The “Missing” Book

Kelly mentioned in her post about By the Shores of Silver Lake that it feels like there is a book missing in the series. Clearly, quite a few things have happened since the end of On the Banks of Plum Creek, because Mary is blind and there’s a new baby in the family, Grace. Based on Laura’s given age in the two novels, it’s clear that some time has past. And it seems from the novels that all of that time was spent in the same spot. But was that the case?

Not quite.

I turned to the internet to try to fill in the gaps. The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library has quite a bit of information on Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family. Here’s an excerpt from the site’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Timeline:

1874	Spring	Ingallses move to the banks of Plum Creek, Walnut Grove, Minnesota.
1875	Nov. 1	Charles Frederick Ingalls (Freddie) born, Walnut Grove, Minnesota.
1876	Aug 27	Freddie dies, age 9 months. Burial in Wabasha County, Minnesota.
	Fall	Ingalls family moves to Burr Oak, Iowa, to run Masters Hotel.
1877	May 23	Grace Pearl Ingalls born, Burr Oak, Iowa.
1878		Ingalls move to Walnut Grove again.
1879	Feb.	Mary becomes blind after fever.
	Sept. 9	Ingalls family moves to railroad shanty in De Smet in the Dakota Territory.
	Dec. 1	The Ingalls move into the Surveyor’s House.

I have a really hard time picturing Ma and Pa running a hotel. Plus, if they spent time running a hotel, why does it seem to be such a novel experience for Mary and Laura when they eat dinner at the hotel after the train ride while they are waiting for Pa? I can understand not mentioning the birth and death of Laura’s brother in a series of books ostensibly meant for children, but why leave out the move to Iowa completely?

I would love to know what went on during those years that are not covered by the Little House books. It was obviously an eventful time in the life of the Ingalls family. But it’s clear that I’m going to have to do a little more digging before I find the answers!

Farmer Boy, or The One That’s Not About Laura

Farmer Boy is the only book of the Little House series that I did not read as a child. Honestly, I’m not sure why I skipped it. Possibly because I found the thickness of the book daunting. Or maybe just because it was about Almanzo and not Laura, so I just wasn’t as interested.

When I started reading Farmer Boy, parts of it seemed familiar. But I think that’s just because Bright is a surprisingly common name for livestock in the Little House universe – Laura has a cow with the same name later on.

I guess the most striking thing about this book is how well off the Wilder family is – especially compared to the Ingalls (as Bekki already mentioned). Every dinner is more lavish than the Ingalls family’s Christmas dinners. Pies abound. And I’m pretty sure Almanzo isn’t sharing a cup with anyone. The kids get new shoes once a year and the cobbler comes to them. And while I’m sure Almanzo’s “boughten” hat was relatively cheap, it probably cost more than a penny.

Almanzo even gets a toy when it’s NOT Christmas, something almost unheard of in the Ingalls family. The tin peddler gives him a horn.

Note the nice dresses and the SHOES!

Also, this book underscores just how much NOT having a son was a disadvantage to Pa Ingalls. Sure, Laura helps out a lot, but Mr. Wilder has two sons to help him in the fields, plus at least one daughter who is willing to help out.

I have no idea why I took this picture or what I had planned to say about. That’s what happens when you wait months to blog. Sorry!

The First Four Years

This is the last book and honestly, I don’t know what I’m going to do now.  I never really thought much about not having read these books until I read The Wilder Life and now I’m going to miss Laura.

I know there are unauthorized books (about Rose’s life, for example) and I don’t know if I want to read those.

I’ve really enjoyed reading these books, and I’m going to miss Laura.  (Yes, I know I can re-read them at any time, but it’s not the same.)

But I should probably talk about this book, right?

In some ways, this last book is my favorite.  The tone is different and Laura is much more of an adult than she was even in the previous book, where she was working and dating.   At the same time, though, she seemed unwilling to become completely grownup, letting Almanzo (or “Manly”) take over 100% of the decisions for their family.  That’s a dangerous thing to do, as she may have found out when things started to fall apart.

Still, it seems like their marriage was a happy one.

And again, I’m going to miss Laura.

Now what do I read?

It’s Wednesday! And I’m actually posting!

I finally finished Little House on the Prairie. I honestly can’t believe all the trials and tribulations the poor Ingalls family has to go through in one short year, all to satisfy Pa’s wanderlust.

Yes, there’s the cute Christmas story.

But mostly, it’s almost dying on the trip there, malaria, Native American troubles, plenty of hard work, and, of course, prairie fires.

This looks like a good environment for raising children, right?

And then, after everything they go through, Pa packs it all in on yet another rumor. Isn’t that what moved them there in the first place? Does this man ever verify his sources? And they leave in like, a day. What the hell? And Ma just goes along with it like she always does. God bless that woman. Seriously.

Still, it’s a great book and you can tell by the following quote from the last few pages that Laura shares a bit of Pa’s yearning for the unknown and striking out for new frontiers.

These Happy Golden Years

This is one of the shorter books in the series, but a ton of stuff happens.  Laura starts teaching (which, of course, she’s nervous about since she’s only 15 and some of the student are older than she is) but it’s fine.

AND she starts dating.  By the end of the book, she’s even married.  This apparently takes place over the course of three years, judging by a comment she made, but it feels pretty quick in the book. 

I have to say, Laura seems a little different in this book.  I can’t see the Laura in any of the other books reply to a proposal that her answer depends on the ring.  (Oh, Laura.)

Still, it’s a very, very sweet story.  I’m sad there’s only one left.  (Which isn’t stopping me from beginning it today.)

Kids will be Kids

So Farmer Boy seems to be quite the morality tale.  Time and again Almanzo, and sometimes his siblings, learn lessons. Everyone works, and prepares, and its all very Grasshopper and the Ant.  I can’t believe all the things I’m learning, how to make a milk-fed pumpkin, and all kinds of harvest techniques.  I’m reading the massive lists of food that the Wilder family is storing up, and it’s astounding to me.  I understand now, though I didn’t as a child reading, how essential this was for survival. However, even with my adult knowledge I just have no capacity to comprehend how this is even accomplished.  I tried canning a number of years ago.  It took me a couple of days to can 6 quarts of salsa, 4 quarts of brandied pears and 10 quarts of green beans.  That salsa didn’t even last a month. And then I read about the bushels of potatoes, carrots, and apples stored up, and think I can’t even get my apples to keep fresh for a couple of weeks, let alone all fall and winter.  It is just astounding to me.  Really.  I don’t think I could have survived.

I’m also blown away by how different this is from Laura’s experience.  They never had exactly plenty, and worked so hard just to eke out an existence. Almanzo’s family had enough that they could sell the excess.  It’s just night and day.  Both of their experiences as farmers are completely different.  And it’s so different from my life.  Aside from the few herbs and plants I grow in my meager attempt to garden, I am far removed from the sources of my food.  I don’t have to worry about storing up potatoes or fruits, they’re in my grocery store, ready when I need them.  I don’t even have to can foods or freeze them if I don’t want to.  I can purchase that, work already accomplished.  I feel a bit like this is a lost art, and in a way almost dangerous.  What if something would happen?  I’ve baited a hook once in my life (and that was enough thank you), and only gutted that fish because someone told me no girl could do it.  I’ve never shot, or dressed an animal or bird. [1]

There is a lady in my church, Margaret, who is in her 80′s and still as active as anything.  She mentioned how she has always wanted to teach people what she has learned over the years, including how to bone a chicken. [3]  I don’t know anything about this.  Nothing.  I buy boneless chicken from the store, if I need it.  I’ve never made pickle from watermelon rind or cut blocks of ice out of the lake in the winter. And, as a note of complaining, no one has made me eggnog in the middle of the summer, when it would be awesome!  No I have to wait until it snows to get any.  Grumblecakes. I love eggnog.  [4] Isn’t it funny though, something that was an important source of nutrients and hydration during the tough working times has become a treat, even an alcohol infused libation at times?

Whew, a whole post, and I haven’t even said what I wanted to yet.

So, in Farmer Boy Mother and Father take a vacation. [5] They leave the kids behind with all kinds of instructions, and one is to not eat all the sugar.  Of course when the cats are away…..Mayhem.  They make Ice Cream straight off the bat, then eat tons of watermelon, make more cake, make more ice cream, make candy, feed it to the pigs, and generally use up all the sugar.  They also get in tiffs, Almanzo tries to touch the colts, and in a fit of pique throws a blacking brush at his sister which hits the wall of the ‘special’ parlor.  Surprisingly, though, all gets cleaned up, very little evidence of their misdeeds are remain.  Almanzo’s older sister covers the black patch on the wall, and no one is any the wiser.

For the first time in the entire series I feel like we are the same. I can remember times that my sister and I covered for each other, not letting the parents know the whole truth.  How many times did we, or our friends, have a little fun when the parents were gone, and then had last-minute scrambles to clean things up.  It’s built into our DNA as teenagers, to do everything at the last moment, and goof off every second up to that point of no return.

This was the first part of the book that made me laugh, only to have it followed by the time when Almanzo got his face burned by an exploding potato while harvesting the tater fields. Yeah, my life really is far removed from these stories, even if kids are still kids.

 

1. Thankfully I can also say that I have never dressed a plastic or plaster cast of an animal  or bird. [2]
2. The same cannot be said for my neighbor.
3. NOT a dirty thing, though even I have a naughty grin.  Just one more brick….
4. I really want to make an Egg Nog Cream Pie sometime.
5. They went a whole 10 miles away.  10 MILES.  I travel further to get to work every day!

Little Town on the Prairie

This is the one where Mary goes off to college.  I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Mary in these books (mostly hate, if we’re being honest) and this is the first book where she seems like a good sister and a good person to know, so of course this is the one where she’s absent for most of the book.

This is ALSO the one where Laura goes back to school and, even though it’s a new town, guess who shows up?  NELLIE OLESON!

And the years since our last meeting have not mellowed her.  She’s just as much a bitch as ever.  (Possibly worse, really, now that she’s a teenager, too.)

I have to say, I’ve missed Nellie.  I hope she’s in the next book, too.

Also, on a side note, the early part of this book was like one big stress dream for me.  The mice gave Pa a haircut* and the birds attacked them in the cornfield.  (I KNEW Hitchcock was right.)

* = shenanigans on that, by the way; I think she made that up.  I don’t think mice chewed off Pa’s hair.