A letter to ALL of Laura Ingalls Wilder Fan's from Laura!
Dear
Children,
I was born in the "Little House in
the Big Woods" of Wisconsin on February 7 in the year of 1867. I lived
everything that happened in my books. It is a long story, filled with
sunshine and shadow ...
After our marriage Almanzo and I lived for a little while in the little
gray house on the tree claim. In the year 1894 we and our little daughter,
Rose, left Dakota in a covered wagon and moved to a farm in the Ozarks. We
cleared the land and built our own farmhouse. Eventually we had 200 acres
of improved land, a herd of cows, good hogs, and the best laying flock of
hens in the country. For many years we did all our own work, but now
almost all of the land has been rented or sold. For recreation we used to
ride horseback or in our buggy -- later on, our Chrysler. We read and
played music and attended church socials. In 1949 Almanzo died at the age
of 92. We had been married for 63 years.
You may be interested to know what happened to some of the other people
you met in my books. Ma and Pa lived for a while on their homestead and
then moved into town, where Pa did carpentry. After Mary graduated from
the College for the Blind, she lived at home. She was always cheerful and
busy with her work, her books, and music. Carrie worked for The De Smet
News for a while after finishing high school, and then she married a mine
owner and moved to the Black Hills. Grace married a farmer and lived a few
miles outside of De Smet.
Mary Power married the young banker and did not live many years. Ida
married her Elmer and moved to California. Cap Garland was killed in the
explosion of a threshing machine engine. Nellie Oleson went East, married,
and moved to Louisiana.
Several years before Almanzo's death, he and I took a trip back to De Smet
for a reunion with our old friends. Many of the buildings had been
replaced. Everywhere we went, we recognized faces, but we were always
surprised to find them old and gray like ourselves, instead of being young
as in our memories. There is one thing that will always remain the same to
remind people of little Laura's days on the prairie, and that is Pa's
fiddle.
The Little House books are stories of long ago. Today our way of living
and our schools are much different; so many things have made living and
learning easier. But the real things haven't changed. It is still best to
be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with
simple pleasures and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong.
Great improvements in living have been made because every American has
always been free to pursue his happiness, and so long as Americans are
free, they will continue to make our country ever more wonderful.
With love to you all and best wishes for your happiness, I am
Sincerely, your friend,
Additional Letters
Letter to Mary Jane Hunt (JPG)
