New Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum Opens in Mansfield

Check out this article about the ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Mansfield, MO: http://www.ky3.com/content/news/New-Laura-Ingalls-Wilder-museum-376797461.html

This is one of the few sites I have visited. Maybe I need another road trip.

Happy Birthday, Rose Wilder Lane

Rose Wilder was born in De Smet, South Dakota (when it was still Dakota Territory) on December 5, 1886 to Almanzo and Laura Wilder. Difficulties and tragedy led the Wilders to leave De Smet and spend some time in Spring Valley, Minnesota and Westville, Florida before they returned for a time to De Smet.

In 1894, the Wilders journeyed with friends to Mansfield, Missouri, where they finally settled. Rose attended school in Mansfield, but finished high school in Crowley, Louisiana where her aunt, Eliza Jane Thayer lived.

After graduation, Rose learned telegraphy and worked to support herself. While living in San Francisco, she met Claire Gillette Lane, whom she married in 1909. Having moved to Kansas City, Rose wrote for the Kansas City Post before she and her husband began selling real estate. As the years went by, Rose and Gillette drifted apart, and eventually divorced.

Rose returned to her writing and for decades wrote for major magazine, in addition to ghostwriting and authoring books. It was Rose who encouraged her mother to earn extra money by writing.

Rose Wilder Lane died on October 30, 1968, right before she was due to take a trip to Europe. She is buried in Mansfield, Missouri.

Happy 129th birthday to our favorite bachelor girl.

*

Rose Wilder Lane's home in Danbury, Connecticut was recently up for sale. It sold last month for $400,000. You can see pictures here.

Decoration Day

Image from: http://iamphildodd.com/2014/05/24/beer-bbqs-known-decoration-day/

What we currently know as Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. Officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, it stemmed from a desire to honor the dead of the Civil War.

New York was the first state to recognize the holiday in 1873, followed by all of the northern states in 1890. The South honored their dead on different days until after World War I, when the holiday was changed to honor Americans who died fighting in any war.

In Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Woman Behind the Legend, author John E. Miller discusses how the Fourth of July and Decoration Day were the two biggest days of the year in Mansfield, Missouri, where Almanzo and Laura Wilder lived most of their adult lives. Missouri was a border state, as Miller explains, so many families in and around Mansfield had Southern roots, but Union veterans maintained a high visibility. Miller states that while it is unknown how often the Wilders participated in Decoration Day exercises, they were active public figures: Almanzo was a Mason and both Wilders were involved in Eastern Star.

For more information on Memorial Day, visit http://www.usmemorialday.org/

Laura's "Sweet Memories" to Feature "All About Laura" Program During Wilder Day

Laura's "Sweet Memories" will be featuring the "All About Laura" program presented by Little House Researcher, Colleen Ferries during Wilder Day in Mansfield, MO.

Join Reverend Jim and Ms. Ferries on Sept. 17 at noon and again at 3:30 p.m for this special event. Ferries has been presenting these programs for thirty years to school children, civic groups and senior centers.

For more details, visit the Laura's "Sweet Memories" blog at http://laurassweetmemories.blogspot.com/2011/09/special-wilder-day-2011-programs.html

Laura's "Sweet Memories" is located across from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Public Library and next to Mansfield Drug, just off the town square, 107 N. Business 60.

To read my interview with Reverend Jim you can visit http://lauralittlehouseontheprairie.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-with-reverend-jim-proprietor.html

Interview with Reverend Jim, Proprietor of Laura's "Sweet Memories"

Opening Day

I have a special treat for you today. We're talking to Reverend Jim, the proprietor of Laura's "Sweet Memories," a store in Mansfield, Missouri. I met Jim online when he contacted me to tell me about his blog. I added him to my blogroll here and have visited from time to time. I hope you will too. It's definitely like taking an online trip into Laura's world.

Welcome to Laura’s Little Houses, Jim. It’s wonderful to have you here. Can you start off by telling our readers a bit about yourself?

I’ve lived in Mansfield for 10 years now. Before that I had a 40 acre farm about an hour east of here. I raised fruits and vegetables there for about 5 years, selling them in a farmer’s market. Before that I lived in the big city of Chicago and served as a church pastor. The only thing I knew about Laura Ingalls Wilder was that she wrote some books that were the basis for a nice, moral TV show. So, I was a late-comer to her writings, but now I consider myself a big, big Laura fan!

What’s it like living in Mansfield, Missouri, where Laura Ingalls Wilder spent most of her adult life?

Mansfield is a nice small town, with a population around 1300. I live in the oldest house in town, built in 1881; before the town was even here! Laura was a frequent visitor to my house when she belonged to a Women’s Club. I’ve even met some people who knew her! Living in Mansfield gives you a real close feeling to Laura; like you’d expect to meet her on the street. There are some special perks; like visiting Rocky Ridge Farm during Christmastime. And it’s always great to experience the annual Laura Ingalls Wilder Festival as a “Home Boy”!

What made you decide to set up Laura’s “Sweet Memories?”

Before opening the shop I had run a B&B out of my home for about 7 years. I really enjoyed meeting the people. People come from all over the world to visit here. So, when I decided to move on to something new, I knew I couldn’t give up my connection to Laura. I wanted to give all those 50,000 annual visitors an experience that was much more memorable. So what better way than to open the only souvenir shop in town? And I wanted to offer some old-fashioned confections to meet the desires of the children. But now I’ve found that the grown-ups like that old-fashioned candy as much as the kids!

I’m guessing with a name like that you have tons of sweets for people like me who give into their sweet tooth from time to time. What are some of the special products visitors will find inside?

Besides all the handmade souvenirs, the shop provides its visitors a glimpse into an old-time candy shop. There are buckets of hard candies of all sorts, loose candies in bulk, and handmade fudge from the Ozarks. At last count there were over 100 different flavors and varieties! And there are a few sugar-free candies and varieties of trail mix as well. Candies start as low as 5 cents a piece in my shop, so you don’t have to spend a lot to meet the craving for a taste of nostalgia!

I understand that Laura’s “Sweet Memories” also has historical pictures and displays. Can you tell us about some of those?

Rev. Jim and Doc Baker (Kevin Hagen) at Rocky Ridge Farm

I have put together some 200 pictures covering the combined lifespan of Almanzo and Laura, which covers 100 years of history. The pictures on the “Wall of Memories” show history of advertising, entertainment, personalities and events pertaining to the United States, from the years 1857 through 1957. And there are printed sheets telling what happened to some of the people Laura wrote about in her books. I’ve also dedicated a corner to a historical display, which has old-time tools like Pa Ingalls or Almanzo might have used. Visiting Laura’s “Sweet Memories” is almost like visiting a mini-museum!

The tagline on your website - http://www.laurassweetmemories.com/ – says, “Dedicated to Preserving the memory of Laura Ingalls Wilder.” Since you’re located in Mansfield, I’m sure this is important to the town’s tourism. What does this mean to you personally?

As I see it, Laura’s writing is a national treasure. I think more people can identify with what pioneer life was like because she wrote about her life as a pioneer. And because of the manner in which she described things in her books, we can identify closely with her personality – like we know her personally. It would be a tragedy to lose her to our modern times. She once said, “Looking back helps us see what lies ahead.” Today, with our fast paced lifestyles, we need to learn how to live our lives based on what has gone on before us. We need to learn from the past, so that we don’t make the same mistakes again. Laura’s legacy should be that we learn how to live a simple life from reading her books.

You started a blog this year - http://laurassweetmemories.blogspot.com/. Why did you decide to make that move?

I felt that I had more to offer than just a shop full of good things for people to take home with them. I wanted to share some of my feelings along the way and open a new line of communication with them.

What are some topics readers will find on your blog?

I like to give folks an idea of what it’s like living in Mansfield. In addition to informing people about life in Laura’s hometown, I have begun to include some old-timey recipes. Some of the recipes are from my family’s hand-me-down collection, which spans over one hundred years! I also have links on the blog site to other contributors who have a Laura connection. I hope to expand those in the future.

You don’t sell your products online. Why not? Wouldn’t that help you reach more people?

My main intent is to have people come and visit Laura’s hometown and have a “Laura” experience. Selling products is secondary. It may help keep the lights on for me, but my main emphasis is to have people go home having had a great time visiting us. Anybody could sell candy or souvenirs online! But I am thinking about compiling some recipes into a book form and, if there is enough interest, I may offer that online as well as in the shop. I will decide on that soon and share that decision on my blog. (Interviewer's note: I think that's a fabulous idea. Sign me up for one!)

Where do you see Laura’s “Sweet Memories” in five years?

I hope I’ll still be here entertaining folks. Since my shop is inside my home, I’m limited to the space within the main room that it is housed. So I don’t know how, but I’ll try to cram more things into the shop! I’m always learning more about Laura, Almanzo and Rose and the “Little House” books; so I suppose those things will show up inside the shop too.

Is there anything you would like to add?

I feel a great responsibility to carry on Laura’s legacy and provide a quality shop for people to enjoy. And I hope that many will join me on my blog as well.

Thanks for your time today. God bless you.

Thanks for joining us today, Jim. We wish you much success.

Missouri Honors Writers, Artists with Tour

According to News-Leader.com out of Springfield, MO, the Writers Hall of Fame--didn't know there was such a thing--will be honoring 15 of Missouri’s most successful and well-known children’s authors, artists, playwrights and poets with a traveling tour in June.

The tour begins in St. Louis and moves to Kansas City and southwest Missouri before returning to St. Louis eight days later. Among one of the many places that attendees will visit is the Laura Ingalls Wilder home and museum in Mansfield.

You can read more about this event here.

February Featured Book of the Month

Many biographers write about Laura Ingalls Wilder, but few discuss her life in its historical context as well as John E. Miller. In Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder, Miller focuses on the Wilder's years in the Land of the Big Red Apple--Mansfield, Missouri--from 1894 to 1957.

Through the use of Wilder's unpublished biography, letters, newspaper articles, and other doumentary evidence, Miller discusses how Laura Ingalls Wilder the pioneer and farm wife became Laura Ingalls Wilder the author.

Miller discusses Laura's relationship with her daughter Rose, Laura's writing career prior to the publication of her Little House series, and her life on the farm, to build a complete picture of Laura, and shows how Laura's personal life and experiences shaped her books.

For all these reasons and more, Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder by John E. Miller is February's Featured Book of the Month.



I own the hardcover version of this book, but a paperback version with a new cover was released in 2006.

January Featured Book of the Month

Well, since it's half-way through January I thought I might post this month's featured book from my Laura Ingalls Wilder collection.

On the Way Home is one of my favorites. This book is Laura's account of the Wilders' journey from De Smet, SD to Mansfield, MO where they would settle at Rocky Ridge Farm and live out their remaining years. Rose is just seven years old and has been living with her grandparents because both her parents have been stricken with diphtheria. Then her father suffers a stroke and never regains his full strength. With these hardships and crop failures, the Wilders decide to move on and settle in the Land of the Big Red Apple.

On the Way Home is filled with Laura's observations from the Wilder's travels where she shares the sites, the weather, the day's events, and the people they met. In Rose's introduction--which sets the scene for the book--she talks of how Laura made daily notes in a little "5-cent Memorandum book". These notes are what became On the Way Home. Maintained in the same diary format as the original notes, this book will make an excellent addition to your Laura Ingalls Wilder Library.