My wife has so often quoted and recounted stories from the series of Little House on the Prairie books, written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, that within our household, this authoritative source is second only to revealed holy scripture and perhaps a few things my mother-in-law may have said. My wife would often lead her response in conversation with, "Well, Laura Ingalls Wilder said in..." These anecdotes would cover a range of subjects from 19th century customs, the mindset of the American pioneer, the social understanding among women, race relations and the limits on morality when one is facing starvation, or the virtue of self-reliance. This Little House on the Prairie series and its use by Sue as a commentary on nearly all things, has long been a source of endearment as well as a source of bemusement within our marriage.
Studying the road map (or maybe she already had hatched her plan) on our way to central Missouri to take Grant to visit the University of Missouri, she casually said, "Oh, look, we will go right by Mansfield, that is where they have a Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and House." I promised that on one of these trips, if Grant goes to school in MO, that we will visit the Pioneer Girl Mecca. Well, after moving Grant into his dorm in August, we had reservations to stay the night in Springfield, MO (SW part of the state) and take a side trip to Mansfield the next morning before returning home.
Mansfield, still a small town, the place where Laura Ingalls Wilder moved with her husband by wagon to settle on some land where they could farm and grow apples. Laura as a child had moved frequently with her parents who were always on the look out for a great pioneering opportunity. The Ingalls' family moved from Minnesota, to Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas Territory and finally settled in South Dakota. These places (except wicked Iowa) are featured in her series of memoirs. There is also a book about traveling by small wagon with her small daughter to Missouri with a hidden $100 bill that was to be used to purchase the farm. Laura stayed in Missouri all her adult life, and it was here in her home that she penned her set of books, which have so enthralled generations of girls - including my wife.
The museum had all types of Ingalls Wilder artifacts, from dishes and utensils, dresses, early manuscripts and illustrations for the books, photos and prominently featured was Pa's fiddle - which often had a place in her pioneer family stories. After walking through the exhibits, we were led on a tour of the house, built entirely by her husband, Alonso. They started with a log cabin on the property and then began constructing the house, a little bit at a time. As resources of time and money allowed, Almanso would add on to the original kitchen and single bedroom. It later included an upstairs bedroom, an indoor toilet and bath, a parlor and music alcove. Some accounts are given of ladies weeping upon getting so close to the true Laura Ingalls Wilder furnishings, but we and everyone in our group just admired the spirit and industry displayed by a couple in building a life and a home without government incentives or taxpayer funded programs. It was refreshing to see what America once was.
Sue having seen it all with her own eyes and having settled most of her curiosity, stopped at the bookstore, picked a few needed volumes and said it was a delight. Now lets hit the road jack and get back to our little empty nest on Corley. Done deal.
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