Following Laura Ingalls Wilder's Footsteps

Photo of Laura Ingalls Wilder in the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, Minnesota.

My love for Little House on the Prairie goes pretty deep. I remember Mama Joy saying that as a child I only loved old things. I played with my Holly Hobbie and Raggedy Ann dolls. My bedroom was completely country. It really helped that I had a mother who shared and embraced my passion for the old ways. I can still remember her smiling as she put up the Calico curtains that she had just proudly sewed on my bedroom windows. After all, I came from sustainable people who came from Europe to what is now Queens, New York, in the 1700s with massive green thumbs.

My great-grandmother Crawford had chickens for eggs and chickens that they would slaughter for food, had a goat named Macduff for milk, and sold honey from their hives. Why wouldn't I love that life? Maybe in some way it was genetic. In my blood. And yes, I said Queens, New York. It was totally farmland back then. This way of thinking would later follow me on to adulthood, but that is a story for another time.

I remember anxiously looking forward to watch Little House each week as a child. The pilot aired on March 30, 1974, when I was still four years old. The regular series premiered on NBC on September 11, 1974, and ran for ten years (the last one made up of three TV movies). Heck, I practically grew up with it. And it eventually brought me to Laura Ingalls Wilder's series of books that the TV show was based upon.

When I was around 7, my Nonna brought home the books, and she gave out one to each of us girls. I was anxiously awaiting my book, and then when everyone else took all of Laura's stories, I ended with Farmer Boy. I was so disappointed back then because I absolutely adored Laura, but I laugh about it now because I fell in love with that book about Almanzo and it became one of my favorites. Reading the books opened up a whole new world for me. Every page brought a new longing to go fishing in a creek and smell the fresh air of the prairie. And I have been chasing this feeling ever since. Some things you never grow out of. Thank the Lord.

As I watched Laura grow up on the show, so did I. I ran to the TV with baited breath when Almanzo broke her heart. And when she finally got married, I smiled with pure joy. On December 17, 1984, I cried when the town of Walnut Grove was blown up in "The Last Farewell" (which I still cannot watch without crying to this day). I wouldn't see dear Laura again until syndication. As time moved on, I bought the DVDs and watched them endlessly.

When I married the Prairie Papa, Tony, I longed to be in Laura's world. I had my organic vegetable garden and had tons of fresh herbs growing, which I then dried in my prim pantry and bottled up for the winter months. I baked. I cooked. I crafted. I wore my bonnet out in the sun. My children were raised with bare feet and mud. These things made me happy. It was a good life. And eventually I left New York chasing that prairie life and relocated in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

When the 50th anniversary of the Little House on the Prairie TV series approached, I heard about the three-day 50th anniversary celebration and cast reunion from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. They hold celebrations every five years, but this one would be special and I knew I had to do anything possible to get there. So I began saving for the longest and furthest trip we've ever taken. Little did I know that I would grow to become kindred friends with several of the Little House on the Prairie cast, as well as artists brought into the Little House family (Trisha & Hector of Casa Bella and set designer/illustrator Olan Paz) and actual relatives of Laura, such as Laura Ingalls Gunn. These people would go on to support me and my own prairie business and make "Holistic Prairie Mama" a recognized name. I am so very grateful for their presence in my life and have to pinch myself to believe I am actually holding hands with and taking this amazing ride alongside them. What a blessing it has been.

Hector & Trisha of Casa Bella Creations, me, and Olan Paz at the 50th Anniversary event in Walnut Grove.

Me and Laura Ingalls Gunn, the great-great-granddaughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder's paternal uncle. (Photo taken in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, not at the Minnesota event.)

Me and my prairie garb--corset and all--packed up for our trip to Walnut Grove, Minnesota. It was a dream come true. 22 hours from Lancaster, and we would only sleep an hour to make the trip straight through. Walnut Grove is an adorable but very small town with a very small population. I could have spent hours just walking in those prairie fields. Every step brought me back in time. Our first night, we would get a refreshing country sleep in an actual 1830s' cabin on an organic farm. This was the true Little House experience, like what the Ingalls family would have lived in. The next two nights were to be spent in an amazing old farmhouse with barns and acreage so that we could experience what it would have been like when Laura was married to Almanzo in their farmhouse.

Finally, SLEEP! And in an antique bed in a cozy cabin to boot.

Above at the 1830s' cabin; below at the old farmhouse (with Prairie Papa Tony and older son Noah Robert).

The museum was really wonderful. Photos of the real Laura and her family, and many things from the book. But for the fan of the TV show it was extra special, with the fiddle Michael Landon used onscreen and the original mantel from the set--that nostalgic mantel! If you have a chance to go there, please do, and you will not be disappointed. And the people at the museum are simply wonderful.

The pageant was equally magical and is held every July, presenting Laura's life in a serialized drama. The live animals were a thrill to behold, as were the special effects. I really enjoyed meeting all my prairie peeps while making new ones. I met the most incredible new friends and loved to hear their stories of what Little House has done for them.

Q&A session with cast held before the pageant.

Autograph signings were held in the park behind the museum. It was huge. So many happy faces. A lot of us adorned our prairie garments, I myself showing up in corset, undergarments such as bloomers and underskirt, long sleeves in July, a prairie bun, my favorite homemade hat, and prairie boots. I always feel at home and very comfortable in my outfits. For me, this was more than just getting autographs. This was about finally meeting my friends, and a celebration of fifty years of a show that made people feel loved and that they belonged. For many, the show was family. Isn't it amazing that such a show from the 1970s has had such an impact over these years, and it has truly taught us to love each other. Michael Landon's intentions came to life, knowing that it could touch so many lives.

Here I am with Jennifer Donati (Baby Rose), Wendi Lou Lee (Baby Grace), and Michael Landon's son and daughter (Michael Jr. & Leslie) above and David Friedman (Jason Carter) & Pamela Roylance (Sarah Reed Carter) below with the famous broach from the episode "The Last Summer."

But the highlight for me was the dugout on Plum Creek. If you have read the books, you know the significance. But even if you haven't and you're a fan of the show, you have heard of it. This is where Laura lived briefly as a child, but it was a significant time. The place was extremely emotional and spiritual for me. As I took my granny boots off and walked barefoot on the land, I took in every moment. This is what I had been waiting for since I was a child. I went over to the big rock and climbed down to put my feet into the warm water, just imagining Laura's feet on the same land, running and laughing just as happy as I was right at that very moment. I could sense her all around me. I closed my eyes and could feel her presence. Finally, I was really in Laura's footsteps.

Road to the "Dugout" where Laura's Plum Creek home once stood.

Plum Creek.

Me dippin' my toesies in Plum Creek.

So why do I resonate with Laura anyway? Laura and the show itself represented love and friendship. God's love and living a simple life. With challenges, of course. But to me, it's those things which make us humble and closer to God. Good, clean air. Healthy food. And prayer. There is really a certain feeling you get when you embrace this world. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Maybe Michael Landon Jr. was right when he told me I was born in the wrong time.

Me with the cast of Little House on the Prairie. Back row: Sidney Greenbush, David Friedman, Leslie Landon, Michael Landon, Jr., Dean Butler; middle: Wendi Lou Lee, Pamela Roylance, Jennifer Donati; front: Charlotte Stewart, me, Alison Arngrim, Patrick Labyorteaux.

Prairie blessings!