The Life & Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder

You may have watched "Little House on the Prairie" or read the books that inspired the show, but how well do you know their author, Laura Ingalls Wilder?

Her story is -- well, wilder -- than even the remarkable fiction that she wrote.

Travel back to the Pioneer Years with your tour guide, MPL Reference Librarian Meredith Tomeo.

[farmwife]

the fact that Laura didn't start writing her books until she was 60 yrs old is inspiring for all of us.

[LynnRedwine]

Charles Ingalls claimed a LOT of land. He was one heck of a man. Caroline must have REALLY loved him to go through all of the hardships and moving from place to place. Once you start having children, you are supposed to grow where you are planted. Moving from place to place via covered wagon dodging arrows in the freezing, windy weather with children requires a certain kind of strength and stamina. I have nothing but admiration for the entire Ingalls family.

[carmichael]

I'm almost 60. Like many people my age, I grew up with Laura's books and actually became obsessed. I do have all of her books now and I STILL read them. I also have a few of the biographies OF her. Some facts I didn't like to learn of as I grew up. 🥺

[upekadissanayake]

I'm from Sri Lanka.. I grew up with Laura books. They are the most warm books ever written.

[mangot]

To anyone really interested in LIW, I highly recommend the book, “Pioneer Girl, The Annotated Autobiography”. Highly. I checked mine out from the library at least three times, before I bought one. It’s NOT a read through story, so say, though. It’s kind Of a cross between a reference book, and a read book. It’s hard to explain. But it’s really really excellent. It has pictures of as many of the principal players that the editor could find, and updates on them.

[MsLane]

Almanzo was a looker and Rose a beauty! Given all of the events and details, I am even more impressed than ever at Michael Landon's ability to bring those individual life events into the storyline of the television program. Of COURSE it is Hollywood and geared toward dramatic audience entertainment, but he drew from facts and true events that were treated with compassion and real-life emotion. I thought he was very respectful and true to Laura Ingalls Wilder's memories. And while this family might appear to have much "bad luck" and trauma; this was life for most people in the early years of our nation. We are so spoiled now and feeling we are somehow "entitled" to constant happiness and comfort that we don't realize how people suffered and lived through hardship just as part of everyday life.

[amorgan]

As a history buff and huge fan of the books, I really appreciate this excellent presentation. The historical background fleshes out the stories giving them more depth and understanding. Fantastic!

[emilydouglass]

I am 42 years old. I read the series as a child. My 10 year old daughter just read the series in earnest!

[maxshea]

I loved your presentation. The books are childhood treasures. I never tire of hearing about LIW, the stories, the history, the family, and all that.

[ethelhoose]

I read the books so much the school library gave them to me and order new ones

[vickielewallen]

Her life inspires me because it shows us what resourcefulness, determination, faith and positivity can do, how strong we CAN be if we need to. Though physical work then was harder, i envy the simpler, slower-paced time she lived in. I'd gladly trade our traffic, deadlines, and stress for a life where sunrise and sunset were the main deadlines in a person's day.

[shenandoah]

I have loved the "Little House" books since I was a child. I also found the book Caddie Woodlawn in the library and loved that book too.

[susannestein]

I remember reading her books as a little girl and wondering about the woman who wrote the books. What a fascinating adventure through American history.

[Olubumni]

I loved this presentation. I was born in 1973 and grew up reading her books❤️❤️❤️

[lorrieschiller]

I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation. I have been a teacher for 40 years and always included a special pioneer theme unit for each of my classes - right down to the bonnets. It has been a real joy to have shared Laura Ingalls Wilder with my students. I even had a student who was related to Laura. I will be retiring soon and plan to visit Rocky Ridge and the Wilder Farm in Malone NY. Thank you for all your hard work to keep Laura’s legacy close to us still. 🌺

[corihart]

I really enjoyed the presentation! I grew up reading the Little House books, I'm 62 now and I still enjoy reading them. I'm excited to hear that there are audio books of the series too!
I loved Laura's strong work ethic and her love for her family. I'm disappointed that Laura and Rose had such a difficult relationship. I'm sure that she did help put a polish on Laura's writing and should have received recognition for her effort, but to completely ignore her mothers wishes and will the rights to a stranger of the family who really had no interest in Laura's legacy except for the $$$$ seems especially nasty slap on the face of Laura & Almanzo's memory. In my opinion...

[CeltycSparrow]

I am 36 now and for as long as I can remember, I have been reading Laura's books. I read them, even now, as an adult and I enjoy her story just as much now as I did when I was a child. And not only have I read the classic Little House series, I have read her daughter's series, her mother's series, her grandmother's series AND even her great-grandmother's series. I think that's what I not only love, but RESPECT about Laura Ingalls and this incredible story she has woven about her life on the prairie with her family....that unbreakable spirit that her family had. Her courage and tenacity and that unwavering faith that no matter how bad things got, be it storms or Indians or ruined crops or having to leave home and find a new home....they would be OK so long as they were together and had Pa's fiddle music and faithful old Jack to guide and comfort them. She truly is an American heroine. That is why her stories will never die.

Interestingly enough, while the family's time in Iowa is never mentioned in the books, I distinctly remember, in the last season of Little House On the Prairie (season 9, I believe) there WAS a major shift in the dynamic of the show. Pa decided to move most of his family (He and Ma, and the younger children) to Burr Oak, Iowa and I believe it was to run a hotel. Laura and Almanzo remained behind in Walnut Grove with their little daughter, Rose. Mr. Edwards was there as well, and he became like the father figure to the town and Laura's niece, Jenny (the daughter of Almanzo's brother, Royal) came to live with Laura after her father died. It was interesting....from what I have read of Laura's life with Almanzo, she DID have two children (as she did on the show). She had her daughter, Rose, and they also had a son who died. Mary also had two children with her husband, Adam, but they both died (one in a fire and one as a miscarriage). I'm not sure if Mary Ingalls ever actually married or had children. I know she was stricken blind from Scarlet Fever in real life and Laura had to become her eyes and had to take on a lot of the dreams that Mary could no longer do....like becoming a teacher to help her Pa keep Mary in school.

[fayebrown]

Thank you for this! Well Done!
I had been watching the movie ("... Beyond the Prairie"), and then, before finishing it (I had to let my dog outside, and I had to look for the movie, when I came back to finish watching it), I saw this video, and I decided to watch it first. This was REALLY interesting, and I appreciate the time and the work it took for you to compile this information together, and to obtain photographs, and to travel to locations to take the rest of the photographs. It reminded me of stories that my father had told me about the cold weather, etc., in Wisconsin and South Dakota. His parents came to the U.S. from Norway, and they first settled in Wisconsin and then South Dakota. His father changed the family name from "Brunn" to "Brown, " because he wanted to be seen as an American, and not as an immigrant from Norway. My grandmother, Laura Olson (or "Olsen;" I need to look at my father's death certificate to see the spelling of his mother's maiden name; it is interesting that the real last name of "Brunn" is on this death certificate, so it looks like the name change of my father's parents was not official, though the children were all listed with the last name of "Brown") died from the flu in 1918, when my father was 6 years old. My father had an interesting and unusual life, that he had wanted someone to write about. He died in 2001 from a brain tumor, at the age of 89 years old, and my mother died in 2015, at the age of 95 years old. Your video has inspired me to write about my parents' lives. Thank you for "opening my eyes" to possibilities.

[anthonyashley]

I loved Little house on the Prarie I watched it from beginning to end Im 59 years old and watching this makes me excited like a kid Its so wiered I told my husband yesterday I want to watch Little house on the Prarie and when I turned on my tablet, There it was without me typing it in I'm still watching and listening Its hard to let go I always loved and cried when I watched Little house on the Prarie How I wish I was born back in the 1800's I wrote a paper in school about my wish and when my teacher read it she cried Im so happy and greatful and honored to be watching and listening Sincierelly, Mrs. Ashley

[pamelaattrux]

We have all her books as my girls were growing up I read all her books to them before bed so many memories