I just finished reading the entire series of "Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. These books are great and are really about homesteading joys and sorrows. Hey! They're not just for children you know. So much of the stories Laura tells remind me of the ones my grandmother told me about her childhood. Things have only changed in the last sixty years or so. Prior to that folks lived basically as they had a hundred years before. Especially country folks. I once read that if you could time travel from 1790 to 1890 you'd notice very little change, but from 1890 to 1990 the difference would make the world unrecognizable. I think there's a lot of truth in that.

-- Red Neck (Secesh@CSA.com), January 16, 2002

Answers

Red Neck,

We read these together as a family about sixteen years ago and I am just finishing the series again with our youngest now, as he wasn't around when we read them the first time. I found them even more interesting reading them for a second time.

On September 11, last year, we hooked our tv up again to watch the news and had the chance to see reruns of Little House On the Prairie. When I watched them back in the 70's ?, before I had read the books, I thought they were wonderful. After having read Laura's account of her life, I now can't stand to see them. In the show her and Laura bicker a lot, Ma makes comments about how crowded the house is when they are at home from school for any period of time, Mary tells adults what to do at times - all things that are the opposite of her accounts. I guess Michael Landon felt the need to make it more acceptable to modern children, what a shame.

-- Terry - NW Ohio (aunt_tm@hotmail.com), January 16, 2002.

Oops...that should have been "her and Mary bicker a lot".

-- Terry - NW Ohio (aunt_tm@hotmail.com), January 16, 2002.

Hey Red Neck,

Read them all to my brothers and sisters close to 35 years ago.. Read most of them many times since including to my own kids. If you go to rural South Dakota, you will find some huge similarities and some huge differences. It doesn't matter because we cannot stop evolution...neither cultural nor biological, nor technological.

Oscar

-- Oscar H. Will III (owill@mail.whittier.edu), January 16, 2002.

Out library has a book that is a collections of Laura Ingalls's Newspaper collumns-she used to write farmwife tips and observations. They are really wonderful. If your are interested, I'll try to find the title of it-I read it last winter, can't remeber the name of it now. I really enjoyed it.

-- Kelly (homearts2002@yahoo.com), January 16, 2002.

If you like Little House books, and don't mind a little religion mixed in with your reading, Janette Oke has some wonderful series books that are similar to this reading.

-- Lisa in WI (llehman16nospam@hotmail.com), January 16, 2002.

This is too strange--I JUST last night finished re-reading "The Little House" Series (all 9 of 'em) and today I started the Pioneer Love Stories Series by Janette Oke (there's 8 of them--I've just started re-reading the first one). As I said these are both re-reads for me, but I love them, they inspire me! If you like the "Little House" books you'll surely like Janette Oke's Pioneer Love Stories just like Lisa said. It seems some of us "out here" have more in common than even I thought we did. God bless you all and have a great time reading!

-- Sharon (spangenberg@hovac.com), January 17, 2002.

About 15 miles from here is the original homestead claim where the Ingalls family spent their time in Kansas before being forced off because of a mistake about where the line was for indian territory. I find it very sad that they left the area completely and in less then 3 months ( Or some such short period of time) it was opened up. I have always wondered what would have happened if they had just moved to town for a bit.......My kids and I love to visit the little cabin they have set up there and the cemetary in Independence where the black Dr. that treated them is buried. His name escapes me right now...... was it Dr. Hand? There is a whole homeschool curriculum built around this series but I haven't checked it out.

-- Tana Mc (mcfarm@totelcsi.net), January 17, 2002.

Kelly, when you remember the name of the book that is a collection of farmwife tips by Laura Ingalls Wilder, please let me know? Sounds like great, informative reading! Thanks!

-- Debbie in Mo (risingwind@socket.net), January 17, 2002.

When Laura wrote those books she lived in the next town from here the town is named, Mansfield,Mo. They open her house for tours during the spring and summer months. Its a beatiful old house./

-- dale (dgarr@fidnet.com), January 17, 2002.

Last summer my girls and I visited Walnut Grove, Minnesota, site of "On the Banks of Plum Creek". WE went to the site where the dugout was - just a mound of dirt with a sign on it now. But the girls went wading in Plum Creek - very nice little stream. We also stayed overnight at a B&B nearby, which is a sod house! Built on a farm in Sanborn, MN - they have even replanted the original prairie grasses. No electricity - outhouse - critters skittering around in the night. The owners even provide dressup clothes for kids and adults! It was so much fun. My girls can't wait to again next summer.

If you want more info on that sod house, do an internet search on Sod House B&B.

-- J Flynn (flynn4@netzero.com), January 17, 2002.

My fav. book by her she did not have published but Rose her daughter did after she passed away. It is the letters Laura sent to Almonso when she took the train to see Rose in San Fran Calif. The letters are wonderful. Durning the time of the worlds fair and before the golden gate bridge. It even has pic's of the area back then. The bay looks funny without the bridge. Did you know her daughter was one of the very first women real estate agents in calif. I would like to know what she got for some of the land she sold in the napa valley :0 If your G-Grandfater had just 15 acres in that area and passed it down he would have been able to send all the g-grandkids to any schools they wanted to go to. I have been to the house in Mo and it is beautiful but if it has been awhile since you have been there they have bought back the house Rose had built for them at the back of the property. It is more modern and wonderful to. You can tour both of them now.

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), January 17, 2002.

I have loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder books since I was a little girl. - Debbie in MO - The book of Laura's farm writings is "Little House in the Ozarks The Rediscovered Writings" edited by Stephen W. Hines. Tracy

-- Tracy (tbrock@splitrocktel.net), January 17, 2002.

I LOVE little house....i also have the little house cookbook...which i use , ALOT....full of great recipes and tips and it has some info on the time line of laura ingalls wilder....if you get a chance to read , borrow or buy...this book....I hope you do.

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), January 17, 2002.

I loved the books and loved the series until they tried to put 1970's social issues into the series (rape, incest,etc..) The one that made me roll on the floor was when the son becomes the 1800's version of a "crack addict" by stealing the "powders" from Doc and is "doing drugs" during recess out by the water pump. Come on!

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), January 17, 2002.

My favorite in the series is actually "Farmer Boy" about Almanzo Wilder. Having been raised in Conn. and NJ I can identify with it a bit more than with the midwest sagas. But they are still all great. Check your library for some "guidebooks" on the little house locations. There are at least two of them. They have photos of all the little house locations, plus photos of the family. They show what Pa and Ma's house "in town" in De Smet looked like years later. A far cry from the dugouts and claim shanties. I also agree with the comments about the TV series. In and of itself, there were some great episodes (totally unrelated to the book) and they really expanded the roles of nasty Nelly and Mrs Olsen., but some of the later episodes got way out of line. There was even an early episode which dealt with an out-of-wedlock baby born in Walnut Grove, and I remember my mother was furious that they had this on a family show. I never remember that episode being repeated.

-- Christina (introibo2000@yahoo.com), January 17, 2002.

I forgot to add, at least one of the guidebooks was authored by William Anderson (Andersen?)

-- Christina (introibo2000@yahoo.com), January 17, 2002.

I have been to the place in kansas, also the place in DeSmet south Dakota, and the Missori home where she did all her writings. In the books she describes the surveyers cabin they stayed in for the railroad as so large the biggest house the had ever had, I think the whole thing could fit into my kitchen suprisingly small. There are alot of things to see there the calling cards they passed among friends, a tramp art shelf they made. Also the wearhouse in town was still standing where they lived during the long winter. Pa and Ma's house in town and the church pa helped build. We have also been to Laura and Almanzo home in Missori beautiful very peaceful, Pa's fiddle is there a. And there is a recording of lauras voice she used to visit the local library and tell of her adventures. She passed away in the mid 1960's and Rose her daughter published quite a few books of her own. Very interesting lady. This is a good trip destination you can almost drive from DeSmet S.D. to her home in Mo. in one day and from there to the Kansas place in one day easily. If you need a reason to travel why not go with this Idea. Ronda

-- ronda (thejohnsons@localaccess.com), January 17, 2002.

I think I enjoyed "FARMER BOY", the best also. Although, they are all good.

-- Red Neck (Secesh@CSA.com), January 17, 2002.

I have read the books and enjoyed them very much. I have to say that in my life time the one t.v. show that has always been my favorite is Little House On The Prarie. The one show that has bugged me for years is the one where Albert died. I think the title to that episode is Look Back To Yesterday (I may be wrong on this) If you remember in the episode where Albert was addicted to morphine at the end of the show Laura said that Albert grew up to be a Doctor and returned years later to Walnut Grove to practice there yet In the episode Look Back To Yesterday Albert died before even becoming a Doctor. I have wondered about this for years.

-- george nh (rcoopwalpole@aol.com), January 18, 2002.

I read the books with my 2 daughters last year and we loved them (their ages are 7 and 5) We live pretty self sufficiently and it was a real thrill to my daughters to learn about Laura. They love the pinafore dresses I make for them although we do look like we just stepped from a time machine! (We are pretty used to the stares at Church and such.) Anyway, 3 months after we finished the books, we had the opportunity to travel to Mansfield and see the Laura Ingalls homes and museum. My kids were more excited than Christmas! They went to every item in the museum and knew what it was "Here's Pa's fiddle! Wow!!!" It was so exciting and so real to them-I wouldn't trade it for the world. We just finished 'Where the Red Fern Grows' It was good but I wish I had been prepared for the death of the dogs...we cried and cried.... My poor hubby came home to us crying-near bout scared him to death!

-- Connie (trying2bselfsufficient@yahoo.com), January 18, 2002.

Let's see now....the black doctor was Dr. Tann, I think. The book of her Missouri writings was "Little House in the Ozarks". I agree, the TV show was such a disappointment. Almanzo died in 1947 at 90, and she died in 1957 at 90 (she had diabetes in her later years). I always thought that it was strange that Ma had a baby boy, who died. Then Laura had a baby boy, who died. Rose also had a baby boy, who died. I can't remember which Laura bio mentioned Rose's baby but it was the only one that did. I've always been dying to know what happened to the two girls that Nellie Olsen was based on: Nellie Owens and Genevieve Masters.

-- gita (gita@directcon.net), January 19, 2002.