Getting Logs Out of the Woods

Little Boy in the Big Woods

Farmer Boy has a chapter where Father Wilder and young Almanzo go to get wood out of their timber. As part of Almanzo’s plan to use his newly broken oxen and sled. Father Wilder had a big operation going, but Almanzo brought his own small sled along. We learn that empty sleds were supposed to get off the road in favor of loaded sleds. When Almanzo passes with a full load his oxen pull off the road and Father Wilder drives by with his empty sled. This was my grandmother’s least favorite part of the book. She never got over Father Wilder just going on by with his empty sled when Almanzo went in the ditch – she was a big believer in that taking care of kids is every adult’s number one duty. She never forgave him and still was kind of angry about it when she passed on.

Tiller’s International

Tiller’s International is an organazation with two main purposes. One is to preserve traditional practical living skills for farming and every day life. The other is to teach versions of these skills to people in undeveloped countries today to improve their quality of life. This video shows you the tools you use to move trees with hand tools and oxen.

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.

In the Kitchen With Laura Jell-O

My In the Kitchen With Laura posts and videos bring you into the kitchen with Laura Ingalls Wilder as we learn about historic cooking.

Historic Food?

Gelatin both as a savory and as a dessert since back in the middle ages. Jell-O as a branded product was invented in 1897. Do you know there is a museum that focuses on Jell-O? The LeRoy Historical Society is the local historical society for the town where Jell-O brand gelatin was invented. Lynne Belluscio represented the museum in my recent podcast.

Listen to: Lynne Belluscio and the Story of Jell-O

The LeRoy Historical Society doesn’t have an official tour video, but there are a couple done by visitors on YouTube. This one gives you a brief look around and features Lynne.

For a quicker version of the story of Jell-O check out this brief video history of the invention of the brand.

This write up includes some nice photos including one of a Jell-O including a lettuce type salad encased in Jell-O.

Cookbooks

Cookbooks are an important cultural resource. This one includes references to Jell-O cookbooks. Download and find some of the many, many Jell-O cookbooks that were produced.

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.

Earth Day and Arbor Day

Revisit Earth Day and Arbor Day.

Sarah's Notebook

This month saw both Earth Day and Arbor Day. I celebrated Earth Day in my usual way, by forgetting to wear my official Earth Day T-shirt….again. I also got a free tree to plant from the National Mississippi River Museum, but it’s still in a vase on the kitchen table.

Arbor Day is much more important to me. One of my favorite gifts to send people is a certificate from the National Arbor Day Organization that trees have been planted in their honor. It also played an important role in many one-room schools. There were entire books (I have several) put out by some of the states each year on how to properly celebrate Arbor Day in your school with informative lessons, poetry, and photos. Iowa’s state quarter features a slightly modified image of Grant Wood’s painting “Arbor Day.” Find out more about it, here https://www.usmint.gov/learn/kids/library/50-state-quarters/iowa Be sure to check…

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Top 10 Posts During March 2020

Here are the blog posts and pages that have had the most views last month. Take a look maybe there is something there that will interest you, too.

Read Along With TV’s Nellie Alison Arngrim

American Masters in De Smet 2020

Program Descriptions

$100 in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Lapdesk

Book: T Model Tommy

In the Kitchen With Laura Project February 2014

Booking a Program

Images Of The Past: Carrie Ingalls Swanzey

Historic Clothes with Micarah Tewers

Pa’s Bell at Walnut Grove

What comes next? Updated

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.

 

American Masters in De Smet 2020

Crew in Mansfield

If you’ve followed along through my podcasts in 2019 you know that the folks at American Masters is working on a Laura Ingalls Wilder episode. Previously they’ve at least sent a camera to Pepin, Burr Oak, Walnut Grove, and Mansfield. (Please comment if you’ve heard of them somewhere else.)

The De Smet News has reported they’ve now visited De Smet.  They’d saved De Smet for last hoping to get some film for The Long Winter. The De Smet News reports the team as Mary Murphy (producer), Chris Czajka (assistant producer), and Caroline Curvan (researcher). This is the team I met in Mansfield.

They hit all the highlights in De Smet down to even a horse-drawn sleigh ride. I don’t have the names of the camera man and sound operator, but they look the same as the ones I saw in Mansfield.

They’re planning on having over 200 hours of footage to be edited down to 90 minutes. The unused footage will be saved. There isn’t a release date yet, but they expect it in early 2021.

I’m really very pleased that Laura is receiving this honor and have high hopes that it will spur on more reading as people discover or re-discover Laura’s story, visits to the homesites, and sales of the books and merchandise.

I was especially pleased that coming from New York they were very positive about Laura. For years every report I’ve heard coming out of New York City and the surrounding area has been very anti-Laura. They were astounded by this and reported all the response they’ve gotten there is positive. So maybe the people I talked to in the library, university, academics, and literature that had a problem with Laura are a minority after all. That’s certainly good news.

I’m looking forward to this special and I hope you help spread the news!

Palmlund, Donna. “PBS Crew Films in De Smet.” The De Smet News. 12 Feb. 2020.  p. 1. (Vol. 139 No. 7)

PBS Van for Film Crew

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.

Read Along With TV’s Nellie Alison Arngrim

Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson) and Sarah Uthoff (Sarah Uthoff)

As part of her continuing efforts to spread peace and good cheer (check out her really positive Facebook video show), actress Alison Arngrim has launched a campaign to read the “Little House” series. Every day (weekdays and weekends) she makes a Facebook live session on her Facebook page reading one of the books in the series. She reads a couple of chapters everyday as many as she feels like. Most days it’s at 1 PM and 1:30 PM. Arngrim leaves prior readings on her page so you can catch up.

Arngrim reads the book and makes comments from her perspective as a modern day Californian. Many of those comments are hilarious, but some of them are warnings that things in the book wouldn’t meet today’s expectations. Every day Arngrim wears another bonnet of a different color. You can buy a signed bonnet from her.

During the sessions chat is available and it’s drawing people from all over the country and some foreign countries. Lots of questions and answers go by during the readings. So check her out. Read more in this article from Forbes magazine.

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.

Lions City Park Then Pentacrest Museums Now

Iowa City Park Zoo

City Park Zoo

Regular readers will know that I loved the City Park Zoo. It had fallen on hard times. You can read my prior posts about it.

One story I had heard was that the bear which had been the University of Iowa’s mascot before Herky the Hawk. I asked the people behind the Natural History Museum on campus about it and they thought maybe that story was mixed up with the fact that they DID have the City Park lions.

Iowa City Park Zoo Lions in the News

So I’m always excited when anything from the City Park makes the news and the lions from the zoo are in the news. These lions were brought to Iowa City by Harry Bremer who purchased them in South Africa. They lived in his carriage house for awhile and then moved over to the City Park. The lions were taxidermied when they died (in 1931 and 1939). 68 donors including a large gift from the family of former sociology professor George McCall funded a new spot for lions.

They raised money for a new permanent mural in 30 years by Thomas Agran. It will open later this year with an image of South Africa where the lions were born. I’m looking forward to see the stand out of a new display.

Pentacrest Museums eNewsletter

The Pentacrest Museums incorporates the multiple museums in the Pentacrest area of the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City. They send out e-mail newsletters regularly here is their story about the lions.

Pentacrest Museum E-Newsletter from March 25, 2020:

Check out the latest IOWA Magazine for an article on the exhibit renovation and habitat installation for our lions, Harry and Josephine.

We’re proud to announce, there and here, our new partnership with Iowa City Downtown District’s public art director and adjunct assistant professor at the UI School of Art and Art History, Thomas Agran, “It’s exciting to take part in offering some context for the lions, helping to use their rather bizarre story as a broader opportunity to teach. Yay museums!”

Agran will install the exhibit mural in Mammal Hall soon, when it is deemed safe to work in the building again. Stay tuned for progress reports and grand opening dates. Click here to read the story in Iowa Magazine.

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.