Pioneer Days: The Works of Laura Ingalls Wilder

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dwanollah said:

For instance, most people are horrified to find that the "real" Jack was just a dog they had for a short time in Kansas... but in the books, the "good dog" Jack, the "faithful brindle bulldog" is such an essential character, and a huge part of the series. His death, in particular, marks Laura's leaving childhood behind.

They only had Jack for a short time???

[lefty]

Mmm...this is news to me. So Jack's role in some of the stories was fabricated. Then maybe he didn't really trot under the wagon from state to state(?)

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I refuse to believe any such thing.

[dwanollah]

They had a bunch of different dogs over the years -- including a bulldog named Jack -- that were all merged into "Jack." Sort of like Nellie Oleson was a combo of three different girls.

But yes, I'm sure "Jack" trotted under the wagon during their travels!

[Smee]

I remember being kind of grossed out by "bath night" where everyone bathed in a wooden tub in the kitchen using everyone else's progressively dirtier bath water. Blech. Poor Pa, who always went last. At least Almanzo's family got clean water for each person's bath.

God, what a pain in the ass. Dragging in buckets of water and heating up enough of them to fill a tub must have taken forever. No wonder people only bathed on Saturday night.

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I can only imagine how often they bathed (or didn't!) during The Long Winter....

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In case anyone's interested... I was at Border's today and on the Bargain table they have an oversized hardback version of "Little House" with the original illustrations and cover for only $9.99. If you can't find it there, they have it in the kids' section as well.

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Yeah, but they were so low on water and probably had to rely on melting snow just for drinking/cooking during all those nonstop blizzards.

[prydainprincess]

I just got "The Ghost in the Little House" for a Christmas gift and already started reading! Quite good! Very different tone about their lives in DeSmet, rather depressing.

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Where the hell have I been that I've missed this thread (sorry for bad phrasing)? I LOVE all things LHOP!! I keep trying to make my daughter play Little House with me (making a button necklace, cornbread...) but she will have none of it! Boo!

Ok, analysis time: I know Laura romanticized Pa a bit (as daughters do), but I gotta say, he sure brought a lot of hardship on his family. They could have stayed in the Big Woods, close to relatives, but I think he took advantage of Ma's submissive nature. Also, it seemed he always wanted to move away, right when a new town was being built. I'm guessing he didn't have the education/means to compete with the new folk moving in and starting businesses. Sure, he could do carpentry, but it seemed he mostly wanted to rely on his trapping and farming skills to support the family. I know I'm a product of this generation, but I had a problem with his taking all of Laura's hard earned cash and using it to buy an organ for Mary. Ok, I'm done for now!

ETA: Dwan, how does one get a copy of the original, never published manuscripts? I read somewhere that one had to contact a library, or something, but I was wondering if there was another way. Also, can't wait to read your stuff! When will it be out? And lastly, I too, am fantasizing about a LH tour back east.