Driving away from the Effigy Mound National Monument, we wandered a bit west, near the border between Iowa and Minnesota, to the little town of Burr Oak, Iowa. It was enough west from our earlier ride for the landscape to flatten out. It was still rural and picturesque. Soon, we found ourselves on the Laura Ingalls Wilder historic route. Fancy that!
In her “Little House” books, Laura Ingalls Wilder omits the few years her family spent in Burr Oak where they helped run the hotel for room and board. It was a sad time for the Ingalls family. The only son, Freddy, a baby, died there. It was a hard existence inside the hotel. I don’t mind that this has been left out. The “Little House” books are based on Laura’s childhood pioneering homesteads. The books are novels for children. They remain favorite reads.
Modern Burr Oak is a very small town of a few businesses, a grill, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum. Here I am, happy as a lark, about to enter the Visitor’s Center, where we got our bearings, inquired about a place to eat, and made plans to come back in a short while for a docent tour of the Masters’ Hotel across the road.
A few pork tenderloin sandwiches and a lot of calories later, we began our tour with a small gaggle of women out for the day, only one of whom was a kindred Wilder spirit. Tom was a real trooper.
Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote a series of children’s books about her life as a pioneer girl from the north woods of Wisconsin to the prairies of Kansas, Minnesota, and Iowa and the Dakota Territory. She published her first book, Little House in the Big Woods, when she was 65. Eight more books, and generations of boys and girls, and me, have delighted in her simple stories of life homesteading, braving blizzards, making do with what the land yields, and, well, the pioneer spirit that broke the soil and settled our vast land. An unpublished memoir of Laura’s documented the Ingalls’ stay in Burr Oak. To see this site and some of Laura’s belongings was supreme joy for me.
Click on to get a clearer view of the hotel/museum.
In the Long Winter, which I have read again and again, the Ingalls spend the winter in town, where they and the townspeople nearly perish from starvation as the winds and snow of the great blizzard ravage the prairie. Laura helps Pa make twists of hay to throw into the fire for fuel. The scene plays out in page after page of the book, but, I could never quite visualize what these looked like. Here it is.
At the time the Ingalls lived in the hotel, living in a single room, cooking meals for up to 25 boarders, three times a day, up to 200 wagon passed by each day, filled with all the worldly possessions of folks looking for a better chance at life. It was a time of economic depression, plagues of grasshoppers, failed crops, maddening blizzards, and hope. The docent pointed out a framed document showing that even Laura’s Pa, Charles Ingalls, a hard-working and self-sufficient man, needed a little help from the U.S. Government in 1875. It was for a half bushel of flour valued at $5.25.
I was so excited to be there and already knew most of the Ingalls story, that the docent finally said “If you have any question, just ask Penny.” It was fun to learn that his wife’s nephew had worked for a time with our Jennifer. It is a small world, isn’t it?
Tom and I both saw this dresser in one of the boarding rooms at the same time. His mom’s family had one just like it. Tom’s maternal ancestors were homesteaders in Ohio. We still have furniture from the farm, but, not the chest, which also knew Jennifer for a short time.
Can you imagine sleeping on this bed? Three to a bed? The little cozy on the chamber pot is rather cute, but, I’m grateful for our indoor plumbing with flushing toilets, aren’t you? Every few days, the bed coverings would be pulled back and the ropes would be pulled and tightened. The coverings would be aired out and beaten to remove any bugs. This is where the phrase “sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite” originates.
We spent a few hours in Burr Oak and have loads of pictures of all of the artifacts there, but, I’ve taken up enough of your time, so, will say goodbye for now, dear reader. I think I need a bath and I’m certainly glad I don’t have to pay extra for hot water.
Have you read any of the “Little House” books? Do you have a favorite?
Oh, Penny, another Laura pilgrimage, how wonderful. I love this and you know I have always loved the books. I’m sure you know that the “sleep tight” part of the saying refers to the ropes being strung tightly in the bed frame. If the ropes aren’t tight the bed sags and everyone it it rolls to the middle. I love seeing a photo of you. You seldom post them. It’s good to see you.
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Duh, you said that about sleeping tight above. I should really read without the cat pacing on my computer. Remember, I was hit on the head recently. Tee hee. By the way, if you click on the 2nd picture, you can also see a reflection of the photographer.
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Haha! Actually, you explained the tightening of the ropes much better than I did. We could collaborate on blogs. Or, write a book about a computer cat. Keep milking that head wound. It is good for at least five years.
I wondered who would see Tom’s reflection first. He photographs, even in a reflection, much better than I. I don’t think he knows that he is in the picture. Shhhh. We won’t tell him and see if he figures it out.
You would love this site, Janet. It’s probably a four hour drive from you, fishing for Jim, lots of neat diners along the way. I know how you love the books and there I am, loving them, too. Thanks, Janet.
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I would love to see anything to do with the Ingalls! I loved the tv series but never read the books as a child, only reading them for the first time when Anton was young. I enjoyed nearly all of the books, especially the first couple, but I think my favorite would be an unusual pick, “Farmer Boy”, the story about her future husband, Almonzo’s life as a boy. Something about the self sufficiency of that farm appealed to me and the coziness of their home. What a fun post Penny – and you look great in the photos!
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All part of the Iowa tour, Janet. We did it in two days. I think a lot of folks enjoyed Farmer Boy. I would love to see the farm. Whenever I read it I want pie and apple and popcorn – and the coziness of this big family. Thank you, Janet. It was fun to see and fun to write about.
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Also, isn’t it interesting to note that even the American pioneers needed a bit of help from the government every now and then?
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I thought so, too. We tend to think our issues and problems are a modern thing. That bushel of flour got his family through the winter. Hope you’re enjoying the crisp Autumn day.
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Dear Janet,
Thank you for posting about your visit. I have been slowly re-reading the series but not in consecutive order. I am savoring By the Banks of Plum Creek now. The photographs inside the museum are great and I do hope you show more. Farmer Boy was an informative book and I had put off reading it as I thought it wouldn’t be as much of a good read as the other books. I was wrong! My husband and I frequently look at reruns of the TV show (much more fun than the news or crime stories or reality shows) and it has been a revelation at how much artistic license was taken. I really feel like I know more about Laura since reading your post. Your photo is a reflection of the special person you are.
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You are most welcome, Marilyn. I love By the Banks of Plum Creek, but, I tend to say that about them all. Actually, Laura’s year in Burr Oak were right after Plum Creek. Isn’t Farmer Boy wonderful? This big, rural, upstate New York family. I almost wish it came earlier in the series to help hook boys into the books, but, I think it works with the age of Almanzo at the time. I always enjoyed watching the Little House TV show, but, the episodes were usually quite a stretch from the books. I do think it brought more children to the books, though. Thank you, Marilyn. That is so nice of you to say. You made my day.
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Penny, I have read them all at one time or another, and what a magical post this is for me. The simplicity of their lifestyle made everything special. So glad you saw this beautiful little place. Lovely too, to see you – and Tom! – for the first time. Thanks for another beautiful post.
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How wonderful of you to say so, Kate. Thank you. It was such a treat to spend some time there. Yep. That’s me and Tom. You are so welcome.
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How tough those pioneers had to be. Ours were the same. I haven’t read the books, but they sound well worth discovering. Lovely to see your photo and your happy face, which matches your blog very well.
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It is often said that the pioneers are the ones who really settled the country, Juliet, which I think can be said for both of our countries. Even more so the women, who were often left to do the work. Thank you. I guess I had to appear eventually.
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I had no idea she was that old when she started publishing the Little House books! She seems to be popping up all over the place lately, but lucky you to be able to visit the museum and see bits of her life. I read the books as a child and loved them but I should really reread them now. I know of at least two people who have been reading the books. Have you read any of the books about her that have been recently published?
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It is amazing, isn’t it Danielle. I think it took her about 12 years to finish the series after that. Do reread them as an adult. They take on a different perspective and I love them even more each time I read them. I did pick up The Wilder Life at the library but it just isn’t grabbing me right now. I may try it again after a spell.
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I haven’t read these books but certainly have heard of them, especially Little House on the Prairie. I love reading about how families lived, how they managed in years gone by. I think of my own families, of how things were for them when they arrived in NZ in the early to mid 1800’s.
I know I would love visiting this museum.
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These books brigh the mid 1800’s and the pioneering perspective alive, Marilyn. You have so much information on your families and might enjoy them. My goodness, the things they had to endure and the work and hard times.
I think you would enjoy this little museum.
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Remember the book my dad was reading when I wanted it in my last comment? It was most often one of the Little House books. I don’t know how many times I read them in childhood and I’ve read them in adulthood as well. There is a Little House site at Wayside, KS which is about 80 miles from here -west of Independence, KS. Not a lot there. In Mansfield, Mo is her home and museum. It’s not that awfully far from us but have never managed to make it there. Maybe after retirement?
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Joyce, that is so sweet. I do remember. I’ll bet the one he most liked was Farmer Boy. Isn’t it fun to read these now? I have been to the site at Wayside, KS. Oh, gosh, it must have been 25 years ago. I was visiting a good friend in Bartlesville, OK and she and I drove there. I still have a mug from the gift shop and a cookbook from there. I think there is more at the site now, but, just to see the house is amazing. It is so very small and you get a sense of how wild and lone it was. I would love to someday make it to Mansfield. Stony Ridge? Laura did all her writing there, first newspaper articles. Someday, for both of us.
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I’ve read ’em all at least once! IN 2004, we drove out of our way to visit Laura’s little prairie house in DeSmet South Dakota. Just as you say about Tom, Bill was a real trooper! Bill liked seeing the pioneer ;buildings, tools, etc., but I I wished I’d had a daughter or granddaughter or friend with me — someone who had actually also read the books! One thing I learned that made me sad was that there are no descendents of the family at all. Neither Laura and Alonzo or any of her sisters left children.
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I would love to see that little house in DeSmet, Sallie. Three cheers for Bill. Our Katy was, is still, a reader of the Little House books and it would have been fun to have her with. I understand what you mean. There was a group of four women who toured the site with Tom and I. Only one read the books, which I found interesting. We bonded right away and hugged when we left, kindred spirits.
It is sad, isn’t it? Laura did have a daughter, Rose, but, she had no children. We are all so fortunate that so many sites and artificats have been left.
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In 5th grade my teacher read them all to us. she took a little time each day to read, if I recall. I re-read them several years later just because I loved them so. I’ve visited several of the sites where she lived, but not in Burr Oak. Plum Creek is one of my my favorites. You can still see a depression where the sod house had been. a friend does Laura Ingalls Wilder presentation and has for many years.
Thanks for a reminder of a wonderful childhood memory.
It was fun to see your picture!
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Oh how I loved it when teacher would read a chapter or two a day. My fourth grade teacher was so good at it and I still remember her reading The Wizard of Oz. I digress. Isn’t it fun to reread them as an adult.
I would love to see Plum Creek. The sod house fascinated me when I first read the story, Teresa. I cannot imagine living in one, but Laura made it seem so nice. What an interesting friend you have. She must be a fountain of Wilder information.
You are so welcome. Yep. That’s me.
By the way, this site is very near Decorah, Iowa. We didn’t have time, but, that is an interesting area of Iowa and where the Seed Savers have their farm and operation. They were in large part responsible for saving heirloom seeds to flowers and vegetables. Actually, probably fruit as well.
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Thanks for that info on the Seed Savers. It sounds like it would be a nice road trip.
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Fantastic, Penny! I am so jealous. It would be a real dream come true for me to get to visit those prairies one day. Thank you for these lovely photos and descriptions that have allowed me to live vicariously until I can make it myself!
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I was thinking of you the whole time, Rachel. I put the picture of the original editions in just for you. I know you will be back in the States and you will visit some of the sites one day. The vastness of the prairie and the simple perspective of these buildings is amazing. I love the stories, but, I wouldn’t have wanted to be Ma.
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