

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Hamlin Garland

…and his first Christmas tree!

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“Old Dan Tucker”

Mr. Edwards sings it!

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elevator

Warehouse for seed and grain.

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prairie danglers

seventhwinter whimsey’s glass slide pendants!

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primer

Used to teach someone to read.

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Visscher Barnes

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

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“The Sculptor Boy”

Carrie recited it.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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dickcissel / dickie-bird

A semi-nomadic finch, Spiza americana.

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“The Campbells are Coming”

Traditional Scottish jig.

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“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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pieplant

Rhubarb.

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chewing gum

Long white sticks of chewiness.

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squirrel

Rodent mammal of the genus Sciurus.

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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“Bo-peep has lost her sheep”

Game of hiding and surprise to amuse a small child.

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gosh!

that wicked word

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

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