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Supposed Speech of Regulus

From Independent Fifth Reader.

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Mr. Clancy / Chauncey Clayson

Drygoods store owner, Chauncey Clayson

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muskrat

Their houses predict winter weather.

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breast-pin / brooch

Ornament worn on clothing.

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“Old Dan Tucker”

Mr. Edwards sings it!

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land office

Where sales of public lands are registered.

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mosquito bar / netting

Woven cloth bug barrier.

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album

Blank booklet for collecting autographs or photos.

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ice cream social

Laura and Almanzo didn’t enjoy it.

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door knob

Grab to open a door.

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The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

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“Kitty Wells”

1858 Sloan & Atherton song.

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John Ensign family

Quit crying, Howard.

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prairie danglers

seventhwinter whimsey’s glass slide pendants!

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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Margaret Garland family / Cap Garland

Family living behind the Ingallses in De Smet.

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pasteboard / lambrequin

Paperboard used as base for decorative edging.

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galluses / suspenders

Straps worn for holding up pants.

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churn

Cream agitator.

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cabin / log house

A small cottage; a hut or small house.

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Laura’s wedding silver

Wm. Rogers’ “Crown” silverplate.

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Walnut Grove during the Little House years

Village in Redwood County, Minnesota

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A Tribute to the Early Day Teachers

Neva Whaley Harding tribute.

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“The Tides” / The moon is at its full

1860 William Cullen Bryant poem.

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lantern

A light meant to be carried.

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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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Henry Ford’s Own Story

Industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company.

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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Alfred N. Waters

Attorney and land agent in De Smet.

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“The Old Time”

Mr. Boast’s favorite song.

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“Buy a Broom”

O Du Leiber Augustin.

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starry papers

Hand-made shelf edging.

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button

who’s got one?

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“The Mulligan Guard” / “The Skidmore Guard”

Harrigan & Hart minstrel show.

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flag

the banner

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bake oven / bake-oven

Coals on top and below.

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Mary & Samuel Ray / Ellen & Amos Leonard

Sisters feuding over a lovely homeplace…and a man.

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tiger lily

Native spotted flower of tallgrass prairie.

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Jesse French

Butchered oxen during the Hard Winter.

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“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

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herd

A number of large beasts assembled together.

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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…

From Robert Herrick poem.

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tattoo

Sounds like beating drums!

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leap frog / leap-frog

Run and jump game.

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anvil

Iron block to hammer upon.

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“Daisy Deane”

1863 song by Union soldiers.

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cranberry

Good ones bounce!

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Mary Power & Edwin Sanford

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

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copper

Cu

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Congress

Legislative body of a country.

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saleratus / soda

Leavening agents used in baking.

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Old Military Tract

Franklin Co. NY map reference

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South Troy / Zumbro Falls during the Little House years

Ingallses lived here with Uncle Peter.

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“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess”

Nursery rhyme wordplay on the name Elizabeth.

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mother-of-pearl

Hard, silvery, brilliant, internal layer of several kinds of shells, particularly oysters.

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zenith

The point of the heavens directly overhead.

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Little Georgie Dwight

He could not learn his letters!

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nutmeg

Myristica moschata, used as a spice.

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pen / pen-wiper

An instrument used for writing. / Material used to clean it after writing.

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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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stockade

Enclosure of posts or sticks.

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oyster

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

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freeze drying

sublimation!

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Spat them Out

Clapping (and kissing) game.

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“Tubal Cain”

Charles McKay poem.

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

Quilt block pattern.

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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“Highland Mary”

1799 Robert Burns songs, favorite of Mary Ingalls.

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peddler’s cart / wagon

A little store on wheels.

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poultice

Applied to sores to help them heal.

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apprentice

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

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – the fictional story

The railroad comes to Dakota.

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custard / ice-cream

Sweetened milk and eggs, cooked.

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“Dakota Land”

1876 hymn, Beulah Land.

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Kingsbury County, D.T.

County in eastern South Dakota, organized in 1879.

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butter

Edible fatty substance made by churning cream.

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sewing machine

“Such beautiful stitching!”

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“Mary of the Wild Moor”

1845 song by Joseph W. Turner.

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Charles Lamson

Almanzo’s cousin.

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“The Burial of Sir John Moore”

1817 poem by Charles Wolfe.

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patent / title

official property ownership document

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cottonwood tree

Wetland plains tree, Populus fremontii.

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Henry O. Quiner family

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

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birds’-nest pudding

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

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basket

Woven container.

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geranium

Winter windowsill flowers.

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black bird / blackbird

Name given to various American birds.

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muff

A warm covering for receiving the hands.

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George C. Bradley

Early De Smet druggist.

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Jerome Beardsley family

De Smet hotel keeper.

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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Little Town on the Prairie – historical perspective

De Smet D.T. in the 1880s.

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Amos Whiting family

Superintendent of Schools, De Smet.

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stanchion

Support frame.

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popcorn

Heat makes it burst & it’s tasty.

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Tennyson’s Poems

Collection of works by Written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson,...

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quinine

Medicine used to treat malaria, made from cinchona bark.

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batten / lath

Thin, narrow board for fastening or joining.

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Thomas H. Ruth

President of Kingsbury County Bank in De Smet.

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birds in their little nests agree

Miss Wilder knew nothing about birds.

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bacon

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

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Baby Boy Wilder

Son of Laura and Almanzo Wilder

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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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Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

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dove-in-the-window / bear’s tracks

Patchwork pattern variations.

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dried-raspberry sauce

Dried sauce good on biscuits.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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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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“Camptown Races”

1850 Stephen Foster song.

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P A T

one seven seven ought

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Bad Lands

Area eroded by wind & water.

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willow-ware

Blue-and-white tableware with Chinese story paintings.

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“A Shelter in the Time of Storm”

Ira Sankey hymn.

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winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

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“Three Blind Mice”

Popular nursery song, sung in rounds.

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“Uncle John”

Play song to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

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jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

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reindeer

Why didn’t they fly over the creek?

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turnip

Cruciferous plant grown for root and greens.

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scones

“Mamabess is growing fat.”

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“all’s well that ends well”

A proverb.

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“Pop! Goes the Weasel”

Traditional American song.

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“Billy Boy”

English folk song.

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silver castor

Rotating condiment set.

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Little House on the Prairie – the fictional story

The Ingallses in Indian Territory.

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claim

The land to which one has a right.

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“What Shall the Harvest Be?”

1850 Emily Oakley poem.

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Belgian horse

A heavy draft horse originally from the Brabant region of...

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“Oh! Susanna”

Stephen Foster song.

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Dr. Alfred Starr

His wife wanted Laura.

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

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snow-fort

“Holler ’nuff!”

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Frogs at School

“Twenty froggies went to school…”

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Grace Pearl Ingalls

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

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“Oft in the Stilly Night”

Song from Lalla Rookh.

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Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Birthday

Happy Birthday, Laura!

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scour / scouring brick

To rub hard for the purpose of cleaning.

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ambition

Act of obtaining an object of desire.

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Sale of School Lands on the Osage Diminished Reserve

LHOP cabin was on Section 36

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“Great is the Lord”

Singing school song from The Conqueror.

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pumpkin

The plant and fruit of Curcubita pepo

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Little House in the Big Woods – historical perspective

Pepin Twp., Pepin Co. Wisconsin

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icicle

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

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“The Lotos Eaters”

Tennyson poem.

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Chicago Inter-Ocean / Inter-Ocean

Republican political newspaper.

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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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cream of tartar / baking powder

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

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Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

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“Am I a Soldier of the Cross”

Isaac Watts hymn.

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storm apron

Rain protection for buggy.

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“Money Musk”

Traditional American dance tune.

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Wilder feed store

Shhh. There’s wheat in the wall!

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Horace Woodworth family

Family of first depot agent in De Smet.

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“Jesus Holds My Hand”

Hymn #85, Pure Gold for the Sunday Schools

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“The Sleighing Glee”

Singing school song.

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gable

Triangular end of a building under the roof.

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clove apple / clove-apple

Spice-preserved fruit decoration.

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bracket lamp

Affixed lighting fixture.

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“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

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blueing bag

Whiter whites.

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ash withe / ash-withe

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

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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candy hearts

Mary’s had a candy poem on it!

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Lost, between sunrise and sunset…

Horace Mann quotation from his Writings, published in 1872.

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“Buffalo Gals”

1844 Virginia Minstrels song.

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carding-machine

Straightens fibers by combing.

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The New York Ledger

Weekly story paper, published 1855-1898.

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dickcissel / dickie-bird

A semi-nomadic finch, Spiza americana.

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copper-toed shoes

Metal shoe protector.

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“My Sabbath Home”

Hymn #7, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Silver Lake

Kingsbury County prairie pothole lake.

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Thomas Power family

De Smet tailor.

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buckwheat pancakes

Seeds of the flowering plant Eriogonum used as a grain.

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dovekie

Arctic aquatic bird, Alle alle.

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sheep sorrel

Tastes like lemon… or springtime?

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

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

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Peter Pfeiffer family

John May’s son-in-law.

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wristlets

Knitted bands worn around the wrists for warmth.

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Henry Burvee

One of the first settlers in Kingsbury Co.

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Becky Newhall / Rebecca Stewart

Classmate of Laura Ingalls in De Smet.

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honey

Bee-made sweetness.

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“The Gum-Tree Canoe”

1847 Steele & Winnemore song.

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consumption

A wasting disease, pulmonary tuberculosis.

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Maude Blair

Walnut Grove friend of Laura’s

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the Cameron gang

fiat justitia, ruat caelum…

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Blanche Coday

Rose’s friend.

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lief

Gladly; willingly; freely.

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Caroline Ingalls

Mother of Laura Ingalls. She lived 1839-1924.

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“yell like a Comanche”

Imitated Indian battle cry.

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twine

A strong twisted thread.

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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buttonhook

Curved metal tool for fastening shoes.

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elephant

A very large quadruped.

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“Gentle Words and Loving Smiles”

Hymn 139 in Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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railroad cut / fill

How you level a railroad grade.

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fichu

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

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cornice

Roof overhang.

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yeast / yeast cakes

Bread-leavening organism.

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