Warning: Skip this if you have never read a “Little House” book, or if you think the television show of the same name wasn’t any good at all. You won’t understand.
My novelist friend Louise and I used to talk about writing, life, kids, men, angst – all of that. It was nice. But here’s what’s even nicer: All we really care about now is Laura Ingalls Wilder. In the past year, we’ve held informal symposiums on the following subjects:
How did Ma and Pa ever find the privacy to conceive five kids in one-room cabins?
Where are the outhouses in those Garth Williams illustrations?
Does refusing to wear a corset really make your waist bigger?
Was Pa the ultimate father figure, on a par with Atticus Finch?
And what about Almanzo’s habit of staring at popcorn kernels after dinner? Does that make him sort of a half-wit, or at the least a not-very-stimu-
lating husband? (Louise was horrified at this suggestion.)
Or, having struggled with hard physical labor all day, on the crippled feet caused by his early stroke, was he understandably exhausted after dinner? (This is Louise’s theory, and she has just about convinced me.)
Ultimate old-lady trip
One of these days, we will light out together for Wilder territory, visiting every Laura landmark in the USA, in the ultimate old-lady excursion. This has been done by many before us, but so has the Thelma-and-
Louise shtick, and no two women are the worse for it.
The epicenter, naturally, is De Smet, S.D., the official Little Town on the Prairie. I once got to spend a frustrating four hours there, when the only way to do it is in four days.
When you mention eastern South Dakota, people have an unfortunate tendency to say something ironic like: “Wow, that must be scenic and exciting, huh.” But the country around De Smet is astoundingly beautiful, with genuine amber waves of grain, twin lakes, exactly as Laura described them, and open sky filled with ducks and geese.
Gift shop to die for
The town has an entire Laura complex, offering guided tours that include the Brewster School, the Surveyor’s House, the First Congregational Church, Ma and Pa’s actual house and even the Big Slough.
If you’re in the market for a bonnet, the gift shop is to die for – and that’s where I got Louise her own copy of “The Ingalls Family of De Smet” in reciprocation for the “Little House” cookbook she bought me. Once you catch this bug, the “Little House” books, though you read them compulsively, are not enough. There’s a huge literary oeuvre out there, and the gift shop has almost all of it. My greed grew so intense that I had to lock my credit card in the glove box.
Despite the fact that I know a guy who grew up in De Smet and would not live there if his life depended on it, this is a perfect destination for a family with daughters. Your kids can go back in time at the new Discover Laura Center – practicing on Mary’s Braille writing guide, learning from McGuffey Readers, packing a wagon, and even cooking on a historic woodstove. (Not being whipped with a switch, however.)
There’s even a town pageant, acted by locals and performed outdoors in full view of the trees Pa planted, one for each daughter.
Best of all, De Smet is the place to really let your obsession hang out. Louise and I would be able to discuss Laura’s wedding and the whole Cap Garland thing – did she love him before Almanzo? People neither would roll their eyes nor change the subject.
And from there we’d go on to hit the Laura Trail, through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas, Iowa, upstate New York and on to Florida, which is obscure, but if you devour this stuff, you’ll know why.
What a road trip. If you get to do it before me, please write with news. Louise and I await your letter.
Robin Chotzinoff is a freelance writer who lives in Evergreen.
The details
A by-no-means-complete selection of Laura Ingalls Wilder sites:
In Malone, N.Y. (“Farmer Boy”): The Wilder Farmhouse, with reconstructed and restored buildings, a museum, greeting center, gift shop and collection of historic tools. Contact the Wilder Homestead at
almanzowilderfarm.com, 518-483-1207 or 866-438-FARM.
In Pepin, Wis. (“Little House in the Big Woods”): Museum and Laura Ingalls Wilder Days festival, including old-time crafts demonstrations and a trivia contest. Contact the Pepin Visitor’s Center, 715-442-3011. The LAW Museum open in summer, pepinwisconsin.com.
In Independence, Kan. (“Little House on the Prairie”): The Little House on the Prairie Historical Site, with a replica of the original cabin, one-room schoolhouse and the 1909 grave of Doctor Tann, the black physician who treated the Ingalls family for malaria. Contact the Little House on the Prairie Historical Site at 620-289-4238 or
laurasprairiehouse.com.
In Burr Oak, Iowa (missing years Laura did not write about, but plenty of others have): The Masters Hotel, once run by Pa. Contact The Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum and 563-735-5916 or lauraingallswilder.org.
In Walnut Grove, Minn. (“On the Banks of Plum Creek”): Authentic lunch pails for sale at area stores, a museum, dugout house site and Plum Creek Park. Contact the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum, 800-528-7280, and check out the summer pageant at 888-859-3102. Additional information at walnutgrove.org.
In De Smet, S.D. (“Little Town on the Prairie,” “By the Shores of Silver Lake,” “The Long Winter,” “These Happy Golden Years” and part of “The First Four Years”): Tons of sights, tours, information and a summer pageant. Contact The Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society at 800-880-3383 or liwms.com.
In Mansfield, Mo. (“The First Four Years” and much of Laura’s journalism, also Rose Wilder Lane’s childhood home): Contact the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum and 417-924-3626, 877-924-7126 or lauraingallswilderhome.com.
