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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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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

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shoe pegs

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

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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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Pre-1906 and 1912 De Smet Panoramic Photos

A view in every direction.

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squirrel

Rodent mammal of the genus Sciurus.

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – historical perspective

Dakota Central comes to De Smet.

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Spin-offs and Adaptations of the Little House Books

Not by LIW, but kindred publications.

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“Come In and Shut the Door”

Circa 1862 song by J.P.H.

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America / American

Pertaining to the United States of America.

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biscuits

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

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“Give us this day our daily bread”

The City, a Mc Kee plain glassware pattern.

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garnet

Deep orange-red gemstone.

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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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water alcove

Railroad car water for drinking.

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“Don’t Leave the Farm, Boys”

Song from The Conqueror.

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dragon-fly / dragonfly

Mosquito hunter.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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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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Lewis Sasse

De Smet druggist

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Little House on the Prairie – historical perspective

LHOP history

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Hamlin Garland

…and his first Christmas tree!

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mud hen / mudhen

American coot.

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ticket

All aboard!

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A

aboveboard – axle

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“De Boatmen’s Dance”

Away Down the RIver on the O-hi-o.

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“Coming Through the Rye”

Robert Burns tune.

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Charles Ely

Early lumber man in De Smet.

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A Modern Musketeer

In which Rose becomes a great actress.

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“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

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rubber

Used for waterproofing.

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N

nailer – nutmeg

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James Kennedy family

Walnut Grove farming family, originally from Canada.

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“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

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cottonwood tree

Wetland plains tree, Populus fremontii.

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Charles Lamson

Almanzo’s cousin.

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“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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twisting hay

makes a hot, quick fire

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De Smet Cemetery

Ma & Pa’s final resting place.

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huckleberry

Let’s have some pie!

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“I Wish I Was in Dixie’s Land”

1860 Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”

1863 Louis Lambert song.

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slate

Stone used as tablet for writing upon.

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“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

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Mr. and Mrs. Scott

Indian Territory neighbors of the Ingallses.

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Singing School

Choral music classes

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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coal / coal hod

Carbonized plant matter mined and used as fuel.

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bison / “The Bison Track”

Bayard Taylor poem about Bos Americanus, found in Independent Fifth Reader.

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ice cream / ice-cream

Sweetened cream, congealed by freezing.

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George C. Bradley

Early De Smet druggist.

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twin lakes

Lake Henry & Lake Thompson

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“Old Folks at Home”

Way down upon the Swanee River!

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

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churn

Cream agitator.

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G

gable – “Gypsy’s Warning”

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President George Washington

First President of the U.S.A.

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Missouri Ruralist

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

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sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

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depot / station

Railway station.

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Father Pierre Jean De Smet

Missionary for whom the town of De Smet was named

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Hattie Dorchester

Jake Zickrick’s skating partner.

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cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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Jerome Beardsley family

De Smet hotel keeper.

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“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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basket

Woven container.

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“Gaily Now Our Boat is Sailing”

Singing school exercise

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“Lend a Helping Hand”

Hymn #22, Pure Gold for Sunday School.

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udder

Where the milk is before milking.

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winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

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“Polly Wolly Doodle”

Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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Belgian horse

They’d pull a barn, if hitched to it.

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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“Life Let Us Cherish”

1796 Swiss song translated to English.

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album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

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Jerome Bisby

Burr Oak singing teacher

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cream of tartar / baking powder

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

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Bad Lands

Area eroded by wind & water.

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“The Mulligan Guard” / “The Skidmore Guard”

Harrigan & Hart minstrel show.

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chestnut / horse chestnut

A large nut, the fruit of a species of Æsculus.

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The House that Jack Built

…for two pieces of money.

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Dr. E. Gomer Davies

First doctor in De Smet.

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welcome!

who we are

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“Mountain of the Lord”

Hymn #52, Pure Gold for the Sunday School

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accordion

musical instrument

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patent / title

official property ownership document

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Reverend Stewart Sheldon

American Home Missionary Society Superintendent 1874-1886.

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Women’s Christian Temperance Union

W.C.T.U.

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gosh!

that wicked word

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Have you seen the comet?

Tebbutt’s Great Comet of 1881.

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Burke / Malone during the Little House years

Almanzo Wilder birthplace.

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J

jabot – Justice of the Peace

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fichu

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

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sewing machine

“Such beautiful stitching!”

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geranium

Winter windowsill flowers.

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Old English letters

Variety of printing type.

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reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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New England Supper

Fund-raising communal pot-luck meal.

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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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T

tableland – two-faced

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oyster

A mollusk of the genus Ostrea, having a bivalve shell.

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chapel

Place of worship.

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Little Georgie Dwight

He could not learn his letters!

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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O

oak – oyster

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copperplate

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

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H. W. Cooledge

De Smet photographer.

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parsnip

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

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tea

A man’s drink in cold weather.

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Reverend Edward Brown

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

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poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls during the Little House years

Ingallses lived here with Uncle Peter.

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bastion

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

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wonderful house / frame house

Wooden house built on Charles Ingalls’ Plum Creek preemption claim.

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chewing gum

Long white sticks of chewiness.

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“Hail Columbia”

1789 Philip Phile march.

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Grace Pearl Ingalls

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

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mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

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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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bandana

Large handkerchief with white pattern on red or blue background.

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claim

The land to which one has a right.

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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brakeman

Person who stops the train.

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“The Polish Boy”

Poem by Ann S. Stephens

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“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

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whalebone

Baleen used in corsets.

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Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

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Spookendyke

Rose’s stubborn donkey

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Peter Pfeiffer family

John May’s son-in-law.

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Mary Amelia Ingalls

First child of Caroline and Charles Ingalls, 1865-1928; she lost her sight at age 15.

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missionary barrel

Collection of items distributed to the needy.

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George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

17th century Irish tune.

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last

Mold of a foot, used in making shoes.

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Will Barnes

Walnut Grove laborer

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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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hulled corn

Hominy.

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nickel

The metal. Or five-cent piece.

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

Quilt block pattern.

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William H. Steadman family

Proprietor of hotel in Burr Oak.

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spoon holder / spoon-holder / spoonholder

Any vessel used to hold and display spoons.

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Margaret Garland family / Cap Garland

Family living behind the Ingallses in De Smet.

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April Fool’s Day

Sticking with salt in the sugar bowl from now on.

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“The Treadmill Song”

Oliver Wendell Holmes poem set to music.

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worm / angleworm

common soil worm

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Horace / Homer Heath

Railroad-working brothers.

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F

Fair Grounds – furrow

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“Nobody Ask’d You”

“Where are you going, my pretty maid?”

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Charles Trousdale

De Smet drayman and his performing sons.

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tableland

Elevated flat land; a plateau.

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scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

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ground-cherry

Variety of husk tomato.

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“Keep the Horse Shoe Over the Door”

1880 Joseph Skelley song.

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calendar

What’s today’s date?

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scour / scouring brick

To rub hard for the purpose of cleaning.

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willow

Tree of the genus Salix.

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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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door knob

Grab to open a door.

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Frank Schaub

Early harness maker in De Smet.

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freeze drying

sublimation!

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homestead

Free land! [sic]

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Thomas P. Power family

De Smet tailor.

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The Athenians

Hartville, Mo. study club.

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Governor of Orleans / The American Remount Association

Registered stallion leased to Almanzo Wilder 1923-1925.

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isinglass

mica for stove windows

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Z

zebra – Zion City

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“The Big Sunflower”

Pa’s trouble song.

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“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

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turntable

Revolving railroad platform.

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whip

A lash tied to a handle.

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Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

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“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

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school section

Public land supporting schools.

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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James Glover family

Students in the Wilkin School.

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Dr. Robert Hoyt

Husband of Mattie Masters.

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James McKee family

Homesteader north of Manchester D.T.

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wheelwright

One who makes wheels and carriages.

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New Ulm, Minnesota

Town in Brown Co., MN.

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Almanzo Wilder

The Man of the Place

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cranberry

Good ones bounce!

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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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Tennyson’s Poems

Christmas present for Laura

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harvest moon

Full moon nearest autumnal equinox

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tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

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pumpkin

The plant and fruit of Curcubita pepo

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starch

cloth stiffener

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“Billy Boy”

English folk song.

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osage orange

no good to eat or for anything else

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Farmer Boy – historical perspective

1860s Burke / Malone NY.

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“Old Grimes”

1822 Albert Gorton Greene poem.

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sundogs

Bright spots on either side of the sun.

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quarter section / quarter-section

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

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