And two days after I returned from my trip, that second part started. Honestly, I thought maybe when I got home I'd be kinda sick of Laura. Actually I kinda hoped. And then there was this: my obsession with Laura sometimes seems...well, I'm ashamed to say it, but kinda silly; I mean, after all, she's just one person who led an interesting life in a world full of people who lead interesting lives. And I still can't completely pinpoint why she interests me so much. I really think we have so much in common - love of family, faith, education, and writing in particular, as well as savoring life's simple pleasures. I don't even have an interest in prairie life or pioneer history - or so I thought. This trip changed that. The second half of the class combined with this trip compounded it. I mean, starting the part of the class that focused on her life in De Smet just after returning from De Smet...that is just too cool!
Back home now I'm rereading By the Shores of Silver Lake and discussing it with the class, and the images I've had stored in my head since I was a LITTLE GIRL are completely gone because I have ACTUALLY SEEN THE TOWN WHERE SHE LIVED AND THE HOUSE SHE LIVED IN from BTSOSL. I drove the same road into town that Pa's wagon followed, and I walked into the surveyors' house that the Ingalls lives in that first winter in De Smet.
Looking back on the trip with some perspective now, it has a dream like quality. That second day in De Smet was the most organized, because we had an actual, legitimate tour of Laura's homes, not just their sites or replicas. The surveyor's house had been lugged in from the frontier and plunked down right next to an old Victorian home that was now the museum entrance and gift shop here we began our tour. Our tour guide, Diane, led us to the back of the shop to an addition that houses the good stuff - items belonging to the Ingalls family! We were not allowed to take pictures (except they said a few were okay with no flash) and the items were all in glass cases. There was a section for each member of the family, housing handkerchiefs, books, jewelry, and numerous other personal items. One in particular stood out: Laura's nightgown. I couldn't get over thinking how horrified Laura would be by that display, being so private a person.
The museum curators had recently obtained a dresser that belonged to Grace (Dow) Ingalls and they were quite excited about it. The really neat thing there for kids was a little log cabin station with dark colored Lincoln logs for kids to make their own log cabin. Another station had construction paper, a stapler, and a model to copy and make their own 50-50 tablet to look like the ones Laura used to write the LH books. Best of all, some of her original manuscripts were on display there on those 50-50 tablets, just as she had written them 80 years ago! We bought some things at the gift shop and Diane told us to take our time, as we were the only people in our group.
There was so much to see there but we pressed on Diane took us through the Surveyor’s house (BTSOSL) which was right next door to the museum, and that was fantabulous. It was a small house by today’s standards, as I expected, but I could see how Laura would see it as large compared to all the other houses she’d lived in. Diane spoke for awhile to us inside the house while we imagined Mary sitting by the warm stove with Grace in her lap, or Laura sewing, or Ma cooking.
The Bouchie aka Brewster school that Laura had taught her five pupils in in These Happy Golden Years had its own replica on the museum property as well. It was closed, but we dutifully got our picture outside of it!
Normally the tour guide walks people from there to Ma and Pa’s final home - their large two story house on 3rd street- but it bein March and a bit cold and windy, we drove and met Diane there. Luckily, we could go inside it! I found out, after taking a few pictures, that cameras were not allowed. (Whoops). I do not regret, however, the pictures I have of the living room with Ma and Mary’s rocking chairs and Pa’s replica fiddle, which the kids were allowed to pick up and play. Cute. Ma’s dishes were impeccably kept on her kitchen shelves and Mary’s room just as orderly, and filled with her beads, letters, and other crafts she made lovingly with her Braille work and delicate fingers. Ma and Mary lived a long time
There was so much to see there but we pressed on Diane took us through the Surveyor’s house (BTSOSL) which was right next door to the museum, and that was fantabulous. It was a small house by today’s standards, as I expected, but I could see how Laura would see it as large compared to all the other houses she’d lived in. Diane spoke for awhile to us inside the house while we imagined Mary sitting by the warm stove with Grace in her lap, or Laura sewing, or Ma cooking.
The Bouchie aka Brewster school that Laura had taught her five pupils in in These Happy Golden Years had its own replica on the museum property as well. It was closed, but we dutifully got our picture outside of it!
Normally the tour guide walks people from there to Ma and Pa’s final home - their large two story house on 3rd street- but it bein March and a bit cold and windy, we drove and met Diane there. Luckily, we could go inside it! I found out, after taking a few pictures, that cameras were not allowed. (Whoops). I do not regret, however, the pictures I have of the living room with Ma and Mary’s rocking chairs and Pa’s replica fiddle, which the kids were allowed to pick up and play. Cute. Ma’s dishes were impeccably kept on her kitchen shelves and Mary’s room just as orderly, and filled with her beads, letters, and other crafts she made lovingly with her Braille work and delicate fingers. Ma and Mary lived a long time
♥️♥️♥️
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