I’m home again and the flood waters are receding. They have left a big mess to clean up. It’s still too early to know just how much of a loss it will be.
On a happier note, I missed the Laura Days in Burr Oak, but they went on as scheduled. Bad weather didn’t really hit until mid-afternoon on Sunday, so I don’t think it caused too much trouble.
As many of you may know, the Burr Oak Laura museum lost one of its best friends last summer. Bob Brimacomb was the husband of Ferneva Brimacomb, the former director of the site, who did such an outstanding job. Bob was with her every step of the way. He always helped them with the Days celebration and often lent a hammer or an idea when something was needed around the museum. He traveled with Ferneva to many Laura events, including the…
I’m posting a more in-depth description of one of my programs each month.
Check them all out. Which one would you like to see most?
Storytelling
What’s My Story?
This was one of my first attempts to put together a program that was outside friendly as I started to get requests for those types of programs. In many ways it’s my most flexible program because the length can be easily adjusted. You can run it for 20 minutes, for an hour and a half, or just about any length in between. It also works really well for situations where you expect people to flow in, stay awhile, and then flow out again, since they are individual stories you can come in for one or two and then leave without feeling that you are missing something. It also works well for groups without a lot of knowledge of Laura Ingalls Wilder ahead of time and for younger groups. It can be done for groups of all adults, but that doesn’t work quite as well because as part of the program audience volunteers have to select an object off the table at the start of every story and adults have a much harder time doing this than kids.
Program Specifics
I tell interactive stories from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s life and from historic tales. Also included are poems and riddles. While I appear in 19th century historic clothing for this program, it’s not a first person program meaning I don’t pretend I’m Laura.
Storytelling Objects
A long table is placed at the front of the space. On this table will be placed an assembly of objects (stuffed animals, a plastic fly, a slate, a china doll, etc.). Each object represents a story, a poem, or a riddle. Audience members volunteer to come up and pick an object and then I tell that story, poem, or riddle. It’s completely up to the audience what comes next. Sometimes an object will have more than one story attached so it can change program to program. Some objects require their volunteer to stay up front and help with the story.
Alternatives for Presentation
There are two major variations of this program available. The usual version has a general mix of subjects. The alternative version focuses on animal stories. That one includes me bringing Pa’s Big Green Animal Book aka The Polar and Tropical Worlds: A Popular and Scientific Description. Read more.
Requirements
Hosts will have to provide a big table or 2 regular size tables at the front of the space and a small table off to the side or the back of the space. I need to be able to move around the table and the space should be set up so it’s possible for audience members to get up to the front and back to their seats as easily as possible.
Note that the one disadvantage of this program is that unlike in normal storytelling I can’t control the “set” which means that similar stories might be told right after each other and that it doesn’t build to one big finale story at the end. It ebbs and flows with the audience choices.
Sound interesting?
If this sounds interesting to you, ask a local museum or library to have me come and present What’s My Story?
Sarah S. Uthoff is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales striving 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. Uthoff is a nationally known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. Attend one of her programs, schedule one yourself, watch her videos, listen to her podcast, and find her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and Academia.edu. Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.
This is a problem with the echo chamber of the web. If something is repeated enough times people assume it’s true. This is especially true of not very reputable websites that often copy content from each other. So you find a shakey fact on one site, google it and you’ll find the exact same list on another shakey website and it’s confirmed. People also love good stories, especially with lots of (capital R) Romance and drama like the “tear catchers” (really perfume bottles) even if they don’t make sense if you take a moment and think about them. If it’s a good story it’s very difficult to shake someone’s belief. So be a good example if something is too good a story take a minute and dig a bit to see if it’s true before you believe it in the first place.
Sarah S. Uthoff is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales striving 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. Uthoff is a nationally known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. Attend one of her programs, schedule one yourself, watch her videos, listen to her podcast, and find her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and Academia.edu. Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.
Catching up on some delayed stuff. I always think of Laura and the spider frying pan she describes in Little House on the Prairie when I see the advertisement for the world’s largest frying pan along I-380.
The World’s Largest Frying Pan
The town of Brandon hosts a yearly pancake breakfast for the town with a cowboy theme, hence the giant, metal skillet. You can’t see it from the Interstate. I was surprised it was on the opposite side of town from the Interstate in a park next to the Brandon community center. As much as they advertise it I would have thought they’d have had it close on. That community center partially paid for with money from the pancake breakfast.
Brandon, Iowa Today
It’s an odd town. They have some beautiful buildings including two simply gorgeous old bank buildings (now other things). The cemetery at the top of the…
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 new monthly series where we look at a Laura shirt each month.
Crossing the Rubicon
Clothes are one of those things that I once kept as a firm line not to cross as part of my efforts to restrict my Laura collection to a reasonable size. That totally failed when I discovered how great it is to have a Laura t-shirt on when traveling. It really makes it feel like your trip has already started once you get in your car. They are also fun to wear other places. I wore mine to Walt Disney World and started a couple of conversations that way.
Shirt of the Month
Here is this month’s t-shirt:
Old Walnut Grove Pageant T-shirt
Wear Your Laura Shirts With Pride
I’m coming off our recent trip to South Dakota, hopefully see new post about here soon. I wore a Laura t-shirt every day and got asked lots of questions about Laura and the homesites and got directed by many western South Dakotans to the Keystone Area Historical Society’s Carrie exhibit. So my t-shirt collection is almost all t-shirts to wear. This shirt is one of the exceptions.
40th Anniversary of the Pageant
This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the Walnut Grove pageant so in their honor I’m going to share several Walnut Grove shirts starting with this one. I got to attend my first pageant there on a birthday trip in the early 1980s. I’ve been many times since with a VIP behind the scenes tour the last time. I love the Walnut Grove players.
I also have a terrible habit of cruising Ebay looking for Laura related stuff. I used to do it more before my collection had filled out so much (so I’m probably missing stuff), but I happened on this great shirt. It was only a medium and there is NO way I’ll ever be wearing it, but I had to have it for my collection. I mean who could pass up Pa, Ma, and Laura printed in neon hot pink? Certainly not I.
And check out these two video diaries about visits to the pageant.
Sarah S. Uthoff is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales striving 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. Uthoff is a nationally known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. Attend one of her programs, schedule one yourself, watch her videos, listen to her podcast, and find her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and Academia.edu. Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.
Sarah S. Uthoff is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales striving 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. Uthoff is a nationally known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. Attend one of her programs, schedule one yourself, watch her videos, listen to her podcast, and find her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and Academia.edu. Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.
You’ve probably heard of the Laura Ingalls Wilder pageants in DeSmet, South Dakota, and Walnut Grove, Minnesota, but do you know there is a pageant in Mansfield, Missouri? This pageant is put on by the Ozark Mountain Players and is called Laura’s Memories.
What’s Different from the Other Pageants?
One major difference is that this pageant is a musical. Frankly I like the music better than the Little House on the Prairie the Musical that got a national tour. I’ve only seen it once in person (although I’ve also seen in on DVD), but I can still sing part of a couple of the songs. ♫♪”Farmer boy, Farmer boy…” ♪♫
Unlike the other two pageants it seeks to tell Laura’s entire life story rather than just a part of it or to dramatize one of the books. It plays off the only known recording of Laura’s voice using that as a set up as Laura shares memories from her life. A unique thing is that they rotate roles as time progresses so no one person has to learn an excessive amount of dialogue, which can be a little difficult to follow until you figure it out. Important to the audience it also features the most professional theater stage and the best back support for the seats.
Dates
Uniquely for the pageants it splits its dates every year with some during the summer and the rest in September as part of the lead up to Wilder Days. They were very late getting the dates out this year, so I’m taking this special post to share them. I’ve updated my events page with these and a couple of other things lately, so take a look.
July 14-15, 21-22, 28-29, 2017
Sept 1-2, 8-9, 15-16, 2017
Wilder Days: September 15,16, & 17, 2017
I can honestly highly recommend this pageant. So if you’re looking for a last minute Laura trip. Take a look!
Sarah S. Uthoff is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales striving 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. Uthoff is a nationally known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. Attend one of her programs, schedule one yourself, watch her videos, listen to her podcast, and find her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and Academia.edu. Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.
