Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I think I have had letters from every state
An educator asked to examine a sampling of Laura’s fan mail from children.
OCTOBER 1, 1948
Dear Frances Mason,
I hope the enclosed letters will be what you want to see. They are from scattered points as you notice.
The children send me their pictures, Christmas cards and presents, Valentines, birthday cards and gifts.
I think I have had letters from every state and have always answered them all until recently. Rheumatism in my hands now makes it difficult and at times painful for me to write, so I am not answering all and wish the children might understand how I cannot continue writing so many letters.
With kindest regards,
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Your father certainly was a grand man
This letter to Mrs. H. R. Richardson of Minneapolis indicates Laura’s respect for courage and individuality.
OCTOBER 6, 1948
Dear Mrs. Richardson,
It is indeed a pleasure to hear from you and know that you once saw Ma and Mary and that your father attended the college for the blind with Mary.
Those were great days when your people came to Arlington. Mr. Wilder and I are at times homesick for them. We were saying only the other day that we wanted so much to go back again to De Smet. When you next visit Arlington I do hope you visit De Smet. But I hope you will not be disappointed.
The city drained Silver Lake and the Big Slough to get more plow land. As though the hundreds of acres of dry land was not enough!
Your father certainly was a grand man to do so well without help. In those days people who were worthwhile did not beg for help as many do now.
I am the only one of my family living now. . . .
I thank you so much for your letter, it means a lot to me; and for the kind things you say about my books.
With kindest regards
Your friend,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I do envy your seeing the Wessington Hills
OCTOBER 23, 1948
Dear Ida Carson,
Glad to have your letter with news of your trip to S. Dakota.
Almanzo and I were speaking of De Smet the other day and of how we were still homesick for Dakota.
We are very well for our age and enjoying our nice weather. Oh! Of course we tire easily and have twinges of rheumatism, but that is to be expected. Rheumatism in my hands makes it hard for me to write. But we are still living by ourselves and doing all our own work.
I do envy your seeing the Wessington Hills and Huron and Mitchell, but am glad that you did.
We are having a dry fall here, but a few showers faded the colors of the forest leaves.
I am wishing you another successful school term.
With love, your friend,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Mansfield is on the exact top of the Ozark Hills
Laura was vague in reporting the family history; Charles Ingalls died in 1902; Caroline in 1924; Royal Wilder in 1925.
DECEMBER 13, 1948
Dear Mrs. Marshfield,
Thanks for your season’s good wishes.
Answering your questions—Royal Wilder died several years ago. Almanzo is the only one of the family living. Pa died thirty years ago and Ma soon after. I am the only one of the family living.
Mansfield is at the exact top of the Ozark Hills. Water to the north drains away in that direction into the Gasconade River, while on the South the water runs south into the White River.
The Ozarks, you know, are not mountains as are the Rocky and Coast ranges. They are as we always speak of them, the Ozark Hills.
I wish for you and yours a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
With kindest regards,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I had some surprising good news yesterday
DECEMBER 14, 1948
Dear Ida Carson,
Your telling me of your South Dakota trip made me homesick for those prairies. How I would love to see them again, but I fear I never will. Just now I should be thankful we are sheltered in the Ozark hills from South Dakota winter winds.
We have had a wonderful fall and so far this month, no snow or cold weather. Just now it is raining steadily but still warm.
Mr. Wilder has not been well and we have been staying close to home so I have not seen the stores in their Christmas dressing.
Rose was well a few days ago when writing her latest letter. She is very busy and tied up with affairs at her home in Connecticut.
I had some surprising good news yesterday. The Detroit Public Library is opening a new branch library and it will be named the Laura Ingalls Wilder Branch Library.
You have certainly served your time teaching school. Such a record deserves public recognition of some kind.
I wish you a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and again a successful year in your chosen profession.
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I am overwhelmed
The post–World War II baby boom and the expanding suburbs created a need for additional libraries in Detroit, Michigan. Ralph Ulveling was the director of the Detroit Public Library system. Bedtime reading for his children included the Little House books. He had great respect for Laura Ingalls Wilder; his own ancestors in Adrian, Minnesota, had endured the Hard Winter of 1880–1881. Ulveling and his staff agreed that a new branch library should bear Laura Ingalls Wilder’s name.
DECEMBER 15, 1948
Mr. Ralph Ulveling
Detroit Public Library
Dear Sir,
Your letter is indeed a pleasant message and a great surprise as well. To say that I am deeply gratified is not enough. I am overwhelmed that such an honor should be given me. I am certainly least among those so honored.
I would be glad to be present at the opening of the library, but it is not possible.
Mr. Wilder, Almanzo, the Farmer Boy, is ninety-two years old and not well, so I cannot leave home.
I thank you for the invitation, also for your kind letter and the two copies, one of which I am sending to my daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, and the other to Harper and Brothers as you suggested. I am sure they will all be greatly pleased.
I thank you and the others of the Staff for the great honor bestowed upon me and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I am doing no writing and very little reading these days
Margaret Kinison from Illinois wrote about children who lived in New Salem, the early home of Abraham Lincoln.
MARCH 15, 1949
Dear Miss Kinison,
Thank you for the nice things you say about my “Little House Books.”
Your stories “Children of New Salem” must be very interesting and I wish you a great success with them. Being so busy with other things I am doing no writing and very little reading these days.
With kindest regards,
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I can send you the mss.
The use of Laura’s name on the library marked the first time Detroit had designated a building for a living person and for a woman. Other Detroit library namesakes included Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Edison. Ralph Ulveling wrote: “This enduring honor is in recognition of the fine social history of pioneer days which you have presented in your series of books so beautifully and clearly.” He invited the Wilders to the dedication, asked for items to display at the event, and requested a formal response from Laura to be read.
MAY 3, 1949
Dear Mr. Ulveling,
Much as I would like to be present at the opening of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Branch Library it will not be possible.
Mr. Wilder’s general health is better but he is ninety-two
years old and not strong. It is not safe for him to be alone and we two are by ourselves in the old farm house. There is no help to be hired and I cannot leave home. Please understand that it is not from any lack of appreciation that I do not come.
I am sorry to disappoint you also about the photograph. There is no photographer in our town and I do not feel equal to a trip to the city to have one taken. The picture I am sending was taken when I was writing “By the Shores of Silver Lake” about twelve years ago. I have no pictures of any scenes in my books. It was long ago and taking of pictures was not common as now.
I haven’t the mss. of “Little House in the Big Woods” but I can send you the mss. of “The Long Winter” or “These Happy Golden Years” one or both. The original drafts are written with pencil in school tablet. If you want them I will send those and also the revised typewritten mss.
If you would care for them I will send you to keep also the reader and history I studied in “Little Town on the Prairie.” Let me know what of all above I shall send.
I hesitate to write anything to be displayed at the opening or read on a program. Frankly I don’t know what to say. The enclosed is my attempt to accede to your request. If it pleases you, use it in any way you wish. If not, ignore it.
I will be glad to autograph books for the libraries.
With kindest regards from Mr. Wilder and myself I am
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I am proud and grateful
Laura’s message was read at the dedication of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Branch Library on May 12, 1949.
Dear Friends,
Although I am not present, I join with you in being glad that you now have a Branch Library in your community.
I am proud and grateful that it has been named for me and that my “Little House Books” will be among those you may read.
Unless you had lived as I did, where books were scarce and so prized greatly, you cannot realize how wonderful it really is to have a whole library so convenient for your use.
With congratulations and all good wishes, I am
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
At times it has seemed incredible
JUNE 2, 1949
Dear Mr. Ulveling,
Many things conspired to delay my writing to you, but I assure you your kindness in sending me so complete an account of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Branch Library is none the less appreciated.
The Branch being named for me is such a wonderful thing that at times it has seemed incredible. Your letter has made it more real.
Thank you for the delightful broadside, the clippings, the pictures and the check.
The books to be autographed have arrived and will be started on their way to you as soon as I can go to town.
You may be interested to know that I have just received a letter from a twelve years old Japanese girl in Japan, a reader of my books, who quoted Tennyson’s “Sweet and Low, Wind of the Western Sea.”
Mr. Wilder is feeling better, but is quite feeble.
With kindest regards from us both I am
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
This arrangement should have been made long ago
Rose edited the National Economic Council’s Review of Books and lived modestly in her Danbury house during the 1940s. Continual improvements on her home indicated more income than she officially earned. Perhaps her parents shared proceeds from the sales of houses and land on Rocky Ridge. To give Rose a dependable income, Laura directed George Bye to send her daughter a percentage from the Little House books’ royalties.
JULY 16, 1949
Dear Mr. Bye,
I think the enclosed assignment will give you the authority needed for paying Rose 10% of my royalties. If anything more is necessary please let me know. This arrangement should have been made long ago.
I wonder if you were as surprised as I by the naming of the Detroit Branch Library for me. You and I as well as the Little House Books seem to be getting quite a bit of publicity. . . .
Laura’s nebulous description of Rose’s role in the writing of the Little House books indicates that both mother and daughter desired their collaboration to remain secret.
JULY 16, 1949
Mr. George T. Bye
New York City, N.Y.
Dear Sir,
I owe Rose, for helping me, at first, in selling my books and for the publicity she gave them.
In payment for this debt I hereby assign to Rose Wilder Lane (10%) ten per cent of the royalties on my “Little House Books.”
Please pay her this amount from those royalties received by you from Harper and Brothers.
Laura Ingalls Wilder
He is nearly helpless
The summer of 1949 was a difficult one. After suffering a heart attack Manly was extremely weak; Laura left home only briefly, to tend to errands in Mansfield. That summer, in Malone, New York, Frances Smith and her daughter Dorothy found the location of the old Wilder farm. The Smiths, who were related to Manly, wrote about their discovery.
OCTOBER 1, 1949
Dear Miss Smith,
Your interesting letter would have been answered sooner, except for the serious illness of Almanzo.
He suffered a heart attack the last of July and is only slowly recovering.
Due to shortage of nurses I have had to take all care of him and still do as he is nearly helpless.
Almanzo remembers his uncle, Andrew Day, and his wife who was his father’s sister. As you know James Wilder was Almanzo’s father.
With kindest regards from us both,
Sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Almanzo died of a heart attack
NOVEMBER 8, 1949
Dear Dorothy,
This is to bring you the sad news that your Uncle Almanzo died of a heart attack October 23d. He was buried in the Mansfield cemetery on Oct. 28.
Rose came but could only stay a week.
We had sold the farm retaining possession of the house and grounds and I am staying on here for a time at least. My future plans are uncertain.
With love,
Your Aunt Bessie
It is very lonely without my husband
Laura appreciated the friendship between Ernest and Minnie Green and her family in De Smet. In 1902 the Greens rented rooms from Caroline Ingalls. After the couple moved to their own home they continued their rapport with the Ingalls family, assisting them faithfully. Laura met Minnie Green on her 1931 visit to De Smet. Her letter refers to Judge Green’s death, earlier in 1949.
NOVEMBER 18, 1949
Dear Mrs. Green,
I thank you for your kind letter and your sympathy. It is very lonely without my husband as you so well understand, but there is nothing left but to go on from here alone.
I have often thought of you and of the many kindnesses of you and Mr. Green to my mother and sisters and although I never saw you but the once I have counted you both as friends.
As we do not take the De Smet paper I did not know of Mr. Green’s death. You have my heartfelt sympathy knowing what you have suffered.
It pleases me that you like my little books.
Those dear old days seem so far away now and sometimes I am homesick for them. But “The moving finger writes and having writ moves on.”
With kindest regards,
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I am so tired
Laura informed her semiregular correspondent in Glidden, Iowa, the teacher Ida Carson, of her husband’s death.
NOVEMBER 19, 1949
Dear Friend,
This is only a note for my heart is too sore to write more. Almanzo died October 23d and I am very lonely.
My plans are uncertain and I am so tired for I nursed Almanzo through a 3 months sickness.
Sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
CHAPTER 6
THE AUTHOR O
F CLASSICS (1950–1956)
Laura at the dedication of the Wilder Library in Mansfield, September 28, 1951. The Springfield News-Leader wrote: “She was a striking, charming little woman. . . . She wore a beautiful, very dark red velvet dress, at the shoulder of which a friend had pinned a large orchid. It was difficult to believe she was 84. . . .”
Laura was shattered by her husband’s death. As a friend expressed it, “For Mrs. Wilder, all was well with the world until Almanzo died.”
Laura stoically rejected well-meaning attempts to find a companion to tend her. She loved Rocky Ridge Farm too much to leave. Gradually, the self-reliant pioneer girl created a life without Manly. She resumed her attendance at the Methodist church in Mansfield. She continued her Wednesday tradition of shopping and visiting in town at midweek. In good weather, she took a long morning walk before tending to housework. Reading and needlework filled her time.
Friends and neighbors were solicitous. They telephoned and dropped in to visit. Neta and Silas Seal spent Sunday afternoons with her. The Jones family, who lived next door, were faithful. The two young brothers, Sheldon and Roscoe Jones, were Laura’s surrogate grandchildren. They brought the mail, assisted with outdoor chores, and spent time simply visiting. The boys were deep into reading the Little House books, but better yet was listening to “Mrs. Wilder” herself telling stories. To the boys she was a grandmotherly figure, smiling and affectionate. She paid them liberally for chores they performed, and shared boxes of candy she received from readers.
Rose made extended visits to Rocky Ridge during the 1950s. She was good company, but had grown increasingly cantankerous about politics and government. Sometimes her rants were wearing. She found Mansfield as provincial as ever, and its lingering clannishness annoyed her. “We only came in 1894, and are still ‘furriners,’” Rose fumed.
The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder Page 28