A Little House “scandal” that has always stayed with me is when Laura (innocently—of course!) discovers a secret, a book she realizes is meant as a Christmas present. Her parents had recently taken Mary to the School for the Blind in Vinton, Iowa, an exotic getaway for Dakotan homesteaders. The ever-thoughful Ma purchased a present [...]
Archive for the ‘Laura Ingalls History’ Category
Lousy, once. Liza, yes. But Lazy? The real Eliza Jane Wilder.
Posted: 03/12
Like Laura, my relationship with Eliza Jane Wilder has been complicated. Sure, there was Lazy Lousy Liza Jane, the bully teacher who made Carrie rock her desk even when she ill. The woman who said “little birds in their nests agree” with a creepy smile, and who gossiped with Nellie Oleson during recess. But [...]
Lauraland Update
Posted: 02/12
I often think of Mrs. Wilder (as in Almanzo’s mother) ever-bustling as she exclaims, “I must fly!” while making her loom go clickity-clack as she weaves the grey wool for Royal’s academy suit or whips up her endless feast of pies. Or perhaps I should explore my life as Caroline Ingalls, an experiment as an [...]
The Raw Turnip Experiment
Posted: 01/12
While in truth the southern Ohio winter has been mild, I have nonetheless been huddling under quilts as though I were suffering eight months of blizzards in South Dakota. I do think of Laura, though, every time I crank my thermostat up to 74. (Read: wuss). No book had such an impact on me as [...]
Buffalo v. Bison: I Stand Corrected
Posted: 12/11
In the upcoming issue of “The Homesteader,” published by Sandra Hume, I give an interview about what it’s like to publish a book about an icon. There’s the perks, but also the fallout. It’s pretty clear, I believe, that I wasn’t pretending to add to Laura scholarship, but I did give the book a certain [...]
