Little House on the Prairie

When I was a little girl growing up in the 60s, one of my favorite books to read was Little House on the Prairie.  All of the books authored by Laura Ingalls Wilder were always checked out of the library at my elementary school.  I enjoyed reading about the different things that the family did, going to school and church and living in a cabin out on a farm.  It was hard to imagine that they only had 1 or 2 'nice' dresses or that the children received a stick of candy and a pair of knitted mittens for Christmas.  If crops were productive that year, the children might find a coin in their stocking or their own little cake for Christmas dinner.  The stories were written in a way that you never felt sorry for the family and Ma and Pa made sure that they had enough of what they needed. 

When the TV series was created, my mother was a dedicated follower.  I don't know if she could relate to the Ingalls family; getting milk from a cow for breakfast, dad killing an animal for meat for supper, chopping firewood to stay warm and sleeping under stacks of quilts in the winter.  One year when we were in the mountains, we found a set of Laura Ingalls Wilder books.  They were the same books that I had read as a little girl.  We gave my mom the set for Christmas, even though they were juvenile and paperback; not exactly an adult gift.  Those books stayed by her recliner in the winter where she would sit and read after she got home from work. 

My mom liked to travel and was able to visit many places.  She often talked about going to see the 'Little House in the Big Woods'.  The Ingalls family had lived in different states and I'm not sure which place my mother wanted to see.  Sadly, my mother passed away and was never able to go to any of the houses.

Last month when Eric and I were on vacation, our travels took us to Wisconsin, where Laura was born and lived during her childhood.  I had researched the route we would take and we would be near Pepin, Wisconsin.  We spent a little time at the museum where her things are displayed, then went to the replica cabin of the Ingalls home place.  It is built on the land they owned, a few miles from town.  There wasn't that much to see, the cabin is small with 2 areas off of the main room and a loft.  Indeed, it was a 'little house.'

I am glad that I got to fulfill the dream my mom had.   It brought back memories of the stories I read as a little girl. 

 But I wish my mom had been able to take a trip to see 'her friend Laura's house'.