The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder
Page 29
Without the responsibility of Manly, Laura could participate in her fame as an author. She entertained the local fourth-grade class at Rocky Ridge, and visited the school to tell stories. A Laura Ingalls Wilder Day was held in nearby Hartville, and Laura attended. She also went to Springfield to speak to a college class, appeared at a library event, and signed books at a well-attended autograph party.
Families, educators, and librarians from all over America stopped at Rocky Ridge, hoping to meet Laura. If she wasn’t feeling well, the Jones boys fended off the callers. Usually Laura received her unknown friends, answered questions, posed for pictures, signed books, and proudly showed the visitors through her unique home.
And always, the letters continued to arrive, and Laura diligently replied to them.
I long so much for the old places and the old times
Evelyn Wenzel wrote an article on the Little House books for Elementary English magazine.
JANUARY 10, 1950
Dear Miss Wenzel,
Thank you so much for the picture of Pa’s fiddle and for your interesting letter. I am glad you saw the museum and the town of De Smet.
At times I long so much for the old places and the old times. Especially is this so when I am so lonely for Almanzo.
Ah Well! “The moving finger writes, And having writ moves on.”
Again I thank you for the picture of Pa’s dear old fiddle.
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I do not mind living alone
FEBRUARY 1, 1950
Dear Mrs. Carson,
I thank you for your kind letter and for your friendly interest in me.
Almanzo is buried in the Wilder lot in the Mansfield Cemetery. Our daughter Rose Wilder Lane came from Connecticut. She is the only near relative living. There are only scattered nieces and nephews and distant cousins besides. Rose stayed a while and then had to return to her home. . . . She will come again in the Spring.
The farm was already sold but I have life tenure of the house and grounds and am staying here. There are neighbors just across the road and just a short distance to the side. Groceries are delivered to the door; mail every morning to the box by the road; my fuel oil tank for my heater is kept filled with no trouble to me and electricity and telephone ready to my touch. The house is warm and comfortable.
Two boys from the neighbors on the East come every day to see if there is anything they can do for me and a taxi from town is on call to take me wherever I wish to go. Friends from town, only ¼ mile away, come often to see me.
I think I am as well situated as I could be in town with none of the town annoyances. Never having been timid, I do not mind living alone except for missing Almanzo. I am very lonely for him, but that would be so wherever I am.
We have had a wonderful winter so far. The last few days have been cloudy and gloomy and there is some ice which does not bother me as I do not have to go outdoors. The boys bring my mail from the mail box; wood and water are inside the house. Wood is for the cook stove when I rather use that than the electric cook stove.
With kindest regards,
Your friend,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Pa did not keep a diary
MARCH 30, 1950
Dear Mrs. Carson,
My mail is so heavy it takes me a long time to answer a letter, for I am always behind with my writing.
March weather here has been very unsettled, warm one day and cold the next. People have been suffering with colds and flu because of it. But I have kept well, not even a cold all winter. It looks now as if the worst was over and Spring is here.
Pa did not keep a diary. It would be very interesting if there were one.
Mary Power and Ida Brown died years ago. Mary left no children but Ida’s children and grandchildren live in California.
My daughter is a widow with no children.
Almanzo’s sister Alice married. Her home was in Florida and her children and grandchildren live there now.
It seems strange to me that of all the people I wrote about I am so far the only one left.
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
It is hard for me to even write a letter
The fifth-grade classroom and their teacher in East Jordan, Michigan, received replies from Laura while her grief over the loss of her husband was especially acute.
APRIL 14, 1950
Dear Miss Liskum,
Thank you for all the kind things you say about my little books. But you must be tired of reading them so many times.
You have my permission to use my letter to the children in any way you please.
Since Mr. Wilder’s death it is hard for me to even write a letter so I hope you will excuse my answer to the children being so short.
With kindest regards,
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
It is fun to have pets
APRIL 14, 1950
Dear Children,
I am so glad you like my stories and hope the last ones of the series will please you too.
It is fun to have pets like cats and dogs and they will be such good friends if you train them that way. Just now I have only a cat.
I am sure you will be sorry to know that Almanzo died last October. . . . Your letters would have pleased him and I thank you for writing for him as well as me.
Love to you all,
Your friend,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
You ask how I spend my time
Clara Webber accepted the children’s librarian position at the Pomona Public Library in California in 1948. She held back tears as she was shown the dreary children’s room. She vowed, “As soon as I get this place looking like something, it will be named for Laura Ingalls Wilder.” Early in 1950, plans were afoot to dedicate the library room. A huge wall map was created to trace the journeys of the Ingalls family; the dedication was set for May 25, 1950.
APRIL 19, 1950
Dear Miss Webber,
It is not possible for me to locate on the map exactly the place of Little House in the Big Woods. The map does not show Lake Pepin which is in an enlargement of the Mississippi River some miles north of Winona, Minn., which is of course on the other side of the river.
I have marked with a blue cross the approximate place The Little House was, about seven miles into Wisconsin from the lake in the river. I do not know the route we followed going to The Little House on the Prairie, being much too young to remember.
On the Banks of Plum Creek I cannot locate exactly as the towns of Tracy and Walnut Grove are not shown on the map. I know it was west of New Ulm and so have put a cross there.
In going to Little House on the Prairie I know we crossed a corner of N. Missouri and through Independence, Kas. to 3 miles over the line into what was Indian Territory [the Osage ceded lands, technically not open to white settlement].
De Smet, South Dakota is the scene of the rest of the story. I have marked it with a blue cross. Blue is the only colored pencil I have.
Malone, New York, scene of Farmer Boy and Almanzo’s birthplace in the country nearby is extreme N. New York. I have marked it with a blue cross, but have no idea the route the family followed going West to Minnesota.
I fear my map markings will not be much help. I am sorry.
Mansfield is marked in blue.
I will not be able to make a tape recording. There is no one here to do such work.
My daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, lives at her home near Danbury, Connecticut. She intends to make me a visit this summer. It is hard she lives so far away but her work is there and mine is here.
You ask how I spend my time—
There were only forty-nine letters in my mail yesterday morning. Most of them must be answered. I do all my own work and it is now house cleaning time for this ten room house. I call a taxi once a week for shopping and visiting and to church Sunday.
I am living alone and it is very lonely
without Almanzo, but it would be lonely anywhere and I would rather stay in my own, old home.
[Clara Webber had asked for Laura’s famous gingerbread recipe to serve at the library dedication, and Laura included it in this letter.]
1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup shortening creamed. Add 1 cup molasses. Mix.
1 teaspoon baking soda in cup. Fill with boiling water letting foam run over until there is one cup of water.
Add three cups flour sifted with 1 teaspoon each of ginger, cinnamon, allspice, scant spoon cloves and a pinch of salt. When well mixed add 2 well beaten eggs. Mix well and bake in a moderate oven 30 minutes. Raisins and candied fruit may be added if wished. Good luck!
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
The news of Pepin is very welcome
APRIL 20, 1950
Dear Mrs. Anderson,
Hearing from you is like getting a letter from my youth. I was 17 when I received the last letter postmarked “Pepin.”
I feel certain that the Laura Ingalls your father knew was a relative of mine. A cousin of my own age with the same name lived there when my family did. The families did not keep in touch but there are Ingalls in northern Wisconsin I know, and Laura was a family name.
I do not know the name of the man to whom Pa sold his farm near Pepin. I remember only that he was a Swede. As you know, it was a Swedish settlement. I have no memory of the name “Schruth.” I am sorry but I was five years old when we came away and so much, so very much, has happened since. Please give your father my best regards.
The news of Pepin is very welcome. I’d love to see the place again. But never will I’m sure. 83 is too old to travel.
Think of me as your friend,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
It is kind of you to keep me informed
As a gift to the Pomona Public Library, Laura sent her penciled manuscript of Little Town on the Prairie.
MAY 20, 1950
Dear Miss Webber,
Your letter came this morning and I have no mail out until Monday, the 22nd. I hope this will reach you in time for your use.
It is not possible for me to talk for a radio record. Please convey my regrets to Mr. Caldwell.
The enclosed letter is for you to read at the dedication if it meets with your approval. I’m afraid it is not good but since Mr. Wilder’s death my thoughts do not flow freely. I am still rather stunned from the shock.
It is kind of you to keep me informed regarding the dedication and I will be glad to have the newspaper. I would love to be with you at that time for I am sure it will be a grand occasion. I wish you the greatest success and am sorry I cannot do more to help with it.
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
P.S. The books to be autographed have not yet come from Harpers.
I was far from a library in those days
MAY 1950
Dear Friends,
It makes me very proud that you have named this room in your library for me. I do appreciate the honor you have given me.
You make good use of your library I am sure. How I would have loved it when I was young, but I was far from a library in those days.
As you read my books of long ago I hope you will remember that the things that will give you happiness are the same now as they were then.
Courage and kindness, loyalty, truth and helpfulness are always the same and always needed.
With kindest regards and all good wishes,
Sincerely your friend,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I am indeed proud to have my name connected with it
Clara Webber hoped to visit Laura Ingalls Wilder when she traveled east for the American Library Association convention in Cleveland during July 1950. As Laura indicated in her letter, Rose planned to visit Rocky Ridge. The mother and daughter did not, however, make a vacation trip.
MAY 31, 1950
Dear Miss Webber,
Thank you so much for the clippings and the photo of the library. It is a beautiful building and I am indeed proud to have my name connected with it.
It seems to me you must have had an enjoyable time at the dedication. Already I have had a letter from a little girl who enjoyed the gingerbread so you must have been successful with the recipe.
I am so glad Pa’s old tunes were played. That surely gave the touch to bring to memory the past.
I would love to meet you, but my daughter Rose is coming in July. She writes that she is going to take me away for a month’s vacation. She did not say where. I suppose that it is to be a surprise. So I will not be home in July. I am sorry.
I thank you for your letter so kindly telling me of the things that happened. You are a sweet person.
Sincerely your friend,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Black Susan, the cat
JUNE 3, 1950
Third Grade
Franklin School
Dear Children,
Thank you for all your nice letters. I enjoyed them very much.
I am glad you like my stories.
The color of the Christmas horses was bay. Black Susan, the cat, stayed in the little house with the people who came when we went away.
Wishing you all a happy vacation,
With love, your friend,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Memories of our childhood are so much alike
JUNE 3, 1950
Dear Miss Panzram,
Your letter is very interesting. The memories of our childhood are so much alike and so different from now, they should make us friends.
What a thrill we had on some sunny spring day when we first took off our shoes and stockings and ran outdoors barefoot for a short time.
I am indeed glad if my books are a help in your school work.
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
If I am at home I would be glad to see you
Irene Fosness visited Laura on Rocky Ridge in August 1950.
JULY 14, 1950
Dear Mrs. Fosness,
I cannot promise to be at home the last of August as my daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, is coming soon and insists that we take a trip somewhere together. As I do not know what her idea is, where it may lead us, nor for how long, my plans are rather uncertain as you can see.
If I am at home I would be glad to see you, so if you pass this way, please stop and see if I am here.
Thank you for the kind things you say of my little books. I am glad you like them.
With kindest regards,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Inquiries from people who want to give them for Christmas
When Laura wrote this letter, Garth Williams was in Rome, working on the new Little House illustrations. “We have finally decided on an absolutely beautiful technique,” wrote Ursula Nordstrom, “with a carbon pencil, and they will be reproduced in halftone . . . they will be perfect I know.”
NOVEMBER 25, 1950
Dear Miss Nordstrom,
Can you tell me when the edition of the Little House books illustrated by Garth Williams will be out?
I have many inquiries from people who want to give them for Christmas presents. Please let me know when they will be published.
With kindest regards to you and your office force.
Sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I shall expect . . . to be changed
Pa’s fiddle brought a steady stream of visitors to the South Dakota Historical Society in Pierre. Many wished to photograph it, and the fiddle was removed from its case for picture-taking. At midcentury the museum staff was somewhat bemused at the attention paid to Pa’s fiddle. Laura was incensed that the fiddle was being incorrectly identified.
OCTOBER 16, 1950
Secretary, State Historical Society
Pierre, South Dakota
Dear Sir,
Recently a friend sent me a copy of the inscription which she says is attached to my father’s violin.
I have a receipt for the violin from the then secretary, Lawrence K. Fox, dated May 22, 1944. The receipt quotes the inscription as I have given it and promises to make every effort to have the violin played four times a year as I had stipulated.
Rose Wilder Lane is the daughter of Almanzo Wilder and Laura Ingalls Wilder and the granddaughter of Charles P. Ingalls. The violin was purchased by him long before 1879, but was played by him in De Smet at that time. My earliest recollection is of his playing it years before. I shall expect [the inscription] attached to the violin to be changed. . . .
The violin was appraised in New York at $50,000. Surely it is worthy of being truthfully explained.
Yours truly,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
My trouble was nerves and heart
JANUARY 3, 1951
Dear Miss Nordstrom,
Thanks for your Christmas remembrance. The book “Horace Greeley” looks very interesting but I have not been able to read it yet.
I have been very ill and am now able to sit up part of the time. My desk is covered with stacks and piles of Christmas mail as yet unanswered.
My trouble was nerves and heart and I am under orders to “take it easy.” Which is hard for me to do. . . .
I do remember your calling on me
JANUARY 18, 1951
Dear Mrs. Kelley,
Your Christmas greetings would have been answered sooner, but I have been very ill and could not write. Please give your group of children my love and thanks for their Christmas thought of me.
I am sending autographs that you can paste in my books if you wish. It is more than I can do to attend to autographing and mailing books. I am not very strong. It is too great a task to answer all the mail I get, so please tell your pupils not to write to me for likely they would get no reply.