Sarah S. Uthoff is a nationally known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many times at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. She is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales fighting to bring the History, Mystery, Magic, and Imagination of Laura Ingalls Wilder and other greats of children’s literature and history to life for a new generation. How can you help? Attend one of her programs, schedule one yourself, watch her videos, listen to her podcast, look at her photos, and find her on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , SlideShare, and Academia.edu . Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and former director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.
One of the things I hate about news coverage is they so often just let things drop. This started, but they never come back and tell how it ended. So today I’m telling you the rest of the story.
De Smet Cemetery
I should start by saying I didn’t make it out to De Smet last year. I thought I would…but something came up and I had to drive directly back home from Walnut Grove. So I didn’t get these photos, but I asked my friend Jenny Ward and she was nice enough to get me these and give permission for me to use them in this post.
Putting Back the Stone
Assembling a Tombstone
I’ve lived with cemeteries my whole life so I know how they go. Although stones look quite imposing what holds them together is only gravity – they stay together because they are heavy. Usually there is no glue or any kind of adhesive involved so the wooden wedges you can see in the photo above are helping to level and nudge the stone to just the right spot.
Tombstones are VERY heavy. One of this style got knocked over when a tree fell over in our local township cemetery and we had to have a tombstone company come out and bring in special hoist equipment to get it back up. Between the pieces of stone they put in pennies to give it a little breathing room.
Pa’s Stone Overall
Pa’s stone was removed during October 2021 for repair and returned to the cemetery in May 2022. Read about the restoration in the Kingsbury Journal.
The Story of Pa’s Stone
Close Up of Pa’s Stone
So Pa’s stone was the only stone for the family originally and was put in place shortly after his death. This type of stone was considered a family stone; that is one family member’s information is carved on each side of the stone. For unknown reasons – probably because of the cost – neither Mary nor Ma’s name and information were added to the stone. When Carrie had died she’d instructed money be spent to get stones for Mary and Ma, but it never happened. Carrie’s estate did buy tombstones for Carrie, her husband, and her stepson. These stones were matching even though Carrie’s was the only one of them for De Smet.
In 1950 Evelyn Wenzel visited De Smet as part of her work on her thesis. She reported: “Mrs. Keating was of the opinion that the Ingalls family had been buried there, but a search revealed a marked grave only for Carrie who died in 1946.” She included a photograph showing Carrie’s original stone. Pa’s stone was right there and they were actively searching for the rest of the family and they couldn’t read the stone at that point.
In 1959 Rose Wilder Lane paid to get the stone recarved. One of the first projects of the De Smet Memorial Society was to get stones for those Ingalls family members that didn’t have them. They replaced Carrie’s so they all matched except Pa’s and Pa’s stone was recarved at that time. A verse was carved in under the information (not sure if it was original or added at that point), but the verse was not recarved in 2022.
Pa’s stone was originally placed as a headstone and when they were added the new stones were put in as footstones. Sometime in the late 1970s Pa’s stone was moved into the position with the rest of the footstones. The difference is that headstones are put by the body’s head and footstones are put in by the body’s feet. Most cemeteries have one or the other as the rule so all the stones line up. It’s odd to have one family’s stones not follow the cemetery pattern, but maybe it was so no one would walk on the family’s graves. (See Note 1)
Made of Marble
Side of Tombstone
I wasn’t sure what kind of stone Pa’s tombstone was. From a distance it looks like marble, but up close the surface texture is closer to sandstone. I hadn’t wondered about the type of stone when I was there, but since I was talking about the recarving I thought I should find out. Not being there to look I decided to ask our local tombstone place. I called them up and from the description of the texture, when it was put up, and how often it had to be re-carved they thought it was probably sandstone. But I thought it looks like marble, another popular 19th century tombstone material. But isn’t marble a stronger stone than that? I did a little research on that and it turns out not so much. Marble is also relatively soft & quick to wear when used for tombstones. When I sent them a photo of Pa’s stone they said it had to be marble. Rausch Brothers Monument Company, Inc. from Ortonville, Minnesota, recarved the marker and remounted it at the De Smet Cemetery. They confirmed in the Kingsbury Journal that it was marble.
Although it was very popular in the 19th century for tombstones, sandstone makes a terrible tombstone. It has a tendency to break down making them hard to read and dangerous to clean. You always think of marble being a stronger material, but apparently tombstone people rate it almost as soft, just not as soft as sandstone. Marble’s relative softness explains why Pa’s stone has needed to be recarved at least twice.
Stone Rubbing
Pa’s tombstone is a frequent target of tombstone rubbing. At its least destructive people hold paper on a tombstone and run crayon or pencil on it to make an impression of what was carved in the tombstone. However, rubbing tombstones have been shown to be a danger to stones. In some states it’s actually illegal to make a tombstone rubbing because of the damage tombstone rubbing can cause.
Pa’s stone is particularly vulnerable to rubbing. It isn’t just one family member making a single copy of a stone in the middle of nowhere. Pa’s stone is rubbed repeatedly, for a big chunk of the year it’s probably rubbed multiple times daily. I’ve seen multiple people do it myself in the few times I’ve been there. The design of Pa’s stone also makes it particularly susceptible to being knocked over because of its high center of gravity. Since you know it’s not the original carving now and that the stone is vulnerable to people rubbing on it, I hope you won’t increase the risk. (See note 2)
To There And Back Again
So Pa’s stone is safely back in place again. It will look a little different this summer because they expanded the cemetery. I can’t wait to visit the De Smet Cemetery again.
Kingsbury Journal
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NOTE 1: The Mansfield, Missouri cemetery where Laura is buried is a footstone cemetery so Laura, Manly, and Rose’s graves are all behind their stones. The plate type stone by Laura’s tombstone is actually a headstone for the grave you are standing on when you look at the front of the graves. Subnote: Yes, there was at least 40 years between when Laura was buried there and when the people behind her were buried so WHY the cemetery didn’t just swap the other people out another lot so Laura fans would have a respectful place to stand (with a cement sidewalk like De Smet’s) and all the future photos of Laura’s stone wouldn’t have the other headstone ruining the shot I do NOT know.
NOTE 2: Although it’s still not a great thing, rubbing the type of stone used for Ma, Mary, Carrie, and Baby Boy Wilder’s stones have much less chance of actually causing damage by rubbing than Pa’s type of stone. I haven’t seen anybody do a rubbing on one of theirs. I only have seen people doing Pa’s so…what’s up with that?
Sarah S. Uthoff is a nationally known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many times at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. She is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales fighting to bring the History, Mystery, Magic, and Imagination of Laura Ingalls Wilder and other greats of children’s literature and history to life for a new generation. How can you help? Attend one of her programs, schedule one yourself, watch her videos, listen to her podcast, look at her photos, and find her on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , SlideShare, and Academia.edu . Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and former director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.
Although not the most famous Austen quote (see note), this is one of the lines that I use most. There are a couple of other lines that I use to explain why people do things (see the Lemon Bars post for instance), but this is one I use a lot. WAY too often people think “that’s why I would do something like that” or “I would ONLY do that if this were true.” Most of the time talking about other people you’re totally wrong if you make that assumption that other people will think and act like you. You need to think of it in terms of why might someone else in particular think that was a good idea? It’s a big help to understanding the world – try it. More people should.
What It Refers To
I think the paragraph above describes best how I use it. Although I will add that this particular quote I don’t actually use Austen’s words, but a paraphrase on her meaning.I’ve included quite a bit of text around it from the book and bolded the actual quote I want to direct you to.
This part will explain how it’s used in the story. If you haven’t read Northanger Abbey go ahead and read it. I’ll wait. It’s great! It’s my second favorite Austen novel.
So you understand it in the story Henry Tilney is the male lead and there are wonderful things about him. His brother (referred to as Captain Tilney) is a jerk. Catherine is the female lead and has been very kindly taken to Bath by some family friends. Due to that and some boasting on Catherine’s brother’s part Isabella has been very friendly to Catherine and has gotten engaged to Catherine’s brother thinking she will be in a very good position as his wife. Which is why Isabella said she’d rather sit than dance because she’s playing it like she would only dance with Catherine’s brother, her fiance, who is temporarily out of town. Now Isabella is under a mistaken impression over Catherine and her brother’s relationships with Catherine’s friends between their bringing her on the trip and paying for everything and Cather’s brother’s boasting. So Isabella was willing to be engaged to him thinking she’d be doing well. However, when Captain Tilney, a much better catch, came around Isabella was willing to make a play for him instead. Isabella thinks it’s probable Captain Tilney will marry her. Henry knows his brother has NO intention or even prospect of marrying anyone as poor and unconnected as Isabella and is playing with her to see if he can catch her. Henry is good at reading characters and knows more of this than Catherine knows. What Henry doesn’t know is how much more wealthy Isabella, Captain Tilney, or his father think Catherine and her brother are than they actually are.
So Catherine thinks her friend and future sister-in-law Isabella won’t want to dance when Catherine’s brother isn’t there and has said as much. So Catherine is surprised when Isabella agrees when Captain Tilney asks her to dance.She thinks Captain Tilney must have seen that Isabella wasn’t dancing and was going out of his way so Isabella would have a chance to dance and that Isabella was just too polite to refuse. This is all rubbish, but read Austen telling you about it below.
At the end of the first dance, Captain Tilney came towards them again, and, much to Catherine’s dissatisfaction, pulled his brother away. They retired whispering together; and, though her delicate sensibility did not take immediate alarm, and lay it down as fact, that Captain Tilney must have heard some malevolent misrepresentation of her, which he now hastened to communicate to his brother, in the hope of separating them forever, she could not have her partner conveyed from her sight without very uneasy sensations. Her suspense was of full five minutes’ duration; and she was beginning to think it a very long quarter of an hour, when they both returned, and an explanation was given, by Henry’s requesting to know if she thought her friend, Miss Thorpe, would have any objection to dancing, as his brother would be most happy to be introduced to her. Catherine, without hesitation, replied that she was very sure Miss Thorpe did not mean to dance at all. The cruel reply was passed on to the other, and he immediately walked away.
“Your brother will not mind it, I know,” said she, “because I heard him say before that he hated dancing; but it was very good-natured in him to think of it. I suppose he saw Isabella sitting down, and fancied she might wish for a partner; but he is quite mistaken, for she would not dance upon any account in the world.”
Henry smiled, and said, “How very little trouble it can give you to understand the motive of other people’s actions.”
“Why? What do you mean?”
“With you, it is not, How is such a one likely to be influenced, What is the inducement most likely to act upon such a person’s feelings, age, situation, and probable habits of life considered—but, How should I be influenced, What would be my inducement in acting so and so?”
“I do not understand you.”
“Then we are on very unequal terms, for I understand you perfectly well.”
“Me? Yes; I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible.”
“Bravo! An excellent satire on modern language.”
“But pray tell me what you mean.”
“Shall I indeed? Do you really desire it? But you are not aware of the consequences; it will involve you in a very cruel embarrassment, and certainly bring on a disagreement between us.”
“No, no; it shall not do either; I am not afraid.”
“Well, then, I only meant that your attributing my brother’s wish of dancing with Miss Thorpe to good nature alone convinced me of your being superior in good nature yourself to all the rest of the world.”
Catherine blushed and disclaimed, and the gentleman’s predictions were verified. There was a something, however, in his words which repaid her for the pain of confusion; and that something occupied her mind so much that she drew back for some time, forgetting to speak or to listen, and almost forgetting where she was; till, roused by the voice of Isabella, she looked up and saw her with Captain Tilney preparing to give them hands across.
Isabella shrugged her shoulders and smiled, the only explanation of this extraordinary change which could at that time be given; but as it was not quite enough for Catherine’s comprehension, she spoke her astonishment in very plain terms to her partner.
“I cannot think how it could happen! Isabella was so determined not to dance.”
“And did Isabella never change her mind before?”
“Oh! But, because—And your brother! After what you told him from me, how could he think of going to ask her?”
“I cannot take surprise to myself on that head. You bid me be surprised on your friend’s account, and therefore I am; but as for my brother, his conduct in the business, I must own, has been no more than I believed him perfectly equal to. The fairness of your friend was an open attraction; her firmness, you know, could only be understood by yourself.”
“You are laughing; but, I assure you, Isabella is very firm in general.”
“It is as much as should be said of anyone. To be always firm must be to be often obstinate. When properly to relax is the trial of judgment; and, without reference to my brother, I really think Miss Thorpe has by no means chosen ill in fixing on the present hour.”
The friends were not able to get together for any confidential discourse till all the dancing was over; but then, as they walked about the room arm in arm, Isabella thus explained herself: “I do not wonder at your surprise; and I am really fatigued to death. He is such a rattle! Amusing enough, if my mind had been disengaged; but I would have given the world to sit still.”
“Then why did not you?”
“Oh! My dear! It would have looked so particular; and you know how I abhor doing that. I refused him as long as I possibly could, but he would take no denial. You have no idea how he pressed me. I begged him to excuse me, and get some other partner—but no, not he; after aspiring to my hand, there was nobody else in the room he could bear to think of; and it was not that he wanted merely to dance, he wanted to be with me. Oh! Such nonsense! I told him he had taken a very unlikely way to prevail upon me; for, of all things in the world, I hated fine speeches and compliments; and so—and so then I found there would be no peace if I did not stand up. Besides, I thought Mrs. Hughes, who introduced him, might take it ill if I did not: and your dear brother, I am sure he would have been miserable if I had sat down the whole evening. I am so glad it is over! My spirits are quite jaded with listening to his nonsense: and then, being such a smart young fellow, I saw every eye was upon us.”
Note 1: I think the most famous Austen quote is “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” It’s the opening line of Pride and Prejudice and has been widely used since then in a massive variety of ways like parodies and plays on famous paintings.
Sarah S. Uthoff is a nationally known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many times at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. She is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales fighting to bring the History, Mystery, Magic, and Imagination of Laura Ingalls Wilder and other greats of children’s literature and history to life for a new generation. How can you help? Attend one of her programs, schedule one yourself, watch her videos, listen to her podcast, look at her photos, and find her on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , SlideShare, and Academia.edu . Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and former director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.
They say: A multi-talented woman, Gene Stratton-Porter was not only a best-selling author and conservationist, she was heavily involved in the film industry. In spite of many years in Hollywood, there has been no film footage of Gene herself…until now. This recently unearthed video of Gene working on her property in Catalina Island – Avalon, California gives us a new glimpse at one of the most influential women in Hoosier history.
This film was shared by the Indiana State Museum on their YouTube channel. It features silent period footage showing Stratton-Porter and her home. A modern voice-over points out the locations, names of people, and important points. It’s only a minute and a half, but it’s a great chance to see this famous author in person.
The way people get jobs today is kind of ridiculous. It’s based on a system of life and learning that doesn’t exist anymore. It was designed to get people who were part of the “club” the job. Today we want people today a more equal chance to get any job to create a more diverse workforce.
Reference Letters to Inequality
One example of this is the reference letter. The problem is even if the letter is meant to be positive people say different things about men and women. The descriptors about men are big and bold and things you’d want in an employee. The descriptors for women were things like neat, organized, and sweet. Not exactly something that screams out give her the job.
It’s such a thing that someone has even created a tool for people to try their letters on to see how they balance out. Try it for any letters you send out.
Sarah S. Uthoff is a nationally known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many times at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. She is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales fighting to bring the History, Mystery, Magic, and Imagination of Laura Ingalls Wilder and other greats of children’s literature and history to life for a new generation. How can you help? Attend one of her programs, schedule one yourself, watch her videos, listen to her podcast, look at her photos, and find her on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , SlideShare, and Academia.edu . Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and former director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.
The first thing to say is that I’m not big into superhero movies. Once you get past Superman I and the Richard Donner cut of Superman II, there are a lot of bad superhero movies out there. My mom aka my movie buddy has an utter hatred of them so unless I go out of my way to see them I don’t see many of them. She especially hates Ironman – which I don’t get – he’s hilarious. TV shows were where I got my superhero fix. I’m going out of my way to spell that out because even given all that I think Spiderman: No Way Home was the best movie of the last couple of years.
I wasn’t properly teed up for this movie. I hadn’t had any interest in the previous two “trilogies” so I didn’t know their Spidermen except from TV ads. I hadn’t seen all the necessary MCU movies for backstory. I hadn’t even seen the previous 2 Spiderman movies of the Home series. And I STILL think this was the best movie of the last couple of years, so if you haven’t seen any of the set up items either, don’t worry about it. You know Peter Parker is Spiderman, was bitten by a radioactive spider and given super powers, had Uncle Ben die because he didn’t use his powers to help when he could have, and “with great power comes great responsibility,” and BAM! you know enough to understand the movie. I did see Spiderman: Far From Home AFTER seeing this and while it explains a couple of things, it really didn’t impact my understanding of or my enjoyment of Spiderman: No Way Home. I also first watched this movie on an airplane on our way down to Walt Disney World which was NOT an ideal viewing system for this movie, but that didn’t even stop it and I watched it again on the way…home.
A Cunning Plan- That’s What We Need A Cunning Plan
My favorite thing about this movie without exception is that it takes the terrible decisions made by probably dozens of people at Sony studios over 20 years… and makes it look like they were planning a brilliant long term move this entire time. That they NEEDED multiple Spidermen to set up this movie so they obligingly went out made some with the intention of reaching the ability to do this movie. (They SO did NOT do this as a long term plan. These were individual short term decisions. Very bad short term decisions.) I am fairly certain that if we are still able to watch these movies in 100 years, maybe 200 years it will be accepted wisdom that this was part of a clever, brilliant plan.
What Happens
So what happens is Peter’s life falls apart after Mysterio postmortemly outs him as Spiderman in a doctored video making it look like Peter arranged the attacks to make himself look important and that he killed Mysterio. Peter’s life goes crazy and neither he nor either of his best friends get accepted into college because of the scandal. He goes to Dr. Strange and asks that he use magic to make everyone forget that Peter Parker is Spiderman. (See Note 1)
Peter interferes with the spell and it goes wrong. People from the different movies come spilling into this world including several amazing villains (and let’s be honest, the one way Sony has done better than Marvel is with the creation of great villains) William DeFoe (Green Goblin) has done the best acting in any superhero movie ever and Alfred Molina (Doc Ock) and Jamie Foxx (Electro) are both great. (Please see Note 2)
Fan Service
A big complaint you heard from some people was that this movie was full of fan service. Fan service is generally considered putting things in movies just to please fans. Things in this movie like the appearance of Matt Murdock aka Daredevil who had previously appeared in a Marvel show on Netflix and was played by the same actor. This confirmed that they and the characters that appeared in them were cannon in the MCU. Things like the line “with great power comes great responsibility” and many other things that you have to be a fan of Spiderman previously to get. They even had, but then cut, a bit with the actor who played Spidey on the 1970s TV show which is the show where I first learned about him. Some were just flashes as Electro briefly sports his energy mask from the comics as he blazes brighter.
I say yes, that’s a terrible idea to put in a movie things that people who will most likely pay to see this movie multiple times will love about this movie .~ (sarcasm mark) I’m not talking about making something so esoteric that you HAD to watch all the previous stuff to understand the entire movie, but adding call outs that fans will like is a good move. Plus, as I say I hadn’t really seen the movies and most of the TV shows that these things called out to and it might not have been as cool for me as it was for people who had, but I didn’t miss that knowledge at all and really enjoyed the movie.
Sing a Song
I found a song on YouTube which is the second best original song I’ve ever found there. I think you have to have seen the movie to appreciate it, but it’s a great re-telling of what happened. (See Note 3)
Deleted Scenes
Like I said, I first saw the movie on plane. This was clearly shot to be seen in a movie theater. When they re-released it in theaters with added footage I was sure to go see it on the big screen. I had been watching deleted scenes and I wondered what ones would be included in this re-release.
These are basically what they added. I’m glad they added the scene that had Tom Holland’s brother in it as a thief, but I see why they cut it. The dialog in the scene was pretty painful. I can see what they meant to do with the scene, but the dialog wasn’t needed. They added a bit of what Peter’s first school day back after his secret identity was revealed and I think that probably shouldn’t have been deleted in the first place. The scene in the elevator to Happy’s apartment doesn’t really add anything. It’s a nice beat, but I’d still cut it. The scene with Daredevil and Happy facing his legal problems and explaining the situation around Happy seeing the villains arrive at his apartment on his phone app was a definite improvement. More bonding time for the Spidermen definitely should NOT have been cut. In fact more spider bonding time should have been a given. The interview shows – weren’t great. They were a good choice to cut and shouldn’t have been put back.
The End
I highly enjoyed this movie. I enjoyed watching it on the teeny, tiny screen on the plane and it was worth seeing again on the big screen. Hope that they cut the talk show elements though – those were just bad and spoiled the rhythm of the movie. Either way you should see it, too.
Note 1: The best thing would have had him wish that people didn’t know Spiderman was Peter Parker or even have them forget Spiderman because then he could just come out again and nobody would remember what he had done before good or bad. BUT really this video from the “How It Should Have Ended” channel has the winner idea. Just have people forget Mysterio and everything he ever said, but it had to be this way “so the movie can happen” as they say on the Pitch Meeting channel. The other major problem with this is that I see no way the “solution” that Peter comes up with at the end makes any logical sense at all. Also, it could well spill over into the other 2 Spidermens realities. It’s just incredibly dangerous and I don’t see how it makes sense in any way whatsoever. Plus what about Flash’s book and all the stuff online and the TV shows and…it just doesn’t make any sense. It’s a satisfying ending though as long as you don’t pick at it.
Note 2: Sonny’s villains were superior to most of the MCU ones (except Loki, nobody will ever top Loki). A big improvement in this MCU version was the presentation of those villain characters. The Green Goblin wore a mask during most of his on screen time in his original movie as the comic character did. This time he destroyed his mask right away so you could appreciate the acting more. Doc Ock was using CGI arms instead of puppet arms and it just worked better, plus I think they did a better job explaining how the arms worked (based on this movie, not his). I’ve seen short clips of original Electro footage and they explained his change in color that this was a different universe so the power was different, but you could also see his face a lot clearer. It was just a better outfit and he looked cooler. There were problems with the other 2 villains because they were working on other things so barely did any in person acting on set, but the CGI version of the costumes were still better.
Sarah S. Uthoff is a nationally known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many times at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. She is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales fighting to bring the History, Mystery, Magic, and Imagination of Laura Ingalls Wilder and other greats of children’s literature and history to life for a new generation. How can you help? Attend one of her programs, schedule one yourself, watch her videos, listen to her podcast, look at her photos, and find her on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , SlideShare, and Academia.edu . Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and former director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.
Do you know all the actors on your favorite show? Probably not if there is a baby. Often baby actors get lost in the shuffle. They don’t interact with the rest of the cast much between takes and cast and crew forget the babies’ names as the production shuts down and all the cast and crew move on.
Baby actors often don’t continue acting as the main baby requirements are to have willing parents and to be a twin, not to “act” or do much except smile, eat and cry on cue. This is actually harder than it sounds. My mom was on local TV when I was a baby and she took me along as a prop to eat her homemade baby food (she was an Extension Home Economist) and I spit it up all over – I have yet to live that down. However, it doesn’t take much skill and as kids grow older there might be less demand and so they may only do a single show.
Double the Time and Double the Fun
There are laws saying that children can only be on any movie or TV set for so long. With twins they can swap out which baby they are using and double the amount of time they can shoot with a baby. It also maybe that one baby might be better than the other at a particular thing like crying on cue. Being identical means that even sharp-eyed viewers usually can’t tell the difference.
Some younger child actors continue working as twins as toddler characters or even as they grow up. The best known “Little House” examples of older twins are Carrie (Lindsay Greenbush and Sidney Greenbush) and Grace (Wendi Lou Lee and Brenda Lea Turnbaugh). The most famous are Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen who continued to share the role of Michelle on Full House as they grew up.
A Rose By Any Other Name
So today’s post is welcoming a new Wilder family member to the cast group, one of the baby actors who played Rose Wilder on the NBC version of Little House on the Prairie. You’ll only remember Rose from the TV show after she was born in the episode Days of Sunshine, Days of Shadow in season 8. The baby character was aged out for the TV movies when another set of twins Michelle and Jennifer Steffin took over the character of Rose.
In real life Rose was Laura and Almanzo’s daughter and their only child to live to adulthood. She became the famous writer Rose Wilder Lane and served as the unofficial editor of Laura’s books.
Alison Arngrim gave me permission to share her story about Jennifer from the latest Nellie’s Newsletter.
WELCOME!! – It’s not often we get to welcome a new member to our LHOTP family. But here we go: Welcome, Jennifer Donati!! Jennifer played Baby Rose Wilder. Well, not by herself. Starting in 1982, Baby Rose was played by Jennifer and her sister Sarah. They were in part of Season 8, and all of season 9 until the series ended. Michelle and Jennifer Steffin took over as Rose in the full-length TV movies. Jennifer met up with everyone at the Bakersfield Comic Con back in November, and the rest is history! (Looking forward to many adventures with this one!)
Sarah S. Uthoff is a nationally known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many times at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. She is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales fighting to bring the History, Mystery, Magic, and Imagination of Laura Ingalls Wilder and other greats of children’s literature and history to life for a new generation. How can you help? Attend one of her programs, schedule one yourself, watch her videos, listen to her podcast, look at her photos, and find her on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , SlideShare, and Academia.edu . Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and former director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.
When I post my video diaries I always get comments about my Laura clothes. No, not my period dresses, but my Laura Ingalls Wilder t-shirts that I wear for travel and Laura trips. I thought everyone might enjoy a closer look at them. So enjoy our monthly series where we look at a Laura shirt.
Shirt of the Month
Here’s this month’s shirt:
De Smet Overall Shirt
This month’s t-shirt is from De Smet, South Dakota. I don’t remember which place I got it there. It looks like an older design, but I must admit I don’t remember. It might even have been an Ebay find because I have bought a couple of older looking shirts off there.
Close-Up of the t-shirt:
De Smet SD
I’m think this would probably either be from the De Smet Pageant or Loftus Store they’re the ones that have the most unusual t-shirts?
Can You Get It?
I don’t think this pattern is available anymore. It looks kind of vintage with the design and the font. If anybody knows where it comes from please comment below.
Sarah S. Uthoff is a nationally known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many times at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. She is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales fighting to bring the History, Mystery, Magic, and Imagination of Laura Ingalls Wilder and other greats of children’s literature and history to life for a new generation. How can you help? Attend one of her programs, schedule one yourself, watch her videos, listen to her podcast, look at her photos, and find her on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , SlideShare, and Academia.edu . Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and former director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.
My Star Wars Day Card – From my visit to Galaxy’s Edge in 2022
Happy Star Wars Day!
May the Fourth be with you! (And also with you. – Am I the only one who always wants to respond that way?) Every year on Star Wars Day I share a special post. Being a pun and me loving some things Star Wars I feel compelled to recognize it every year. In fact this year I created some “May the Fourth be with you” social media cards. Check them out on my various feeds.
A Librarian View
Librarians often have a different way of looking at things. I found this incredibly interesting analysis of the main story of Star Wars as told through various data storage mediums. Basically things that aren’t compatible and ARE compatible because as the Pitch Meeting channel always says “so the movie can happen.”
Being able to retrieve something from a now obsolete system may or may not be possible. Just look at my first novel written on an Apple IIc. Sure it was terrible (what do you expect from a 4th grader), but if I wanted to pull it out I couldn’t. Same deal with some Laura stuff I created on big floppy discs and on small floopy discs and on a Zip file. I never used WordStar myself, but I’ve heard stories of people breaking down and crying when they realize they can no longer access their thesis. Even the United States government that cleverly put everything in a census on a now out of date system may have trouble gaining access. In another story it was easier for a NASA project to retype all the data numbers from a hard copy than to retrieve them from the obsolete system.
Making the Jump to Hyperspeed
These same differences are clearly visible in the Star Wars movies.
Here are some quotes:
“Every time the Rebel Alliance changes bases, they must be lugging around a spaceship full of drives, both new and obsolete, to read every possible format.”
“In A New Hope, Luke Skywalker, who is tech-savvy enough to be trusted to help purchase a droid and then clean it up, seems to be stumped by the disk drive on R2-D2. ‘You’ve got something jammed in here real good,’ he says to R2-D2, as though he doesn’t know it’s a disk. If it’s a disk drive, wouldn’t it obviously be a disk, and wouldn’t he know to push a button to eject it?”
“Why on Earth are ports standardized but data storage isn’t? Why are data storage formats wildly variable, but file formats are readable across enemy lines? Why is it that I have to carry five dongles so my Macbook can play a PowerPoint presentation but a decades-old Rebel droid needs zero to stay interoperable with an enemy’s state-of-the-art battle station?”
“Like Galen Erso, the archivists chose to remain embedded inside the Empire, and as their act of resistance, build the most useless, asinine archival system the galaxy had ever seen.”
Sadly the photos that once graced this well documented article have disappeared, but you should read it anyway. It’s great.
Sarah S. Uthoff is a nationally known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many times at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. She is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales fighting to bring the History, Mystery, Magic, and Imagination of Laura Ingalls Wilder and other greats of children’s literature and history to life for a new generation. How can you help? Attend one of her programs, schedule one yourself, watch her videos, listen to her podcast, look at her photos, and find her on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , SlideShare, and Academia.edu . Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and former director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.
It’s not always easy to find out about what’s going on for Laura Ingalls Wilder events around the country. I finally decided that current information is probably best posted on a month by month basis so for current information search this site for the name of the month you are looking for and the word event (for example April May 2023 Laura Ingalls Wilder Events).
Let me know if I’m missing any. Most of these events are annual, but check with the group hosting the event for exact dates for following years.
This year is bound to be an odd year for homesite events. There will still be some recovery issues and there is still likely to be rearranging of activities and some still might not be available.
Listen to our Looking Ahead Episode
Coming soon!
Silver Lake October 2018
Pepin WI
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 156th birthday is Feb. 7, 2023. We will honor her birthday in Pepin with a special presentation, “Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Real Story,” with interpreter Laura Keyes, to be held Sunday, Feb. 5, at 5:00 at the Pepin School. This presentation is a collaborative project of Pepin Community Education and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society of Pepin. For more information: https://www.pepin.k12.wi.us/community/
Home at Laura’s Place – 9:00 am to 5:00pm (2nd weekend, Saturday and Sunday)
May 13-14, 2023
June 10-11, 2023
July 8-9, 2023
August 12-13, 2023
Visit the Little House Wayside in Pepin, WI on these special weekends to see the cabin fully furnished and re-enactors demonstrating the arts of daily living in the 1870s. This is a cooperative activity of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Days Committee, and the Austin Tea Party Players.
Laura Days – September 9 & 10, 2023
There is some uncertainty about what will happen in 2023. There were some retirements from important volunteer roles. Watch for updates.
This is their big Laura event of the year. Traditionally they include the most participants (including adults) who dress in prairie clothes, a regional fiddle contest, and a Traditional Crafts demonstration area. This year is a fresh start, but it’s hard to say at this point what will be included.
Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder) is their speaker.
Hours
Open 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Daily (including weekends & holidays) from May 1st thru October 28, 2023 (including Memorial Day, July 4, & Labor Day).
Last Day of Season: October 28, 2023
2024 Season Opens: May 1, 2024
Independence KS
Prairie Days has long been their main Laura event, but it’s cancelled for this year and their focus has shifted to a Carrie Ingalls Swanzey birthday party in August.
Carrie Ingalls Swanzey Birthday Party – Saturday, July 29, 2023 – 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Hours
Open March 15th – November 1st, 2023 – 10:00 pm – 5:00 pm everyday.
[Opening and closing dates not confirmed.]
Walnut Grove MN
This year starts a brand new trilogy of plays in place of the Fragments of a Dream pageant. The 1st play they put on for this new series will actual be the 2nd one in the trilogy. The first in the trilogy will be closest to traditional Fragments of a Dream so they are skipping on to the 2nd one. It’s called Chasing the Dream, 1875-1876.
July 7-8, 2023
July 14-15, 2023
July 21-22, 2023
Family Festival held in Walnut Grove City Park on pageant Saturdays, July 8, 15, and 22, 2023. The festival goes from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm Check the Walnut Grove website for full schedule and more details as it gets closer.
2024 will be the 50th Anniversary of the Little House on the Prairie TV show (NBC). Walnut Grove is the homesite that has had the most to do with the TV show and has announced they will definitely be following up their 40th and 45th reunions with one next year. They don’t have any information as far as date or attendees yet. If you plan on going look for where you want to stay now so you’ll be fast booking where you stay when they release dates.
Working Flax at Laura Days – Black Cat Farm
Burr Oak IA
Normally Burr Oak has a lot of smaller events throughout the year. This year they are planning on them again, but nothing is planned that far out. Check back later in the year for more. Under events on their website they have Laura Days dates out to 2030.
Laura Ingalls Wilder Park & Museum Annual Meeting January 19, 2023, Burr Oak Lutheran Church 6pm, Also on Zoom
Spaghetti Supper – Decorah Lutheran church on March 4, 2023 from 4:30-7:00 pm. Live auction of donated items from local businesses and homemade pies begins at 7:00 pm. $15 for adults; $5 for children ages 5-12; 4 and under free. Carry-outs and meatless sauce available. Meet our Little Miss Lauras and learn about our latest projects!
Laura’s Sack Lunch Drive-Thru Meal – May 7, 2023
A fundraising drive through featuring the Winnesheik County Cattlemen. It also includes an open house at the new school building with live music, presentations by their Little Miss Lauras, and refreshments.
Enter the Masters Hotel Coloring Contest! The contest is open for all 8, 9, and 10 year olds. Download the picture and send to the museum by June 12, 2023. Be sure to include your name and address on the other side of the picture. The winner will be announced at the annual Laura Day Celebration. Need not to be present to win. All entries become the property of the museum. The winning picture will be displayed in the Laura Museum Visitor Center for the remainder of the season. The winner will receive the Laura Ingalls Wilder Coloring Book illustrated by Cheryl Harness. Click the link below to print the picture and entry form. Coloring Contest Rules
Hours
Opens May 1, 2023
Monday-Saturday: 10:00 – 4:00 Last tour 3:00
Sunday: Noon – 4:00 Last tour 3:00
Memorial Day – Labor Day Monday-Saturday: 10:00 – 5:00 Last tour 4:00
Sunday: Noon – 4:00 Last tour 3:00
Post Labor Day – Mid October: Thursday-Saturday: 10:00 – 4:00 Last tour 3:00
Closed Sunday-Wednesday
Last day of the 2023 season TBD
De Smet SD
Heart of the Prairie
An original production, is described as featuring Laura and early De Smet history.
July 7, 8, 9, 2023
July 14, 15, 16. 2023
July 21, 22, 23
Gates Open 6 pm, Performance at 8 pm
Old Settlers Day will be Saturday, June 10, 2023.
First School event – July 15, 2023
De Smet Event #3 (name not official)
July 22, 2023
10 am – Judy Thompson – Artist who did covers for Pioneer Girl Project
1 pm Cindy Wilson – Author of The Beautiful Snow
2 pm William Anderson
July 23, 2023
2 pm William Anderson
The Ingalls Homestead is hosting a Plein Air Event (painting in the open air) in conjunction with the Harvey Dunn Society. Find more details about a previous event. – August 11– 13, 2023 with the wet sale on Sunday the 13th.
We don’t have dates for 2023 for their Christmas events, but I assume they will happen again this year.
“Christmas at the Ingalls Home” – No dates confirmed yet
Join us for early holiday shopping plus a chance to tour the Ingalls House on 3rd Street free of charge. Stop at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society for your free ticket.
“A Barrel full of Christmas Memories Radio Play”- No confirmed dates yet. If you’ve enjoyed these radio plays in the past, you’ll be sure to enjoy this year’s. It will be broadcast live on Facebook, OR, you can grab tickets to watch it LIVE at the De Smet Event & Wellness Center in De Smet.
Memorial Society
January-April: Monday-Friday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Call ahead for tour times
May: Monday-Saturday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
School field trips typically visit in the mornings. Please call ahead to confirm tours.
June-August: Monday-Saturday 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 5:30 pm
Labor Day Hours: Monday, September 4, 2023 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
September: Monday-Saturday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tours at 10:00 am, 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm*
October-December: Monday-Friday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Call ahead for tour times.
Ingalls Homestead
Of all the homesite museums the Ingalls Homestead does the best at putting out updates for the entire area around De Smet.
Spring: May 1- 25, 2023 Monday – Friday – Hours vary daily as we host school field trips. We do not keep regular hours, but we can still host visitors. Please contact us for availability. We are generally closed the Friday prior to Memorial Day weekend, to give us a day of transition between school field trips and our summer season. Saturday & Sunday – We are closed on weekends prior to Memorial Day.
Summer: May 27 – September 4, 2023
Open 9 am – 7 pm, Activities from 10 am – 6 pm – The first covered wagon ride leaves at 10 am and the final covered wagon ride leaves at 6 pm, with rides and activities throughout the day. We are open every day including Sundays, Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day.
Autumn: September 5 – September 30, 2023
Open 9 am – 5 pm; Activities offered from 11 am – 2 pm, Saturday Activities offered from 11 am – 4 pm
We have the covered wagon ride, pony and pony cart rides, and hands-on activities each day. We will not be offering the one-room schoolhouse session except on Saturdays.
October 1 – October 31, 2023 Daily 9 am – 5 pm, weather permitting
No activities offered, but the grounds, visitors center, and gift shop are open.
Spring Valley MN
Spring Cleaning May 6, 2023
Ice Cream Social June 17, 2023 at 5pm
Eliza JaneOne Room School Days Mid summer (TBD)
Ag Days (formerly Wilder Fest) August 18-20, 2023
Winter Fundraiser TBD
Hours
Open between Memorial Day Weekend thru the end of August. 10:00 am – 4:00 pm daily. Additional hours and events may be added later.
Mansfield MO
Note: Mansfield has been scheduling small events without a lot of notice. If this trend continues I will add them to list as soon as I find out about them.
Independence Day
The Fourth of July is always celebrated in Mansfield, Missouri. Parades have been a tradition here since the days of Horses pulling Decorated Wagons and Buggies. Today we all celebrate Independence Day in Mansfield with a Parade, Festival and Fireworks.
Rocky Ridge Adventure Pioneer Camp – July 24-28, 2023 The Laura Ingalls Wilder Home Association “Rocky Ridge Adventure Pioneer Camp” for the 2023 season! The camp will be for children ages (9-12). Camp will cost $TBA per child and will include a week of exciting adventures around Rocky Ridge Farm. Campers will enjoy many learning activities, bringing a hands-on perspective to the pioneer lifestyle. Email: liw.pioneercamp@gmail.com Camp will take place, rain or shine!! Your child will not want to miss this special week of historic fun and memories!!!! Register today and reserve your spot! What is included from last year’s post – Registration cost includes 5 days of camp, tin cup, badge, book, shirt and a hat (bonnet for girls and coon skin cap for boys). For more information, call 417-924-3626.
“Laura’s Memories” – An Outdoor Pageant
Sadly the Ozarks Mountain Players have closed down. The rights to the script and songs have reverted to their authors. There is some hope in town another group in town will restart ”Laura’s Memories” the pageant in Mansfield City Park. Sadly this is the second Laura pageant group, after the one in Pepin, Wisconsin which closed some years ago, to close. It’s the first long running pageant to do so. It had great music and the most comfortable pageant theater of the current shows.
Wilder Days and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Fiddle Off – September 22-23, 2023
Annual celebration commemorating Laura Ingalls Wilder, America’s favorite pioneer girl, and her cherished Little House books. We will be having our 8th Annual Fiddle Contest on Wilder Day. It will be a great day to enjoy fiddle music on the property as well as to hear Pa’s Fiddle played.
Please come out and enjoy the festivities. Visit our Facebook page for more info.
Fundraising Dinner – TBA The 6th Annual, “Wilder Dinner.” The special guest (usually someone from the NBC TV series) has not been announced yet.
Jean C. Coday Day at Rocky Ridge Farm – November 4, 2023
As former director (1993-2018) and board member (1960-2018) of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum we honor her memory and years of service with a discounted ticket price of $10 for all active and retired teachers and librarians. Mrs. Coday had a passion for children, devoting 31 years as a teacher/administrator with the Mansfield school system. The Jean C. Coday Elementary School Library was named in her honor in 2000. The board of directors have decided to make this an annual event on the Saturday closest to her birthday.
Christmas at Laura’s – TBA
Opening and decorating the Rocky Ridge farmhouse for Christmas is a tradition here on Rocky Ridge Farm. Holiday shopping in the giftshop. Come celebrate Christmas with us in a most special way!
Hours
March 1st – November 15th, 2023
Monday-Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday 12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Adult Ticket – $18.00 Children 6 to 17 – $8.00 Children 5 & Under – Free
Friday, January 27, 2023 at 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm CST 2023 Annual Meeting- public invited
Celebration of Youth and Morgan Horse – July 16, 2022
Children’s art on display, along with students’ essays. Award ceremony and the announcement of Honorary Laura and Almanzo
Kids art activities, 19th century games, vendors, food
Entertainment & more!
Dean Butler who played Almanzo Wilder on the TV show will guest.
Annual Cultural Festival – Scottish Fling – July 15, 2023
Our annual cultural events will resume this summer with our 2nd Scottish Fling! Come enjoy the enchanting sounds of bagpipes, watch traditional Scottish dancers, and try some Scottish fare, as we celebrate the influence of the Scots in rural northern NY when the Wilder family lived here. Vendors invited.
Almanzo and Laura Ingalls Wilder Anniversary Celebration – August 25, 2023
Lemonade and Cupcakes, free admission for people with the same anniversary (must show proof)
Annual Harvest Festival & Civil War Living History Encampment – September 23 & 24, 2023
Civil War living history encampment
Pumpkin painting and children’s 19th century game in the orchard, children’s corn pit in the barn,
Adult juried art show on display
Entertainment, demonstrators, craft & produce
Christmas with Almanzo – Date TBA
Children’s craft activities Farmer Boy Christmas chapter readings, carol singing.
ALL EVENTS AND TIMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
Their regular season runs from May 27 through September 30, 2023. If planning a visit when they are closed you can reach out and ask about a special tour. Higher rates apply for small special groups, regular rates for groups over 3 people if they can arrange the staff.
Vinton IA
Tours are not currently available. We are in doubt of future events due to uncertainty of the future of the building.
Keystone SD – Longtime Home of Carrie Ingalls Swanzey
Details aren’t set yet, but they’re planning on a small event for this year’s Carrie Ingalls Swanzey’s Birthday Party – Friday July 29 – Saturday July 30th for a small event with activities, music, and birthday cake.
Hours
Starting Monday, May 2, 2022 they will be open Monday-Saturday, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum – West Branch IA
They do a special Laura program every year in September with a speaker. No word on date, time, or format for this year’s.
American Printing House for the Blind – Louisville, Kentucky
The American Printing House for the Blind has canceled all events this year because of a remodel. It’s not supposed to be finished until 2023.
Pomona Public Library – Pomona CA
No Laura’s birthday Gingerbread Sociable will be held again this year. It may return next year, but they won’t know until the end of 2023.
Old World Wisconsin – Eagle WI
Old World Wisconsin is returning to Laura Ingalls Wilder events in a different way. They are offering camps. Search their events page for Laura Ingalls Wilder to pull up more information or book tickets.
Little House Adventure Summer Camp – One day adventure camps for kids held 3 different times. Registration is a separate fee. Kids ages 8-10.
Thursday, July 6, 2023| 10 am – 3 pm
Thursday, July 20, 2023 | 10 am – 3 pm
Thursday, August 10, 2023 | 10 am – 3 pm
Little House Family Adventure Summer Camp – One day camp for kids and adults to go together. It doesn’t say so, but I think they expect you to bring a kid if you’re an adult.
Sunday, July 30, 2023| 10 am – 3 pm
Heritage Hill – Green Bay WI
They are not doing a Laura Ingalls Wilder event this year. Previously they said their plan was to have a Laura event every other year going forward. This would be the year and they don’t have one scheduled. When last heard from they were considering a prairie days event, but that was a couple of years ago.
Genesee Country Village and Museum – Mumford, NY
The seem to have given up on Wilder Weekend, at least for now. They do have various events that would be of interest to Laura fans a couple of times a month. Check their schedule.
Nelson Pioneer Farm – Oskaloosa, Iowa
Laura Days– July 11 – July 28, 2023
Three different series of craft activities will be offered every Tuesday-Friday throughout July. This is not a day camp. The goal of this program is for the adults and children to do the activities together. Adults must remain with their children. Most activities are designed for children ages 6-10. Any special notation regarding ages or skill levels are listed with the activities. Or a modification will be available. Younger siblings are welcome to join in to the best of their ability! Each day we’ll feature a building or exhibit before heading to the craft barn to make the craft.
Colt on Ingalls Homestead
National Cowgirl Museum – Fort Worth, Texas
The National Cowgirl Museum previously had held an annual event, but stopped having it. They brought it back for the 150th as a one shot. This year they don’t seem to have any events scheduled so far.
Missouri Cherry Blossom Festival – Marshfield, Missouri
Little House events
April 27, 2023
9 AM – 5 PM – Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum in Mansfield, MO presents a traveling exhibit on the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder- Webster County Library (Free Admission)
9 AM- Judy Wampler will speak about “Laura Ingalls Wilder from Wisconsin to Missouri” using her quilt collection and her book- Marshfield Assembly of God
11 AM- Cindy Wilson (author) will speak about her book, “The Beautiful Snow: The Ingalls Family, the Railroads, and the Hard Winter of 1880-81”- Book signing will follow the presentation in the church foyer- Marshfield Assembly of God
4:35 PM- “Legends of Television and Screen” Panel featuring actors and actresses from several classic television shows and cinema classics- Lauren Chapin (Kitten, Father Knows Best), Gayla Peevey (Singer, I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas), Wendi Lou Lee (Baby Grace, Little House on the Prairie), Kim Lankford (Knots Landing), Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson, Little House on the Prairie), Karolyn Grimes (Zuzu, It’s a Wonderful Life) and others- Marshfield Assembly of God
April 28, 2023
8 AM- Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum hosts, “Nellie’s Breakfast”-Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson, Little House on the Prairie) will interview Hersha Parady (Alice Garvey, Little House on the Prairie)- Benefiting the Laura Ingalls Wilder Children’s Literature Festival- Sponsored by Federal Protection – Marshfield Assembly of God Fellowship Hall- Tickets are $25 per person, 2023 Cherry Blossom Festival Events | Eventbrite or call 808-345-4975.
9 AM – 5 PM- Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum in Mansfield, MO presents a traveling exhibit on the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder- Webster County Library (Free Admission)
2 PM- Annual Missouri Walk of Fame Ceremony- Honoring six famous Missourians with stars on the historic Walk of Fame. Honorees include: Hersha Parady (Actress, Little House on the Prairie), Ken Osmond (Actor), Pamela Baird (Actress), May Kennedy McCord (Folklorist), David Harrison (Author) and Moore & Moore (Entertainers). The Blue Jay Singers will perform as well- Marshfield Assembly of God
Only 100 tickets will be sold for the Little House Murder Mystery! This premiere evening event also features a professional photo with you and the cast members.
Little House on the Prairie: A Celebration! – Saturday, May 13, 2023, 1:00pm
According to the latest Nellie Newsletter it’s on May 12, 2023, but the Autry finally posted the event and they say the 13th. Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder) will join with Little House cast & crew to gratefully honor Michael Landon and Little House producer Kent McCray at the Autry Museum of the American West in Burbank, CA. https://theautry.org/events/live-performances/little-house-prairie-celebration
There will be others, especially one in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, but I don’t have any dates yet.
Sarah S. Uthoff is a nationally known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many times at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. She is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales fighting to bring the History, Mystery, Magic, and Imagination of Laura Ingalls Wilder and other greats of children’s literature and history to life for a new generation. How can you help? Attend one of her programs, schedule one yourself, watch her videos, listen to her podcast, look at her photos, and find her on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , SlideShare, and Academia.edu . Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and former director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.
Sarah's Notebook 