Sarah's Notebook

Mentions November 2020

Sarah in front of Ingalls Homestead Ma’s House

I haven’t had too many mentions this year since I didn’t get in many programs, but November turned that around and I have several this time. That’s also why I’m posting this a little later this month because I think they deserve their own posts before I do this combination post.

I’m also going to add a mention that really should have been included in my July mentions. At the time I did an interview with the Walnut Grove Pageant they had been planning on only leaving the videos up a few weeks. Since it now seems like it will be up awhile I’m going to go ahead and site it here.

“Uthoff brings Laura Ingalls Wilder to life in Zoom event.” The Daily Reporter [Spencer]. 9 Nov. 2020.

Walnut Grove Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant. “Laura’s Prairie Summer Episode TWO.” YouTube, uploaded by Laura Ingalls Wilder in Minnesota, 11 July 2020, youtu.be/8o_7BYzuAMY. Accessed 3 Dec. 2020.

“Around the Next Bend in the Road – Nov. 2020 3rd Thursday program.” YouTube, uploaded by Hoover Presidential Foundation. 24 Nov. 2020, youtu.be/8nhuEJCyxRY. Accessed 3 Dec. 2020.

“An Interview with Historian Sarah Uthoff from Trundlebed Tales.” Walnut Grove Cast, 17 Nov. 2020. www.walnutgrovecast.com/an-interview-with-historian-sarah-uthoff-from-trundlebed-tales Accessed 3 Dec. 2020.

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 Uthoff By the Numbers December 2020

Show me the numbers they say and I was inspired by a poster for a concert at Kirkwood that included the performer’s number of Facebook likes. I thought, “I can do that!” I did previous posts Trundlebed Tales by the Numbers:
August 19, 2013, December 14, 2013 , June 8, 2014, December 19, 2014, April 13, 2015, September 20, 2015 , December 30, 2015, April 6, 2016, February 5, 2017, August 20, 2017 , and February 25, 2018, November 19, 2018, and June 29, 2019, and June 30, 2020. It’s a collection of raw numbers of my online activities. It’s interesting to track. Today’s post numbers are as of December 31, 2020.

Number of blog posts published on Trundlebed Tales: 1,991

Total number of blog post views: 176,705

Highest number of views in a single day: 389

Number of YouTube videos on Trundlebed Tales YouTube Channel: 144

Total Number of Subscribers to Trundlebed Tales YouTube Channel: 282

Number of total views on Trundlebed Tales YouTube Channel: 98,040 views

Plus views of my program on Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum channel: Christmas 33,634 and Long Way Home 9,613 and Around the Next Bend in the Road 170 views

For a total of YouTube views: 141,457

Number of Followers on Twitter: 2,260

Number of Friends on Facebook: 697 plus 415 follows

Number of Likes on Trundlebed Tales Facebook Page: 826 plus 861 follows

Number of connections on LinkedIn: 281

Slideshare Uploads: 4

Slideshare Views: 1,473

Number of episodes on Blog Talk Radio:248

Number of total listens on Blog Talk Radio: 110,812

Highest listen number for an individual episode: 6,104

Number of Views on Academia.edu: 397

Followers on Academia.edu: 37

Photos added on Flickr: 148

Photos on Instagram: 1,486

Followers on Instagram: 394

Videos added on Vimeo: 31(total watches not part of standard Vimeo statistics). Vimeo did send me an ad that said I had 716 views in 2018.

In the Kitchen With Laura Update 2020

Another year and we’ve added at least a couple of our In the Kitchen With Laura posts. What is In the Kitchen with Laura? One of the ways I celebrate Laura is through historic cooking. These posts take you into a historic kitchen. Sometimes it’s something to try hands on, sometimes it’s just learning something about food and cooking. All of them are things you could do, In the Kitchen With Laura. Here’s a longer explanation. Enjoy the directory of all the posts from this popular series.

Sarah in costume holding Fannie Farmer and Joy of Cooking cookbooks — Fannie Farmer and Joy of Cooking Show the Change in Cooking

What is In the Kitchen With Laura?
http://littlehouseontheprairie.com/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-ingalls-wilder

Learn more about my program In the Kitchen With Laura:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/fizz-boom-read-and-in-the-kitchen-with-laura-ingalls-wilder

Check out these images from the program:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2013/09/11/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-test-shots

In the Kitchen With Laura Posts

Braiding Onions:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2019/07/22/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-braiding-onions

Butter and Egg Money:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2014/07/23/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-june-2014

Cambric Tea:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2018/12/24/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-cambric-tea

Churning Butter as in the Little House books:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2017/05/17/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-churning-garth-williams/

Cocoa as served in one-room schools:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2008/10/21/hot-dish-of-cocoa

Cook’s Country Food History Videos:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2015/04/30/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-morel-mushrooms

Fannie Farmer Cookbook and The Joy of Cooking:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-august-2014

Fire:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2017/04/20/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-fire

Food Display at Pepin, WI:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2019/12/16/historic-foodways-at-pepin-2019

Ginger Water:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2014/08/11/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-july-2014

Goats:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2014/05/30/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-april-2014

Handwritten Recipes:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-project-jan-2014

Historic Foodways in Pepin:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2019/12/16/historic-foodways-at-pepin-2019

Jell-O:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2020/04/06/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-jell-o

Kerosene Lamps:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2018/04/10/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-kerosene-lamps

Losing Food Words:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2018/03/20/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-losing-words

Measurements:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2014/04/29/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-project-march-2014

Morel Mushrooms:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2015/04/30/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-morel-mushrooms

Pepper Rings:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2018/10/08/in-the-kitchen-pepper-rings

Roundup of Food History Videos:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2015/02/20/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-cooks-country-food-history

Salt Rising Bread:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2020/09/29/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-salt-rising-bread

Shortening:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2014/06/30/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-may-2014

Spices:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2016/06/10/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-spices

Supper versus Dinner versus Lunch:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2018/05/24/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-supper-vs-dinner

Whipped Cream:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-whipped-cream

Woodstove Basics:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-project-february-2014

Wringer Washer:
https://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com/2015/06/12/in-the-kitchen-with-laura-wringer-washer

The Love Is BACK!

Cover of The Muppet Christmas Carol

I have extremely good news today and it is further proof that December 2020 intends to turn all this horrible thing after horrible thing around before we hit January 2021 bless its heart. First, the Charlie Brown Christmas will be shown on regular broadcast TV after all (on PBS). Now they’ve fixed the master having found the clip of the most important song in The Muppets Christmas Carol.

The Love

If you want to know how much I LOVE this movie and read a lot of really interesting stuff about it, read my previous post on The Muppets Christmas Carol. In it you will find stuff talking about how important this song is to the movie. It signals a major character growth by Scrooge and shows he’s broken, not bad. It shows him wishing things were different. IT SHOWS HE KNOWS THE WORDS! (Seriously read the whole article by Maddie Rodriguez about it.) And it ties into the reprise/revision of the final song of the movie, The Love We’ve Found which of course completes the character arc of the main character of the movie.

Is Gone

Short-sighted people at Disney (and as much as I love Disney they do some supremely stupid things) decided that despite its critical role in the movie that it didn’t fit in a movie made for children. The pulled it and while it was in the VHS releases, it hasn’t been found in DVD copies (except the 20th anniversary edition and then only in wide screen). Unbeknownst to the people writing the most about it, was that it was worse than someone at Disney having a stubborn streak and refusing to put it back. They’d actually lost the master copy of it! That’s beyond careless. (It’s right up there with the idea to pull the original tombstones from the Disneyland Haunted Mansion to put up some extra Jack Skellington pumpkins and then losing them. Seriously.)

Is Found

BUT I’m happy to inform you that I’m as happy as its director Brian Henson is that they FOUND the lost master and it has been restored! (“Tiny Tim who did NOT die!”) I’m so happy I may have to go back to Fezziwig’s party and dance a jig. Read all the details here and I’ll try to find a link for the full interview after the 25th to add it here, too.

This is why The Muppet Christmas Carol is my favorite. Also, check out an update with an interview with Brian Henson.

Trip to Burr Oak Pepin Spring Valley 2019

I’m Ready For My Close Up

It used to be every time I took a Laura trip I’d do a video diary or vlog of my trip. Those were the days when I had a rugged camera with a built in editing system…good times. For a long time I struggled to find a video editor I liked after that one died a painful and regretful death and I had time to use so once again I recorded my trip.

These videos come from my September 2019 trip to Pepin, Wisconsin, birthplace of both Laura Ingalls Wilder and her older sister Mary Ingalls. I’d been to Pepin every year since 2006 speaking at their Laura Days event. (Here’s my videos from 2012 and 2013.) I’ve really enjoyed it and I’m glad to be able to record it again.

Be aware this post may take longer than normal to load because of the number of video links.

My Pepin September 2019 Playlist

Here’s the actual playlist link on YouTube if you’d rather do that.

Day 1 Part 1 – Leaving home, filling up, and some tips on Midwest driving, plus some beautiful Iowa scenery

Day 1 Part 2 – We have stops in Fayette, Eldorado, and Calmar, Iowa. We discover one place we loved to visit is closed. The park above Eldorado is still gorgeous. There are lots of plus locations around Winnishiek County to add to a Burr Oak trip.

Pump Organ in Burr Oak

Day 1 Part 3 – This time look around the town of Burr Oak, Iowa to get a tour. Learn about what’s happened since the last time we were there.

Day 1 Part 4 – We run into a helicopter and finally made it to Pepin.

Driving to Pepin – Trundlebed Trails

Day 2 Part 1 – Traditional Crafts demonstration area. Meet the Laura Days craft demonstrators.

Punch Card – They always have different activities and one of my favorites for kid visitors is a scavenger hunt with a punch card. Can you find all of the stuff?

Day 2 Part 2 – We spend some more time over in the Traditional Craft area, in Laura Ingalls Wilder Park (the town square), and in the vending area. We even visit the Pepin Depot.

Day 2 Part 3 – We take a wagon ride, drive to the birthplace cabin, and visit Lake Pepin. Then we had supper at the Pickle Factory and caught the musical jamboree in the traditional craft demonstration area.

Drive to Laura’s Birthplace Replica Cabin in real time.

Laura Days Horse Team – We visit with JD Duden and his horse team Bonni and Babe. Every Laura Days they offer horse drawn wagon rides. I love it. It’s how I try to end my time in the city park every Laura Days Saturday.

Day 3 Part 2 – It includes my tracking down the Nelson Creamery and my visit to Spring Valley, Minnesota. Laura Ingalls Wilder and Manly lived there for about a year and a half after they sold out in DeSmet. Manly’s father and mother moved their after they bought Mother Wilder’s uncle horse farm in Spring Valley. The barn is still standing today.

Unboxing Burr Oak Pepin Spring Valley – When I returned from my trip I put together an Unboxing video showing you what I got.

Visit Disney’s Hometown in Marceline MO with Me

I’d always loved Disney movies and Disney World when my mom took us, but what really dropped me into the world of wanting to know more about the real life Walt Disney was our trip to Walt Disney World in 2015. Now, I’d always liked Disney World and I always asked people to bring me back maps when they went (and I had one up on my bedroom wall), BUT I really hadn’t been since I was a little kid so it was with some shock and a little horror that I learned my brother had told his kids, “it will be great going with Aunt Sarah because she knows all the inside stuff about Disney.”

I couldn’t let them down so I started pouring into guide books, listening to podcasts, and reading websites and e-mail newsletters. Not surprisingly with all of that travel information came information on Walt himself and it suckered me in. Not only have I explored Walt’s life it made me want to go to Marceline, Missouri which is only half a day’s drive away. However, I couldn’t get anyone to go with me so on my trip down to Mansfield, Missouri for Wilder Days I decided since I was already going alone, I’d take a detour to Marceline.

I’ll tell you that the roads were incredibly good in Missouri, a MAJOR upgrade from my last visit, but it was still about an hour there and an hour back out of my way so it was definitely an extra trip. If you’d rather watch the videos on a playlist here it is.

Marceline, Oh Marceline

As you’ll see in the videos I was VERY excited to get there and I must admit I came very close to running off the road when I unexpectedly came around a corner and THERE WAS WALT’S HOUSE RIGHT THERE! However, I think you’ll enjoy your visit there with me. I just wish they allowed videos in the museum.

Marceline Missouri Tour Walt Disney’s Hometown Part 1
This is the first part of my two part video of my tour of Walt Disney’s hometown. It was the original inspiration for Main Street USA at the Disney parks and many movie productions. In this video I get to town, put on my mouse ears, visit the museum and drive Main Street USA.

Marceline, Missouri Part 2

Walt Disney’s Dreaming Tree – Sit under Walt’s Dreaming tree and look into the woods on his family farm.

Right next to the Walt Disney Hometown Museum is a city park that dates back to Walt’s time. Follow the Disney family’s example and relax in the park, looking at the pond and the bridge. The park was named from the railroad man who donated the land E.P. Ripley. He made such an impression on young Walt that Walt named one of the Disneyland trains after him.

E.P. Ripley Park

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 , Google+, LinkedIn , SlideShare, and Academia.edu . Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and former director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.

Walnut Grove Pagent and American Masters

The Walnut Grove Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant is excited about the American Masters epsiode, Laura Ingalls Wilder: From Prairie to Page. This brand new, 90 minute documentary will debut on December 29, 2020 on PBS. The Walnut Grove Pageant is going to follow up with an online pageant discussion.

Press Release

PBS will share a renewed look at the life and writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder in its long awaited AMERICAN MASTERS SERIES: Laura Ingalls Wilder – Prairie to Page on December 29^th on many local PBS Channels. Check listings for time in your area! Pioneer TV airs at 7:00 p.m. CST.

What is a new work about Laura without a party?! The Wilder Pageant of Walnut Grove Minnesota is hosting a Facebook Live conversation with several noted Laura Ingalls experts right after the PBS special. You can hear their reactions and comments about this renewed view of the life and work of Laura Ingalls Wilder at about 8:30 p.m. CST on the Wilder Pageant Facebook page.

Our guests include William T. Anderson (noted author and patriarch of Laura lore), Alison Arngrim (Our favorite Nellie, AIDS activist, Protect Children president), Dean Butler (Almanzo on ‘Little House’ and producer), Tessa Flak (Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society of De Smet), Amy Foster ( Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum of Walnut Grove), Nicolas Inman (Director – Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum of Mansfield), Sarah S. Uthoff (Trundlebed Tales and author), and Barb Mayes Boustead (‘Wilder Weather’, climatologist).

Get your coffee mug and your vanity cakes ready for a socially distant but intimate visit with these wonderful people! The PRAIRIE TO PAGE ZOOM REVIEW can be seen by clicking on the link on at walnutgrove.org or direct on Facebook at WalnutGroveMnLauraIngallsWilderPageant! Bet you can’t say that with a vanity cake in your mouth!

Follow Up

The Kingsbury Journal also did a news story about this Walnut Grove Pageant online event.

An Orange for Christmas

Revisiting a Christmas orange.

Sarah's Notebook

Oranges in Laura’s Montgomery Ward Plate

Oranges appear several times in Laura’s books. The mostly closely associated with Christmas is when Almanzo gets one in his stocking * (Farmer Boy p.316 – Chapter “Christmas”). You have to remember that Almanzo’s family was better off and closer to stores than Laura’s usually was.

The most dramatic story is when Almanzo unexpectedly returns to DeSmet on Christmas eve, having planned on spending the winter after their engagement with his folks in Minnesota. He pulls a whole bag of oranges out of his pocket, one for everybody for Christmas (These Happy Golden Years p.229 – Chapter “The Night Before Christmas”).

The most detailed story about an orange is not at Christmas at all, but at Ben Woodworth’s birthday party where a whole orange is served to each person, carved to make it look like a flower (Little Town on the…

View original post 192 more words

Interview on Little House On The Prairie Podcast: Walnut GroveCast

(OK, not really this is from a few years ago when I was interviewed on Talk of Iowa.)

Little House on the Prairie Podcast

2021 will be the 10th year that I’ve been podcasting about Laura Ingalls Wilder and related subjects. Occasionally I get asked if anyone does podcasts just about the TV show. There are several of them now, but the one I’m talking about tonight is Little House On The Prairie Podcast: Walnut GroveCast.

An Interview

Mark interviewed me about Laura Ingalls Wilder, Rose Wilder Lane, and how Laura’s papers ended up in Herbert Hoover’s Presidential Library and Museum! You can stream the episode on the podcast website or find it anywhere you listen to podcasts.

https://www.walnutgrovecast.com/an-interview-with-historian-sarah-uthoff-from-trundlebed-tales

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In the Kitchen With Laura Posts

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The Love

Is Gone

Is Found

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I’m Ready For My Close Up

My Pepin September 2019 Playlist

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Marceline, Oh Marceline

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Press Release

Follow Up

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Little House on the Prairie Podcast

An Interview

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