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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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tomahawk

War hatchet used by American Indians.

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mercury / thermometer

Used to measure air temperature.

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“I Wish I Was Single Again”

1871 J.C. Beckel song.

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custard / ice-cream

Sweetened milk and eggs, cooked.

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David Thorp

Walnut Grove teacher 1877-78.

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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dipper / ladle / skimmer

Used to remove foam when boiling maple sap.

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“The Gum-Tree Canoe”

1847 Steele & Winnemore song.

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Blanche Coday

Rose’s friend.

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catechism

Question & answer book of religious doctrine.

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prairie danglers

seventhwinter whimsey’s glass slide pendants!

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buffalo / bison

bison

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birds in their little nests agree

Miss Wilder knew nothing about birds.

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Eliza Jane Wilder

Almanzo’s sister.

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rags for paper

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

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Eskimo / igloo

Tribes of arctic America and Greenland. / Snow hut.

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Ingalls office / store in De Smet

NW and SE corners of Calumet and Second.

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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Walter Ogden

Surveyors’ House housemate 1879-80

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Alice Maria Wilder

Older sister and playmate of Almanzo Wilder. She lived 1853-1892.

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geranium

Winter windowsill flowers.

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Peter Riley Ingalls family

Uncle Peter & Aunt Eliza.

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Marvin Hughitt

Officer and President of the Chicago & NorthWestern Railway Company.

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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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Mansfield history

Town in Wright County, Missouri.

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“The Girl I Left Behind Me”

17th century Irish tune.

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“Rock of Ages”

1760s Augustus Toplady hymn.

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The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

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William H. Steadman family

Proprietor of hotel in Burr Oak.

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New England Supper

Fund-raising communal pot-luck meal.

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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spinning wheel / spinning-wheel

Turns wool into yarn.

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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Quiner graves

Abandoned cemetery off Playhouse Road.

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tableland

Elevated flat land; a plateau.

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tiger lily

Native spotted flower of tallgrass prairie.

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

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Good Templars Lodge

International temperance fraternal organization.

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“Life Let Us Cherish”

1796 Swiss song translated to English.

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Dr. Robert Hoyt

Husband of Mattie Masters.

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Little House in the Big Woods – historical perspective

Pepin Twp., Pepin Co. Wisconsin

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“Give us this day our daily bread”

“The City, a Mc Kee plain glassware pattern.

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Spin-offs and Adaptations of the Little House Books

Milking the cash cow.

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twisting hay

Pioneer method by which dried grass is formed into compact...

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Docia Ingalls / Hiram Forbes

Sister of Charles Ingalls married to railroad contractor.

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“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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“Buy a Broom”

O Du Leiber Augustin.

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jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

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Thomas Quiner

Ma’s brother and Laura’s uncle

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drop the handkerchief / drop-the-handkerchief

Circle game.

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Arthur Sherwood

Brother of Carter Sherwood.

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Lizzie

the child bride

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“Polly Wolly Doodle”

Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

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Home Missionary Society

Group organized to raise money to start churches and Sunday schools in the west where there were none.

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America / American

Pertaining to the United States of America.

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Fred Fields / Big Jerry

Railroad boss and his brother-in-law.

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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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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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carding-machine

Straightens fibers by combing.

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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Carrie Ingalls, Homesteader

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

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wall-paper

Wall covering.

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bear grease

Bear fat hair dressing.

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“The Sleighing Glee”

Singing school song.

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wristlets

Knitted bands worn around the wrists for warmth.

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dried-raspberry sauce

Dried sauce good on biscuits.

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Wilkin School

April 20 – July 10, 1885.

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basket

Woven container.

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Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

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buckwheat pancakes

Seeds of the flowering plant Eriogonum used as a grain.

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shoe pegs

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

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braid / plait

Entwined strands.

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Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

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herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls today

Little town along the Zumbro River.

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Laura’s Sorosis Club speech

“My Work”

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Mary Blanche Howard

Mary’s roommate in Vinton.

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New Ulm, Minnesota

Town in Brown Co., MN.

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canvas

Coarse hemp or flax cloth.

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Ross family

Neighbors in the Perry District.

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Almanzo Wilder

The Man of the Place

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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leap frog / leap-frog

Run and jump game.

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“Billy Boy”

English folk song.

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“The Ninety and Nine”

Elizabeth Clephane poem.

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Big Tracy Cut

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

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scour / scouring brick

To rub hard for the purpose of cleaning.

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

1793 Robert Burns poem.

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“Home, Sweet Home”

1823 Payne & Bishop song.

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nubia

A light scarf worn about the head and neck.

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tiger

Noah’s ark toy piece.

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last

Mold of a foot, used in making shoes.

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cosy / cozy

snug and comfortable

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Quaker meeting

Parlor game in which players try to remain silent.

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Hill-Billy

1926 Rose Wilder Lane book.

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photographs

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

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“The New Year’s Come”

1842 “Why chime the bells so merrily?”

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Christopher Columbus

A native of Genoa, in Italy.

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starch

cloth stiffener

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“all’s well that ends well”

A proverb.

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Daniel Loftus

Early drygoods store owner in De Smet.

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killdeer

Small aquatic bird.

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twine

A strong twisted thread.

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Lansford James Ingalls family

Pa’s brother and Laura’s uncle.

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tax

A certainty, as is death.

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brakeman

Person who stops the train.

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Frank M. Cooley family

On the Way home travelers.

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mummy

Put. that. back.

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pokeberry

For rosy doll cheeks.

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls during the Little House years

Ingallses lived here with Uncle Peter.

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“Yankee Doodle”

Early song brought to America from Britain.

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building paper / tar paper

Crude building paper used for covering.

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Silver Lake

Kingsbury County prairie pothole lake.

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Alfred Ely

One of the younger boys in school.

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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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post office / post-office

Where you send and receive mail.

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George C. Bradley

Early De Smet druggist.

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bobolink

On Mary Power’s name card.

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vanity cakes

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

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mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

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Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

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“Marching Through Georgia”

Union song from American Civil War.

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wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

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name card / name-card

Pasteboard identification.

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grippe

influenza

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dictionary

The words of a language.

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New England States

ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, & CT.

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

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forfeits

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

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blueing bag

Whiter whites.

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These Happy Golden Years – historical perspective

De Smet, D.T., 1883-1885.

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George Wilmarth family

Owner of early grocery store in De Smet.

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Robbins children

“froze stark stiff”

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roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

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“Song of the Grass”

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

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Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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honey

Bee-made sweetness.

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mustache

Hair above the lip.

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“Bonny Doon”

1792 Robert Burns song.

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yeast / yeast cakes

Bread-leavening organism.

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Chicago Inter-Ocean / Inter-Ocean

Republican political newspaper.

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stone fences

Rock wall enclosure.

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“Haste to the Wedding”

Traditional Irish fiddle tune.

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Baby Boy Wilder

Son of Laura and Almanzo Wilder

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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“Tubal Cain”

Charles McKay poem.

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ash withe / ash-withe

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

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Charles & Martha Harrison / Patterson

Charles and Elizabeth May Rundle.

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legal cap

legal document paper

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galumphing

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

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“All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border”

1829 Sir Walter Scott air.

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P A T

one seven seven ought

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“The Singing School”

1869 P. Benson song.

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Little House Songs

Prairie Song Companion

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Old Military Tract

Franklin Co. NY map reference

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“A Shelter in the Time of Storm”

Ira Sankey hymn.

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swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

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clear, pure green sky

Sunlight separated into colored bands at sunset.

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Hiram Ingalls

Pa’s brother.

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“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

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William O’Connell

Fictional Bill O’Dowd.

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elevator

Warehouse for seed and grain.

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“The Sculptor Boy”

Carrie recited it.

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ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

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Morocco leather

Fine goat leather.

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“Coming Through the Rye”

Robert Burns tune.

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mowing machine

Farm implement for cutting hay or grain.

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“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Mr. Anderson / Niels Kopperud

Hard Winter wheat settler

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Doxology

Old Hundred.

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surveyors’ house

railroad section house occupied by the Ingallses in 1879-1880

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“The Burial of Sir John Moore”

1817 poem by Charles Wolfe.

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Young Pioneers

David and Molly Beaton.

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William H. Reed

Teacher in Burr Oak school, 1876-1877.

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chestnut / horse chestnut

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

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – the fictional story

The railroad comes to Dakota.

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bison / “The Bison Track”

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

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poke bonnet / poke-bonnet

the lining matched Laura’s eyes

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“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

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“nervous as a witch”

restless

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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Mary Power & Edwin Sanford

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

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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John H. Carroll

Early De Smet banker.

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black-berry / blackberry

The berry of the bramble, Rubus fruticosous.

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“The Blue Juniata”

1841 Marion Dix Sullivan song.

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The House that Jack Built

…for two pieces of money.

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“Jerusalem the Golden”

Hymn from Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Reverend Edwin H. Alden

Walnut Grove Congregational minister and missionary in Dakota.

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“The Floating Scow of Old Virginia”

1847 Charles White song.

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links

Helps you find what you’re looking for.

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“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

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dragon-fly / dragonfly

Mosquito hunter.

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poll

No horns.

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Burr Oak during the Little House years

Town in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

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“Nellie was a Lady”

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

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