Little House Discussed

Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Ingalls Wilder began working for a living at age 11 as a live in babysitter for a family who lived near her home in Walnut Grove, and she was paid .50 cents a week for her effort. And so began the pimping of Laura Ingalls Wilder to help make up for Charles Ingalls' mistakes. Yes, I'm going there. Laura Ingalls: A Product of Her Environment If Laura Ingalls minded going to work at any early age, she never mentioned it, at least not when she was 11. By her own admission Laura found being a live in babysitter to be an easy job and when she wasn't playing with the child, she was able to read and relax. However, let's not pretend it was a good life. She was in the company of unsavory people thoughout her life and this particular job ended after a local drunk came to her bed at night and told her to "lie down and be still."  I think we all know where that would have gone if Laura didn't threaten to scream. To her cr...

Grace Ingalls Dow Grace Ingalls Dow is the youngest of Laura Ingalls Wilder's siblings. In fact, of the four Ingalls sisters, Grace is the one I hear or read the least about. I wonder if it's because she was so young when Laura was married and maybe they didn't spend as much time together growing up as she did with Mary and Carrie. I was curious about Grace so I did a little research about her to find out about her life as a child and young lady in DeSmet and, also,  her married years. Grace Ingalls Dow Grace Pearl Ingalls was born May 23, 1877 in Burr Oak, IA.  Although there are books written about Laura Ingalls Wilder's Iowa years , none of them were written by Mrs. Wilder herself as she omitted this period of her life completely from the books. It was during this period of time the Ingalls family was managing a hotel and Mrs. Wilder didn't feel it an appropriate image to portray of her fictional family. In any event, Grace was either not born or a ...

L-R Carrie Ingalls Swanzey, Mary Ingalls, Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Ingalls Wilder was an accomplished woman. She rode across the West in a covered wagon, wrote for farm journals and newspapers, authored a series of books, and her family was integral in establishing a town in South Dakota. She was well-liked a pillar of her community in Mansfield, Missouri. Do you know who else was an accomplished woman? Mrs. Wilder's sister, Carrie Ingalls Swanzey. Who was Carrie Ingalls Swanzey? Born "Caroline Celestia Ingalls," just outside of Independence, Kansas on August 3, 1870, Mrs. Swanzey is remembered by Laura Ingalls Wilder fans first as "Baby Carrie," then as a sickly young lady who got in trouble for rocking her classroom bench in " Little Town on the Prairie ." We don't really hear much about Mrs. Swanzey after Mrs. Wilder married and moved on, however. And why would we? It was Mrs. Wilder everyone wanted to know about. I'm fas...

The Ingalls Family One big question fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder have asked over the years is "Who was Mr. Edwards?" There's been much speculation but what most agree is that there is no one "Mr. Edwards." Like the character of Nellie Olsen, Mrs. Wilder possibly borrowed experiences from different people she met along her journeys to create the "Mr. Edwards" character for her book. So who might Mr. Edwards have been? The Fictional Mr. Edwards Mr. Edwards first appeared in Laura Ingalls Wilder's 3rd children's novel " Little House on the Prairie " as a neighbor of the Ingalls family when they briefly lived just outside of Independence Kansas. Laura was two during this time.  You may recall, Mr. Edwards was the neighbor who saved Christmas for the Ingalls Family by swimming across the swollen creek to bring food and presents. He and "Pa" helped each other as neighbors, and if he was a real person, he no doubt left...

Today is of historic significance for Laura Ingalls Wilder fans. Mrs. Wilder passed away 58 years ago, on February 10, 1957. It was only three days after her 90th birthday. Though Mrs. Wilder would be missed, we are all so fortunate that she left her stories for us to enjoy and share. Laura Ingalls Wlder's Obituary

When I was six or seven, I joined a book club at the library. The librarian welcomed me into the room and handed me a copy of " Little House in the Big Woods ." I had seen the book before, my sister had the series in her room but because it was part of her "stuff" I wasn't allowed to touch it. So I brought my own (borrowed) copy of the first "Little House" book home and I was immediately hooked. Laura Ingalls Wilder intrigued me. She made maple candy in the snow, wore long dresses, and traveled in a covered wagon. She played ball like a tomboy, taught school, and married the love of her life. As a young girl, she lived a life I found so interesting, I couldn't just let it go at the "Little House" series of books. I read everything I could on Laura Ingalls Wilder from biographies, to her magazine articles, and now her autobiography " Pioneer Girl ," and you know what? I am still intrigued by her life. I tried watching ...