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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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quinine

Medicine used to treat malaria, made from cinchona bark.

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picket rope / pin / line

animal tether

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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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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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“The Singing School”

1869 P. Benson song.

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Santa Claus / Santa Clause

Ho. Ho. Ho.

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James McKee family

Homesteader north of Manchester D.T.

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V

vain – vote

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bangs / lunatic fringe

hair across the forehead

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popcorn

Heat makes it burst & it’s tasty.

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Baby Boy Wilder

Son of Laura and Almanzo Wilder

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isinglass

mica for stove windows

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wild prairie rose

RWL was their namesake, my dear.

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K

Kansas – knothole

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perforated paper embroidery

Stitched designs.

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windrow

Line of hay raked together.

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bacon

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

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“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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dried-raspberry sauce

Dried sauce good on biscuits.

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hulled corn

Hominy.

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basket

Woven container.

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checkers

Game played on a board of 64 squares.

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The Long Winter – the fictional story

Winter for seven months!

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by jingo!

A corruption of St. Gengoulph.

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brakeman

Person who stops the train.

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A

aboveboard – axle

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Hotel keeper’s family struck by lightning

E.P. LeSuer of Canby, Minnesota.

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Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

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“The Rock of Ages”

Painting at Rev. Brown’s.

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“Oh! Susanna”

Stephen Foster song.

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telegraph

Don’t let Jimmie shock you with it!

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S

Sabbath – sycamore

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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Will Barnes

Walnut Grove laborer

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bank

financial institution

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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fanning-mill

Machine for winnowing.

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gopher

Four don’t go fur…

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fever ‘n’ ague / malaria

malaria

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parsnip

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

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“Daisy Deane”

1863 song by Union soldiers.

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elevator

Warehouse for seed and grain.

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Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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china shepherdess / little china woman

Ingalls family figurine.

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vanity cakes

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

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

1793 Robert Burns poem.

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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poll

No horns.

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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Big Sioux River / Sioux River

SD-IA tributary of Missouri River.

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willow-ware

Blue-and-white tableware with Chinese story paintings.

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“Little Annie Rooney”

1889 song by Michael Nolan.

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Adam / adam’s apple

The first man, the progenitor of the human race.

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welcome!

who we are

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“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

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Blanche Coday

Rose’s friend.

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stanchion

Support frame.

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Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

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Singing School

Choral music classes

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George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

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twin lakes

Lake Henry & Lake Thompson

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grippe

influenza

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button lamp

Improvised grease lamp.

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tattoo

Sounds like beating drums!

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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Mr. and Mrs. Scott

Indian Territory neighbors of the Ingallses.

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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H

hack – hypocrite

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Marvin Hughitt

Officer and President of the Chicago & NorthWestern Railway Company.

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Edward H. Couse

Early hardware store owner in De Smet.

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flag

the banner

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Z

zebra – Zion City

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claim

The land to which one has a right.

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Thomas C. Wilkin family

Florence Wilkin’s father.

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Lewis Sasse

De Smet druggist

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“Old Dan Tucker”

Mr. Edwards sings it!

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“Bo-peep has lost her sheep”

Game of hiding and surprise to amuse a small child.

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Protected: George C. Westervelt

Renter of the Ingalls building in De Smet, winter 1884-1885.

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railroad camp / Silver Lake camp

Temporary dwellings for workers during surveying or construction.

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Maude Blair

Walnut Grove friend of Laura’s

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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“To a Girl”

Poem used to describe Beatrice Sorchan.

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Perry School

April 28 – June 27, 1884

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apron

Garment protector.

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consumption

A wasting disease, pulmonary tuberculosis.

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William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

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Henry Burvee

One of the first settlers in Kingsbury Co.

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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Laura, the Prairie Girl

1975-76 animated series.

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greenhorn / greeny

Immature, raw, awkward.

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The Youth’s Companion

Weekly instructional magazine for children, first published in 1827.

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church

Place of Christian worship.

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Jerome Beardsley family

De Smet hotel keeper.

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Farmer Boy – historical perspective

1860s Burke / Malone NY.

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flag, the flower

An aquatic flower, Iris versicolor.

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George Whiting Ingalls

Bugle-blowing, jigging uncle.

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storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

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Protected: Alfred Ely

One of the younger boys in school.

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Little House in the Big Woods – historical perspective

Pepin Twp., Pepin Co. Wisconsin

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rags for paper

scrap cloth purchased for paper making

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chewing gum

Long white sticks of chewiness.

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Jim River / James River

A tributary of the Missouri River.

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How well do you know the Little House books?

a quiz for you!

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willow

Tree of the genus Salix.

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Hattie Dorchester

Jake Zickrick’s skating partner.

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muff

A warm covering for receiving the hands.

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“The Polish Boy”

Poem by Ann S. Stephens

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“The Gum-Tree Canoe”

1847 Steele & Winnemore song.

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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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satchel

Small, soft-sided handled luggage.

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whip

A lash tied to a handle.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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Visscher Barnes

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

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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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John H. Carroll

Early De Smet banker.

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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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Come Into the Garden, Maud

1855 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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Christmas

Christian observation of the birth of Christ

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twine

A strong twisted thread.

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forfeits

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

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cant-hook / cant-pole

Instrument used by lumbermen to move logs.

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Thomas Huleatt family

Neighbors of Ingalls family in Pepin Co.

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roller towel

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

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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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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“Captain Jinks”

1868 comedic opera song.

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Commentators on the Ac’s

Pa’s charade pun.

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ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

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button

who’s got one?

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riot / Tracy railroad strike

Tracy in June, not De Smet in September

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galluses / suspenders

Straps worn for holding up pants.

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cornmeal mush / hasty pudding

Cornmeal and water, cooked.

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Mr. Edwards / Edmund Mason

Was he Edmund Mason?

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saleratus / soda

Leavening agents used in baking.

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Willard Seelye

De Smet teacher, 1881-1882.

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Little House Songs

Prairie Song Companion

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land office

Where sales of public lands are registered.

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April Fool’s Day

Sticking with salt in the sugar bowl from now on.

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Carrie Ingalls, Homesteader

W-NW & W-SW 9-4N-20E of Black Hills Meridian

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whalebone

Baleen used in corsets.

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wristlets

Knitted bands worn around the wrists for warmth.

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Little Town on the Prairie – the fictional story

Homesteading and town life.

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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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Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

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cat hole / cat-hole

Jack will keep other animals from using it.

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“Marching Through Georgia”

Union song from American Civil War.

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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ostrich tips / feathers

Short bobbing feather used for hat decoration.

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cottage cheese

Curdled skim milk.

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cameo

Aunt Docia’s pretty collar pin.

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bastion

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

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“Golden Years are Passing By”

1879 Will Thompson song.

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“The Campbells are Coming”

Traditional Scottish jig.

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Ella & Robert Boast

Friends of the Ingalls family in De Smet.

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Grace Pearl Ingalls

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

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yeast / yeast cakes

Bread-leavening organism.

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“All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border”

1829 Sir Walter Scott air.

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Brownsville, Texas 1906

Did Eliza Jane sell fruit to these soldiers?

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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nickel

The metal. Or five-cent piece.

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Thomas P. Power family

De Smet tailor.

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Kitty

the Ingallses’ cat in Dakota Territory

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gingerbread

Chocolate frosting adds to the goodness!

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“The Sleighing Glee”

Singing school song.

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candle / tallow

Used to furnish light.

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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“Rock Me to Sleep”

Elizabeth Allen poem.

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hardtack

Unleavened hard bread made from flour and water.

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Indian camps

Look! Beads!

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“The Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

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Uncle Sam

Figure symbolizing the United States.

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Laura Remington

Mrs. Phillip Aubrey Lawrence

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“Old Folks at Home”

Way down upon the Swanee River!

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“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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powder horn / powder-horn

Animal horn in which gunpowder is carried.

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pork-pickle

Salt and sugar pork brine.

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“Oh Boys, Carry Me Along”

Stephen Foster song.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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twilight

Light when the sun is 0-18 degrees below the horizon.

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Thanksgiving

Public celebration of divine goodness.

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Charles Barker

Early De Smet grocer.

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ice cream / ice-cream

Sweetened cream, congealed by freezing.

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Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

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Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography

Laura’s handwritten manuscript.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

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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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Kingsbury County, D.T.

County in eastern South Dakota, organized in 1879.

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“In the Starlight”

1878 Glover & Carpenter song.

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Introspections of an Individualist

Norma Lee Browning article about Rose Wilder Lane.

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cat’s cradle

Game played with string twisted on the fingers.

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George A. Williams

Superintendent of Schools, 1883.

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

1858 J. Warner song.

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sulky / sulky plow

One-seated conveyance.

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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bear grease

Bear fat hair dressing.

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