My 5th grade teacher Mrs. Whitehead would spend the last 30 minutes of the day reading to the class. She read great children’s stories that I had never heard of at the time. “Charlotte’s Web”, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”, “James and the Giant Peach”. My favorite story was “Little House on the Prairie” by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Through all
of the books, she increased my passion for learning and reading. She would read
a chapter or two for the day, then continue every day until the book was
completed. Then she moved on to the next one. After she completed each book, I
would go to the library and check out the book, reading it on my own time at
home.
When I found
out that “Little House on the Prairie” was part of a series, I began my journey
of reading all of Laura Ingalls books. I also re-read them over and over again,
as well as researching about her life and watching the TV series “Little House
on the Prairie” with Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert and Dean Butler.
When I was
in my late 20’s, I read an article in a magazine about taking a trip and visiting
all the Laura Ingalls Wilder sites/museums. Unfortunately, it was not until I
was 65 years old before I had an opportunity to do part of that journey. My husband
and I took a road trip and traveled to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore,
Crazy Horse, Deadwood and much more. While planning, I noticed that we could
stop in DeSmet, South Dakota on the way home. It wasn’t really that far on the
way home.
As luck
would have it, we were able to stay at the Prairie Manor Bed and Breakfast and
found out about a yearly Pageant that was happening night. It was out on the
prairie across from the Ingalls homestead. The Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial
Society did a great job recreating Laura’s story. The next day we visited the Laura
Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes and took a tour of the schoolhouse, the surveyor’s
home, “Ma” and “Pa” house, as well as a walking a driving tour on Calumet
Avenue in downtown De Smet.
Of course, my
husband bought me the 9-book set as well as other books about the Laura Ingalls
history in De Smet. One of the books was written by a young man named David W.
Fields, who surprised his wife with a trip to all the Laura Ingalls Wilder sites/museums
and the book was a road map. I was able to go to his fishing and hunting store
in town to meet him as well as get his picture and autograph.
While
talking to David about our trip, he asked where I was from. When I told him
Illinois and we were heading back home, but stopping in St. Joseph, Missouri
along the way to visit the Pony Express Museum. He said, “You should stop at
Mansfield, Missouri and visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum as well as the Rocky
Ridge farmhouse and Rock House.
Well, we did
just that and it was amazing. Between the sites at De Smet and Mansfield it
really added to the memories of the book and stories, as well as the history of
the areas.
Here is the link to David W. Fields book:
https://www.amazon.com/Little-House-Prairie-Midwest-Road/dp/B0D5VKYVKG
Are you a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan? Do you like to travel and learn about American History?
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