posted
by Laura Ingalls Wilder?? I don't care how old you are, this is a good book!! I've been thinking about reading it again due to this so very long winter.
I used to teach elementary school and I would read the Laura Ingall Wilder books to the kids. I would make sure I read The Long Winter in Jan or Feb when it was at least in the 40's or 50's (usually ended up in the 70's half the time)... (in TX)
Kinda hard to relate when it's 95 out there and most of kids have never seen more than a few inches of snow .. if that!
It's amazing to imagine what winters were like back in the days of no TV and weather forecasts! Not to mention how hard it was to keep enough food on hand if the trains can't get to the towns. (IF you had a town nearby!)
Thinking back before that.. really hard to imagine.
Go read it!!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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sutherngrl
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Even though I live in MS, I feel like I'm living "The Long Winter". I am so tired of winter. Ready for summer!
I am sure I would love to read it. I love those kinds of books.
Posts: 4035 | From Mississippi | Registered: Jul 2008
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steve1906
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posted
I just ordered it on Amazon.com. It will be here in 2 or 3 days.
Just so everyone knows, it was only:
Book: $6.99 Shipping $3.99 Total was $10.98
It sure as hell has been a damn long, cold, snowy winter. I can't believe it but, Boston is getting another 1-3 more inches tonight.
I'm so done with all this white stuff.
Thanks for the book idea Lymetoo!
-------------------- Everything I say is just my opinion! Posts: 3529 | From Massachusetts Boston Area | Registered: Jul 2008
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momindeep
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Her whole series is good...I'd finish one and pick up the next one after the other.
Posts: 1512 | From Glenwood City WI | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Oh yeah.. Her books are incredible. I have promised myself to go see her former home (she had several) about 1 1/2 hr drive from here. I plan to go this spring I hope!
That's great, Steve! For a good bonding time, read it to your daughter!
momindeep.. I got so very lucky when I was a kid and accidentally found the series in the library. I was about 8 or 9 and read every single one of them. No teacher ever said a word about them to me.
Fast forward to teacher training in college and our instructor was raving about the books and telling us to be sure to share them with our students.
I was like "I know those books!!" It was like a homecoming of sorts.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
pab... yep.. it's 72 (sometimes 73) in here too! No winter inside!
I have the boxed set.. but I think it's in Texas .. in storage... ugh.
I think I'll go to the library tomorrow!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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lymeladyinNY
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posted
Lymetoo, you're talking to the biggest LIW fan that ever lived! Guess where I dragged hubby and the boys last summer? On the LIW trail! We started in NY and drove to WI, MN, SD, KS, and MO. We had a great time! I learned a lot about Laura I didn't know.
I found out through Ancestry.com that I'm distantly related to her on her mother's side. Now that was an exciting discovery!
-------------------- I want to be free Posts: 1170 | From Endicott, NY | Registered: Sep 2006
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How was the museum in MO?? That is where I want to go... been wanting to for years.. just haven't done it. I'm so close to it that it would be a sin NOT to go!!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Thanks!! I had forgotten that this is where she wrote the books! That is amazing! Now I'm all excited about going!
Was going to drag my husband, but think I'll take a friend or two instead. That would be fun!
I just checked mapquest and it's about 75 miles away!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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lymeladyinNY
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Hi! I'm just getting around to discussing my Laura trip.
Yes, if you like Laura, get to the Missouri museum especially. It's where she lived most of her life and where she wrote the books.
They have tons of information and artifacts in the museum next to the white house that she and Almanzo built. You can even hear a recording of her voice!
Her daughter became quite wealthy and I get the picture a bit bossy. She actually had a stone house built down the road from the white house and had her parents move into it while she, Rose, lived in the old home.
I think Laura and Almanzo moved into the stone house just to please Rose, but as soon as Rose moved away again, they moved back to the white house.
The stone house is quite modern looking. You can tour both homes.
Daisy, the museum is not that big. It's just the small museum, the white house, and the stone house. It is a very lovely setting.
You can go to the cemetery where Laura, Almanzo, and Rose are buried, also. The town of Mansfield is very small and it's not hard to find.
For all die-hard Laura fans, I recommend seeing the museum in De Smet, SD as well. This was the setting for many of her books and where she met Almanzo. You can see the cemetery where the Ingalls family is buried and even see some of the graves of some of the characters in the books.
They have a reproduction of the claim shanty built right where Pa's original shanty was built. They've tried to be historically accurate. Some of the trees that Pa planted are still there - tall and thriving.
In the town of De Smet you can see where the Ingalls family lived during the winter months. Ma and Mary lived in the home together for many years after Pa died. It is wonderful to tread in the steps of the Ingalls family and see it all come to life in front of your eyes.
The school where Laura and Carrie got into big trouble with Miss Wilder (Laura's future sister-in-law!) is still standing. You can go into the actual school where Laura was so naughty! But, she was justifiably naughty that day! You can also tour the surveyors' house where the Ingalls family lived when they first moved to De Smet.
Laura talks about the "Big Slough" in her books, and how Almanzo and Cap Garland kept getting stuck in them in "The Long Winter" when they went to get the wheat that saved the town from starving. You can still see the "Big Slough" and many other sloughs, but Silver Lake was drained many years ago. I forget now why they drained it.
Yes, believe me, it was thrilling to learn of my connection to Laura. I wish I had written it down, but I believe I'm something like 6th or 7th cousin a couple of times removed. Hardly a close relative, but, hey - close enough for me!
Laura's books are not word-for-word historically accurate. Her series is called "historical fiction". She did change scenes, stories, and names a bit to make the stories flow and be as interesting as possible. Basically, they are true with some embellishment. The books were edited by her daughter Rose, so she likely had something to do with changing things up.
I have to admit, I came away from my trip not liking Rose very much. I was surprised to learn that she and Laura's relationship was best when Rose wasn't around!
Well, I went off writing a book, because Laura is a favorite subject of mine. My dear husband and children indulged me and my lifetime dream this past summer. I can't thank them enough! After I was Lymed, I never thought I'd get there, but thanks to my LLMD I was able to go!
Take care! - Julie
-------------------- I want to be free Posts: 1170 | From Endicott, NY | Registered: Sep 2006
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lymednva
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I read all the books when I was a child. Then I got the boxed set for my daughter when she was growing up. They are in a box upstairs, waiting for my granddaughter to be ready to read them.
-------------------- Lymednva Posts: 2407 | From over the river and through the woods | Registered: Apr 2006
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posted
Wow.. thanks for the info, Julie! That SD site sounds WONDERFUL!! Would love to see it!! What area of SD?? I've been to SD before.. but it was a long time ago.
How much "walking across grass" will I have to do at the MO site? I'd love to see the grave-sites .. not sure I'm that brave though!
Good job, lymednva!!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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steve1906
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I did, I gave it to my daughter. She hasn't read it yet but, she looked through it and liked it a lot.
I think I'll read it too.
-------------------- Everything I say is just my opinion! Posts: 3529 | From Massachusetts Boston Area | Registered: Jul 2008
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lymeladyinNY
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Hi, Lymetoo, the SD museum is in the southeast corner of the state. There isn't a lot of grass to worry about at the museums for the most part. I would say that I had to do most of the grass walking at the tree claim museum just outside of De Smet. That's where the Ingallses lived in the summer. The graves are not far from the car paths at the cemetery.
I'm excited you are planning to see the MO museum! It really is a worthwhile trip!
- Julie
-------------------- I want to be free Posts: 1170 | From Endicott, NY | Registered: Sep 2006
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posted
What a treat it was to find this post tonight!
I've been reading and rereading the whole series every few years since I was about eight. What wonderful books!
Reading "The Long Winter" makes me happy to live in California, but I'm still looking forward to spring.
I picked up the boxed set when my daughter was a baby. She always loved being read to, but she didn't like that series. It was so disappointing!
I've read just about every non-fiction book around about Laura and her family and I would love to follow their trail sometime. Thanks lymeladyinny for taking us through it!
-------------------- "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain." Anonymous Posts: 450 | From California | Registered: Feb 2008
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lymeladyinNY
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You're welcome, 4Seasons! My mom used to make me long dresses, grandma would make me sunbonnets - all for the love of Laura!
I used to wear my winter boots in the summer because I imagined they were like high-top shoes. My brother used to pick on me a lot about it!
I read all the Laura books to my sons. They were "sort-of" interested - but not fanatical like me!
-------------------- I want to be free Posts: 1170 | From Endicott, NY | Registered: Sep 2006
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posted
You have given me my next vacation idea, lymelady!
Posts: 797 | From New York | Registered: Feb 2008
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annxyzz
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I read them as a girl, then as a mom to my daughters ( now grown ). It is funny you mention this, because I just read it to my boyfriend ! I am 55 , and about to be a grandma . My sweetheart loved it as did my daughters and ex husband ( their dad ) . It is a fantastic story of survival and beautifully depicts the harrowing challenge of the endless storms and lack of resources a family needs. It is a joy to read with someone else . Wilder's books instilled me with a passion for American history at a very young age . I can not imagine anyone not liking them! My mom came to visit a few years ago and ran out of reading material. I gave her TLW , then she devoured all of the others in the series in a few days . She is 73. Everyone should read this book! Even a good story for a man , as the main characters are struggling to provide for their children in austere circumstances .
-------------------- annxyzz Posts: 1178 | From East Texas | Registered: May 2009
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"Everyone should read this book! Even a good story for a man , as the main characters are struggling to provide for their children in austere circumstances ."
So true!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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