Burr Oak Laura Days Changing Date

The following message was posted on the Burr Oak Website.

“Laura Days 2009 Moved to June 27 and 28
The Board of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum has decided to move the date of Laura Days to the fourth weekend of June. In 2009 that will be place the event on June 27 and 28. In making the change, the Board felt the later weekend would allow the possibility of both warmer weather and more families being able to travel to the event since some schools had still been in session or just finishing their school year prior to the second weekend.

Plans are also being developed for the event to incorporate the celebration of a North Winneshiek High School reunion into the festivities of Laura Days.”

This change means that Burr Oak and Independence will no longer have events on the same weekend. Allowing people with the time and money to visit both. Burr Oak has one of the smaller Days events with no pageant and a Little Miss Laura contest that results in a position being an ambassador for the museum rather than just a look a like contest, but I think it is well worth a visit.

http://www.lauraingallswilder.us/news.html

Mr. Edwards and Santa Claus

This year for Christmas I’m sharing a family keepsake and a symbol of just how throughly Laura has invaded our lives. Our neighbor’s sister-in-law used to have a ceramics sale every year in the fall to sell the things she made during the year. Everyone in my family’s favorite piece that we ever bought there was one of her History of Santa Claus line showing how she imagined Santa changed through the years (apparently with very little research on how that actually happened). One of them was dressed in buckskins and it always make us think of Mr. Edwards’s famous encounter with Santa. We call him Mr. Edwards. What do you think?

Mr. Edwards Santa Claus

Blythe be your Yule!

A card sent in December of 1909 in Pennsylvannia offered the unusual greeting “Blythe be your Yule.” This was recently shared on the ALHFAM listserv. It sung out to me in the spirit of Anne Shirley after she married Gilbert Blythe, as she said “Blythe in name and Blythe in spirit!”

Rocky Ridge Review Update

The Rocky Ridge Review’s latest issue follows up on the rest of the site’s long term plan. I applaud the Mansfield site for both increasing their land holdings from 3 acres of the original farm to almost the entire 200 acres.  They are planning to rebuild the 1913 barn, the 1935 garage, a garden, the original driveway, fencing, and other outbuildings. This will require the eventual demolishment of the current museum and the construction of a new and expanded museum (which they already started raising money for this). They want to increase the number of walking trials so visitors can see more of the farm. They plan to replace 100 of the 1000 trees on 2o acres in the original orchard. They hope to make it look more like the origianal orchard from the house. They aren’t giving any indication on where this was from the Rocky Ridge farmhouse so I don’t know if this includes the baby apple trees already planed between the road and gift shop or not. Big future plans include a festival grounds for “large scale festivals or events of people and parking for cars” which they hope will be subtle enough not to be noticeable when not in use. They also look ahead to an area for camping in both tents and RVs. The plan is not to immediately jump to this point, but to have a long range plan so small changes can be guided to eventually reach the plan over time. For example, a  recently accomplished goal was getting $113,000 grant from the USDA to get town water to the site.

I’m not sure what to make of one goal of re-doing the Rock House with an idea of making in available for a writer in residence program. Are they talking about part of the house not currently available for tours or will they cut back on what’s shown? More importantly how do I sign up? 

Jane Cobb Berry

This week I stumbled across a reference to Jane Cobb Berry as author of the Sue Barton nurse series. “Whoa,” I said, ”I thought Troub (otherwise known as Helen Dore) Boylston was the author.” Afterall it was supposed to be based on her experiences and the Carol Page books based on her neighbor, actress Eva La Galliene. According to “Contemporary Authors Online” Berry was a ’silent collaborator’ on the books. She was a columnist, critic, and a reviewer for the New York Times. Somehow I missed this controversy with Rose’s friend who Rose felt always fell into luck. Maybe this was one reason why that somebody else wrote her books for her? Any Barton fans out there know more?

Flood of 2008 6 month update

News stories tend to drop out of the news after awhile, especially once the impressive photos are gone. The fallout remains long after. December 13th is the official 6 month anniversary of the floods. Since I last posted, some things once thought completely lost have come back. The theater organs from the Paramount and Theater Cedar Rapids have been rescued and are being rebuilt. Some things have re-opened. All but the bottom floor of Memorial Union in Iowa City are now open. Various restaurants and some stores have come back to downtown Cedar Rapids. Progress has been made in some areas. They’ve been allowed into Ushers Ferry to do some basic clean up and assessment, although no decisions have been made. The National Czech and Slovak Museum has opened a temporary exhibit space back in the Czech Village. The Cedar Rapids Public Library is expanding into more store fronts at Westdale Mall and adding to its collection that’s available to its patrons. 

Delays have been caused by lack of funds, indecision, and now winter weather which once again arrived early this year. Many people and businesses have hesitated to start work without knowing where the buyouts will be, where new flood prevention designs (still not approved by the Corp of Engineers) will be put in, and what other decisions the city will make. Some people who have never been flooded before in the 100 plus year history of the house were firmly convinced the federal government will pay for their house. Not surprising that’s not happening. Unlike Grand Forks, NE, that had the good luck to be flooded in a year where they were the only disaster, Iowa has been competing with other disasters for both government relief and private charity.

Last Sunday’s Cedar Rapids Gazette (which was itself chased out of downtown) featured many news stories on the flood and recovery. You can read some of them here for free on the Gazette homepage. http://www.gazetteonline.com/

Iowa Journal just did an episode updating the flood recovery all the way across the state. It isn’t online yet, but soon they will have it posted so you can watch the entire episode. http://www.iptv.org/iowajournal/episodes.cfm/208

Please keep the flood victims and the cities effected in your thoughts during this holiday season.

The Year Was 1880….

I was recently catching up on my Ancestry.com weekly updates when I came across a story entitled The Year was 1880. As I’ve always said the late 19th century was most interesting because so much was happening at once. This article gives you a good feeling for that. I was going to add in a comment and Laura Ingalls Wilder was spending her first full year in De Smet, South Dakota, but they beat me to it. Just scroll all the way to the bottom.

http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=577&sssdmh=dm13.185984&o_iid=23557&o_lid=23557

Quote: “Technology is not magic…”

“Technology is not magic. It cannot think for you, no matter how advanced it is. It cannot make you smarter. Technology is a tool, a means to good or to ill based only on the intentions of the user. There is no panacea, no global solution… ” – Phil Elmore

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=80832

While Mr. Elmore was specifically talking about network security, I think this is one of the most apt quotes about technology in general that I have come across a long time. Technology is just a tool and the real secret is learning to think about it analytically and to learn to use it well and how and when to use it all. A truly technology literate person needs the ability to choose when technology is the best tool and when it’s not. Technology can’t solve all problems and if you try to force it to, you will only be bending the problem to try to make it fit your preferred solution and nothing will be solved. Today too many people try to solve problems by doing things that computers do well. That’s not always the answer.  When I was doing my graduate work I took one class that I got one thing and only one thing out of, a very powerful saying that I often apply the same way “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” While technology is an important tool, remember  it’s not the only one.

Farmer Boy’s School

Continuing with the Malone Area theme, the latest edition of “Farmer Boy News” is focusing on the memorial society’s efforts to construct a replica one-room school on the grounds near the farmhouse. You can help with that effort. The Laura Ingalls Wilder listserv I belong to donated enough to get their name on plaque. Sounds like a great Christmas present to me! Once the project is over you will no longer be able to be added to the plaque. For example, you can no longer be added to the barn plaques that they had for that project. Don’t you want to see your name there when you finally make it to the Almanzo Wilder Farm? So act now!

To send a donation included this information:

Name:

Address:

Telephone:

E-mail:

Donation Amounts-
$50 + (includes one year free membership)

$100+ (become a member of the 100+ club with designation on the plaque in the one-room schoolhouse and 1 year free membership)

$500+ (ten free passes to the Wilder Homestead, designation plauque  in the one-room schoolhouse and 1 year free membership)

Include who’s name will appear on the plaque. It can include the designation “In honor of…” or “In memory of….” specify which if you want it to appear.

Make checks payable to:
Wilder Association

P.O. Box 283
Malone NY 12953-0283.

All donations are tax deductible.

Franklin House of History Christmas Teas and More

If you happen to find yourself in Malone, NY this week, plan on attending the Christmas tea at the Franklin House of History. For years before the memorial society was formed and the James Wilder farm was repurchased, the Franklin County Historical Society, housed in the Franklin House of History, was the site to visit in Malone for Wilder history. They still house several sets of Wilder family papers. Recently they have added a special room to hold their archives and genealogical information. This is great and I hope I get a chance to dig in next time I get a chance to go to Malone.

They have also started a monthly children’s craft program. If you are traveling with children and have some flexibility in planning your trip, you may want to check to see if you can hit one of their programs. Their latest scheduled programs are:

January 19th – Balsam Pillows and Candle Dipping

February 12th – Yarn Dolls and Victorian Valentines

March 20th – Edible Log Cabins and Paper Quilt Making