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President George Washington

First President of the U.S.A.

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“Auld Lang Syne”

Now is now. It can never be a long time ago.

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shoe pegs

A small, pointed piece of wood, used in fastening.

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Pa’s “big green book”

George Hartwig’s The Polar and Tropical Worlds: A Description of Man and Nature.

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saleratus / soda

Leavening agents used in baking.

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calendar

What’s today’s date?

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riot / Tracy railroad strike

Tracy in June, not De Smet in September

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Tennyson’s Poems

Christmas present for Laura

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“Sweet By and By”

Pa’s favorite hymn.

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“Lilly Dale” / “Lily Dale”

1852 song by H.S. Thomson.

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roller skates / rink

Wheeled frame for the shoe.

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Hamlin Garland

…and his first Christmas tree!

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mercury / thermometer

Used to measure air temperature.

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“Rock Me to Sleep”

Elizabeth Allen poem.

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Burke / Malone during the Little House years

Almanzo Wilder birthplace.

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buckwheat pancakes

Seeds of the flowering plant Eriogonum used as a grain.

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Dolly Varden

NIckname of Edith Ingalls, Laura’s cousin.

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Turkey red

Durable red color, dyed with madder upon calico or woolen cloth.

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Jack Frost

A popular personification of frost.

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blueing bag

Whiter whites.

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jumping jack / jumping-jack

Jointed acrobat toy.

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Stories of the Moorland

1869 book by Lizzie Bates about a young boy growing up in Scotland.

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“My Jenny Jerusha Jane”

1868 A.G. Chase song.

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elevator

Warehouse for seed and grain.

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Pre-1906 and 1912 De Smet Panoramic Photos

A view in every direction.

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birds in their little nests agree

Miss Wilder knew nothing about birds.

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snowplow

Clears the tracks.

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The Story of Art Smith

1915 Rose Wilder Lane serial about an aviator.

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Albert Quiner

Laura’s cousin.

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Waverly Novels

Sir Walter Scott books.

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wigwam

What Almanzo’s shocked oats looked like.

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velvet

Silk or blend fabric with short shag surface.

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“The Good Old Way”

Hymn 18, Pure Gold for the Sunday School.

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Blanche Coday

Rose’s friend.

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bobolink

On Mary Power’s name card.

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“Love’s Old Sweet Song”

1884 song by Bingham & Malloy.

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Silas Rood

Rude by name & nature?

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The Advance

Weekly family newspaper of the Congregational church.

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These Happy Golden Years – the fictional story

Laura teaches and falls in love.

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By the Shores of Silver Lake – historical perspective

Dakota Central comes to De Smet.

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M

Ma – “My Sabbath Home”

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nine-patch / Laura’s double nine-patch Irish chain quilt

Quilt block pattern.

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gable

Triangular end of a building under the roof.

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slate

Stone used as tablet for writing upon.

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“Uncle Sam’s Farm”

1848 Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. song.

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dried-raspberry sauce

Dried sauce good on biscuits.

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cameo

Aunt Docia’s pretty collar pin.

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On the Banks of Plum Creek – the fictional story

Farming struggles in Minnesota.

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V

vain – vote

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Ida Belle Wright

Laura’s best friend in De Smet

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“The Sleighing Glee”

Singing school song.

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picket rope / pin / line

animal tether

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railroad camp / Silver Lake camp

Temporary dwellings for workers during surveying or construction.

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Little Georgie Dwight

He could not learn his letters!

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Santa Claus / Santa Clause

Ho. Ho. Ho.

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George George

1874 Minnesota traveling companion of the Ingallses

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The New York Ledger

Weekly story paper, published 1855-1898.

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Old English letters

Variety of printing type.

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dug out / dugout

Dwelling built into the earth.

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Thomas P. Power family

De Smet tailor.

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jewel box / jewel-box

Nice place to keep a breast-pin.

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mantel-shelf

Shelf above a fireplace.

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Alice & Arthur Whiting

Cousin Alice Ingalls Whiting’s family.

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photographs

There’s a little birdie in the camera, Rose.

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Oscar Rhuel / Röhl

A romantic figure…

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Charles Barker

Early De Smet grocer.

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twilight

Light when the sun is 0-18 degrees below the horizon.

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Sam Owen

De Smet boot & shoe maker… and horseman!

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cornice

Molded roof or window projection.

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George Whiting Ingalls

Bugle-blowing, jigging uncle.

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clinched nail

Bent at a right angle.

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birthday

As near as I can figure, E.J. was right.

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geranium

Winter windowsill flowers.

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Bloody Benders

Serial killers in 1870s Kansas.

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Doxology

Old Hundred.

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Congress

Legislative body of a country.

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winnow

Drive off chaff by wind.

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ice-house

Stores ice blocks in warm weather.

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“A Motto for Every Man”

1868 Harry Clifton song.

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John James Ingalls

Senator from Kansas.

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wristlets

Knitted bands worn around the wrists for warmth.

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yoke

Frame worn on the neck for lifting or drawing.

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“Don’t Leave the Farm, Boys”

Song from The Conqueror.

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New Ulm, Minnesota

Town in Brown Co., MN.

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Belgian horse

They’d pull a barn, if hitched to it.

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writ of attachment

Legal document requiring action.

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“The Sculptor Boy”

Carrie recited it.

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tax

A certainty, as is death.

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flag

the banner

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Reverend Stewart Sheldon

American Home Missionary Society Superintendent 1874-1886.

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milk pan / milk-pan / milkpan

Where cream rises.

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How well do you know the Little House books?

a quiz for you!

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“Home of the Soul”

1865 E.M.H. Gates hymn.

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April Fool’s Day

Sticking with salt in the sugar bowl from now on.

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muff

A warm covering for receiving the hands.

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“Hail Columbia”

1789 Philip Phile march.

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C

cabbage – cyclone

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swimming hole

Watch out for ankle grabbers!

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Burr Oak today

Only Ingalls home in original location.

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Royal Wilder

Almanzo’s older brother.

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stone fences

Rock wall enclosure.

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latch / latch-string

It’s always out!

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Pure Gold for the Sunday School

Hymnal owned by the Ingalls family.

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pen / pen-wiper

An instrument used for writing. / Material used to clean it after writing.

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bale

Specific bundle of goods packaged for transport.

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Little House in the Big Woods – historical perspective

Pepin Twp., Pepin Co. Wisconsin

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cupola

Dome-like vault on a public building.

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velocipede

Carriage propelled by pedals or feet.

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“Polly Wolly Doodle”

Daniel Decatur Emmett song.

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whiffle-tree / whiffletree

Bar to attach traces to.

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Alice Maria Wilder

Older sister and playmate of Almanzo Wilder. She lived 1853-1892.

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Declaration of Independence

Document renouncing U.S. subjection to Great Britain.

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cabin / log house

A small cottage; a hut or small house.

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lemon

The citrus fruit

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Protected: private post

Go away AI; you are not welcome here.

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“America”

1832 Reverend Samuel F. Smith song.

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barrel

Round vessel or cask made of wooden staves.

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Ernest & Minnie Green

This is not Mary & Edwin Sanford!

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Q

quaker meeting – quinine

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“Bean Porridge Hot”

Bean porridge cold…

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Braille / New York Point

Used by Mary Ingalls.

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ash withe / ash-withe

A flexible, slender twig or branch used as a band for tying.

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crocheted rag rug

Crocheted floor covering made of strips of cloth.

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fichu

Light pointed cape worn by ladies, usually made of lace.

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“The Silver Moon”

Sail on, silver moon…

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freeze drying

sublimation!

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carpet-bag / carpetbag

Traveling-bag

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A Modern Musketeer

In which Rose becomes a great actress.

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udder

Where the milk is before milking.

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poor man’s fertilizer

Snow plowed into a field.

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equinoctial storm

Severe wind and heavy rain that occurs at or near the time of an equinox.

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“Arkansas Traveler”

Traditional American folk song.

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Yankton, Dakota Territory

1879 land office town.

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chestnut / horse chestnut

A large nut, the fruit of a species of Æsculus.

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Manchester, Dakota Territory

Railroad town west of De Smet

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squirrel

Rodent mammal of the genus Sciurus.

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Mother Goose

Fictionalized compiler of ancient nursery rhymes.

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“Jingle Bells”

1857 James Pierpont song.

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“A Shelter in the Time of Storm”

Ira Sankey hymn.

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P

Pa – pussy-in-the-corner

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butter

Edible fatty substance made by churning cream.

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“Ben Bolt”

1842 Thomas Dunn English song.

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last

Mold of a foot, used in making shoes.

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button

who’s got one?

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bear grease

Bear fat hair dressing.

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turntable

Revolving railroad platform.

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“Old Dan Tucker”

Mr. Edwards sings it!

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badger

Don’t poke it with a stick!

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The Floweret

1842 book of verse by Anna Maria Wells.

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“In the Starlight”

1878 Glover & Carpenter song.

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bureau

A dresser / chest of drawers.

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dumpling

Dough cooked in liquid.

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K

Kansas – knothole

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“The Mulligan Guard” / “The Skidmore Guard”

Harrigan & Hart minstrel show.

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spring tonic

Bitter purifying medicine.

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Pioneer Girl

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir.

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cosy / cozy

snug and comfortable

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bandana

Large handkerchief with white pattern on red or blue background.

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De Smet bird’s-eye view

1883 Henry Wellge drawing of De Smet

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“Darling Nellie Gray”

1856 Benjamin Hamby song.

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Poverty Flat

Early De Smet residential area.

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buttonhook

Curved metal tool for fastening shoes.

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parsnip

Pastinaca edulis, a white, spindle-shaped root vegetable.

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blizzard

In 1880-1881, a long, severe, blinding, and bitterly cold snowstorm.

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whalebone

Baleen used in corsets.

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“The Burial of Sir John Moore”

1817 poem by Charles Wolfe.

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“My Old Kentucky Home”

1853 Stephen Foster song.

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The Athenians

Hartville, Mo. study club.

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by jingo!

A corruption of St. Gengoulph.

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R

rabbit – rye

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“Irish Washerwoman”

Traditional Scottish and Irish song/dance song.

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nickel

The metal. Or five-cent piece.

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flag, the flower

An aquatic flower, Iris versicolor.

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Reverend Edwin H. Alden

Walnut Grove Congregational minister and missionary in Dakota.

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“A Life on the Ocean Wave”

1847 Epes Sargent poem put to music.

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Charles H. Tinkham

Early undertaker and owner of the first furniture store in De Smet.

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Timber Culture Act / tree claim

Passed by Congress, March 3, 1873.

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Joseph Bouchie family

Fictional Brewster family in THGY.

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“Highland Mary”

1799 Robert Burns songs, favorite of Mary Ingalls.

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“Rock of Ages”

1760s Augustus Toplady hymn.

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Laura & Lansford Ingalls

Grandpa & Grandma Ingalls

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gaiters

Cloth ankle covering.

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clear, pure green sky

Sunlight separated into colored bands at sunset.

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“The May Queen”

Poem in three parts by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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wheelwright

One who makes wheels and carriages.

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needle grass

Ouch! Something bit me!

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X

xanthophyll

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“The Singing School”

1869 P. Benson song.

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“Pop! Goes the Weasel”

Traditional American song.

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Little House in the Big Woods – the fictional story

Once upon a time, 60 years ago…

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Mr. Hanson

Walnut Grove land trader.

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“The Pied Piper”

Robert Browning poem.

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O

oak – oyster

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Hide the Thimble

You’re getting warmer…

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surveyor

One who measures land and delineates the same on paper.

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custard / ice-cream

Sweetened milk and eggs, cooked.

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handcar

Don’t be left behind!

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Silliman Gilbert family

Kingsbury County farmer.

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buffalo beans

Prairie ground plum.

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barber

Shave and a haircut, two bits!

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