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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

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David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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Walter Ogden

Surveyors’ House housemate 1879-80

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water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

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Syndicate Hotel

Laura & Almanzo stayed there!

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“Marching Through Georgia”

Union song from American Civil War.

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drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

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D

daisy – dye

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orthography

The art of spelling words correctly.

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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“Nobody Ask’d You”

“Where are you going, my pretty maid?”

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Will Bennett

One of the younger De Smet schoolboys.

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The Square in Malone

Where the band played.

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reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

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alley / alleyway

Narrow passageway, distinct from public street.

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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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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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bushel / peck

Dry quart measurements.

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“When I Can Read My Title Clear”

1700s Isaac Watts hymn.

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Charleton Fuller / Gerald Fuller

Hardware store owner, partnered with his brother Gerald.

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thunder-pumps

American bittern, a member of the heron family.

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copper-toed shoes

Metal shoe protector.

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“Pop! Goes the Weasel”

Traditional American song.

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Big Tracy Cut

“100 feet deep & tapering off for 1/4 mile”

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“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

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“Buy a Broom”

O Du Leiber Augustin.

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“The Big Sunflower”

Pa’s trouble song.

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railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

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Blanche Coday

Rose’s friend.

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fichu

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

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album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

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Hiram Ingalls

Pa’s brother.

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biscuits

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

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udder

Where the milk is before milking.

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whip

A lash tied to a handle.

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“The Star of Bethlehem”

When Marshalled on the Nightly Plane

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cornice

Molded roof or window projection.

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basque

Jacket-like part of a lady’s dress.

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O

oak – oyster

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copyright / permissions

Please do not plagiarize.

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James Glover family

Students in the Wilkin School.

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cream of tartar / baking powder

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

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“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”

1863 Louis Lambert song.

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cranberry

Good ones bounce!

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equinoctial storm

Severe wind and heavy rain that occurs at or near the time of an equinox.

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Mary Power & Edwin Sanford

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

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latch / latch-string

It’s always out!

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silver castor

Rotating condiment set.

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stone fences

Rock wall enclosure.

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bear grease

Bear fat hair dressing.

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Protected: Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

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“Old Dan Tucker”

Mr. Edwards sings it!

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birthday

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

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lone cottonwood / lone tree

The big one between the lakes.

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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welcome!

who we are

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pork-pickle

Salt and sugar pork brine.

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blacking / stove-blacking / boot blacking

Preparation used to make things black.

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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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fanning-mill

Machine for winnowing.

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sundogs

Bright spots on either side of the sun.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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legal cap

legal document paper

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“Billy Boy”

English folk song.

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Thomas Huleatt family

Neighbors of Ingalls family in Pepin Co.

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whalebone

Baleen used in corsets.

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cottage cheese

Curdled skim milk.

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dried-raspberry sauce

Dried sauce good on biscuits.

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Verdigris River

River that runs through Montgomery County, Kansas.

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accordion

musical instrument

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Henry O. Quiner family

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

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Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

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Spookendyke

Rose’s stubborn donkey

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Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography

Laura’s handwritten manuscript.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls during the Little House years

Ingallses lived here with Uncle Peter.

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Quiner graves

Abandoned cemetery off Playhouse Road.

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

Heather Williams book.

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Christopher Columbus

A native of Genoa, in Italy.

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mud hen / mudhen

American coot.

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Dr. William H. York

Bender victim

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Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

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osage orange

no good to eat or for anything else

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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

1858 J. Warner song.

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railroad camp / Silver Lake camp

Temporary dwellings for workers during surveying or construction.

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stanchion

Support frame.

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slate

Stone used as tablet for writing upon.

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Peytona & Fashion

Currier & Ives print at Rocky Ridge Farm.

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“Song of the Grass”

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

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Hamlin Garland

…and his first Christmas tree!

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wintergreen

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

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flag, the flower

An aquatic flower, Iris versicolor.

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xanthophyll

I bet you can spell this word.

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cabin / log house

A small cottage; a hut or small house.

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Turkey red

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

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le cadeau du cheval

mosaic painting featuring Almanzo’s Morgan horses

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Missouri Ruralist

The Missouri Ruralist. A twice-monthly Missouri farm periodical...

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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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buck / buckskin

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

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wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

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poll

No horns.

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axle grease

Lubricant for wagon wheels and other machinery.

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Farmer Boy – the fictional story

Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in Burke NY.

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sewing machine

“Such beautiful stitching!”

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“Lend a Helping Hand”

Hymn #22, Pure Gold for Sunday School.

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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“Mountain of the Lord”

Hymn #52, Pure Gold for the Sunday School

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rags for paper

scrap cloth purchased for paper making

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

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H. W. Cooledge

De Smet photographer.

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Pure Gold for the Sunday School

Hymnal owned by the Ingalls family.

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copper

Cu

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beef

tough! juicy!

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Christmas

Christian observation of the birth of Christ

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Chariton County, Missouri

Location of land purchased in 1868 by Charles Ingalls, Henry Quiner, and Tom Quiner.

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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mowing machine

Farm implement for cutting hay or grain.

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bank

financial institution

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“Sing a Song of Sixpence”

Mother Goose rhyme.

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gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

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Spin-offs and Adaptations of the Little House Books

Not by LIW, but kindred publications.

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De Smet today

Where I would like to be right now.

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Pre-1906 and 1912 De Smet Panoramic Photos

A view in every direction.

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tax

A certainty, as is death.

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

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ostrich tips / feathers

Short bobbing feather used for hat decoration.

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apron

Garment protector.

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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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gopher

Four don’t go fur…

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“Highland Mary”

1799 Robert Burns songs, favorite of Mary Ingalls.

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justice / Justice of the Peace

Limited jurisdiction magistrate.

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“The Whip-Poor-Will’s Song”

1865 Harrison Millard song.

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carpet-bag / carpetbag

Traveling-bag

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“Tubal Cain”

Charles McKay poem.

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missionary barrel

Collection of items distributed to the needy.

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scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

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cameo

Aunt Docia’s pretty collar pin.

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H

hack – hypocrite

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links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

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braid / plait

Entwined strands.

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crow

Large black bird of genus Corvus.

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winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

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sulky / sulky plow

One-seated conveyance.

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Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

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ticket

All aboard!

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

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sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

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Indian camps

Look! Beads!

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Singing School

Choral music classes

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“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

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perforated paper embroidery

Stitched designs.

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C

cabbage – cyclone

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harvest moon

Full moon nearest autumnal equinox

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Laura Remington

Mrs. Phillip Aubrey Lawrence

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bull dog / bulldog

All of him rested, except his ears.

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button

who’s got one?

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“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

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pumpkin

The plant and fruit of Curcubita pepo

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“Here’s to the Maiden”

1780 R.B. Sheridan drinking song.

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icicle

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

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quinine

Medicine used to treat malaria, made from cinchona bark.

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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post office / post-office

Where you send and receive mail.

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photographs

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

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“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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Mr. Edwards / Edmund Mason

Was he Edmund Mason?

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Henry Hinz

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

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Little House Songs

Prairie Song Companion

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“I Wish I Was in Dixie’s Land”

1860 Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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Ella & Robert Boast

Friends of the Ingalls family in De Smet.

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Freddy Ingalls

Laura’s brother (1875-1876)

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N

nailer – nutmeg

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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K

Kansas – knothole

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butter

Edible fatty substance made by churning cream.

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Arthur Sherwood

Brother of Carter Sherwood.

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Poverty Flat

Early De Smet residential area.

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James Kennedy family

Walnut Grove farming family, originally from Canada.

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auk

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

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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Docia Ingalls / Hiram Forbes

Sister of Charles Ingalls married to railroad contractor.

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V

vain – vote

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mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

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starch

cloth stiffener

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Peter Riley Ingalls family

Uncle Peter & Aunt Eliza.

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ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

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Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

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apprentice

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

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dove-in-the-window / bear’s tracks

Patchwork pattern variations.

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ice-house

Stores ice blocks in warm weather.

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Thomas H. Ruth

President of Kingsbury County Bank in De Smet.

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Pittsburgh Courier

Widely-circulated black newspaper, which Rose Wilder Lane wrote a column for in the 1940s.

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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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Willard Seelye

De Smet teacher, 1881-1882.

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