Chapter 5 - Laura is "Working in Town"

The happy chapters are coming to an end. In chapter five, Laura leaves her "happy place" to earn money for the family. Will she be able to cope with long work days, buttonholes, and hot-tempered bosses? 

Chapter 5 - "Working in Town"

Ma wonders what work there could possibly be in town for a girl that doesn't involve working in a hotel. Pa explains that Mr. Clancy (Real name: Chauncy L. Clayson) is opening a store only for dry goods. Imagine that, only dry goods! Pa explained how Mr. Clancy's mother-in-law, Mrs. Martha White, will be starting a business sewing shirts for settlers who are "baching" it and don't have a woman to do their sewing. Pa volunteered Laura to help Mrs. White sewing shirts. 

Pa says, "There's no flies on Clancy.  He's got a machine to sew the shirts." Pa then describes how the sewing machine works using words like "contraption" and "greased lightening." Laura knows Ma yearns for a sewing machine. It would save her SO much time. (Spoiler:  Pa buys Ma a sewing machine in the next book, These Happy Golden Years.) Laura is relived to find out she will not be operating the costly sewing machine. 

My current favorite "contraption" is my zucchini spiralizer.  I am making zoodles for family, friends, and people who walk by my house. My goal is to not waste produce from my garden. Keeping up with a zucchini plant is almost as challenging as keeping up with a two year old.

Laura learns, from Pa, that she will earn 25 cents a day PLUS a free lunch. Laura does the math and swoons about making a little more than six dollars a month. All the money can be used to send Mary to college. When I was Laura's age, I spent all my money on clothes, from Village Fashions, and make-up, from Holt Drug. Laura's open heart and wallet are commendable.

DeSmet, South Dakota in 1881

The big day arrives.  Laura and Pa walk to town, after Laura finishes her chores of carrying water and milking Ellen. Pa drops Laura off at Mr. Clancy's dry goods store. Mrs. White "welcomes" Laura by saying, "I hope you're a fast, neat sewer. Can you baste bias facings and make good firm buttonholes?" Laura is overwhelmed by her new surroundings and responsibilities. "The racketing hum of the machine filled Laura's head like the buzzing of a gigantic bumblebee. The wheel was a blur and the needle was a streak of light."

Before lunch, Mr. Clancy and Mrs. White begin quarreling over a shirt order.  Laura, who leads an extremely sheltered life, listens to her bosses shout and swear at each other. Mrs. White shrieks, "I'll not be driven and hounded! Not by you nor any other shanty Irishman!" Laura is so upset she can't eat and returns to her work. After dinner Mr. Clancy and Mrs. White act as if the argument never even happened.  Laura remembers Ma saying, "It takes all kinds of people to make a world." (Ain't that the truth?)

Laura spends the remainder of her 11+ hour work day basting collars, setting cuffs, and hemming shirt bottoms. She frets over spacing the button holes the exact same distance. "It is not easy to space buttonholes exactly the same distance apart, and it is very difficult to cut them precisely the right size." 

I am in awe of people who can sew. I made a pair of stretchy green shorts in 8th grade Home Economics.  Part of the grade was modeling your shorts for the class. My stretchy shorts were obscenely tight. Modeling them in front of teenage peers was out of the question. I took the zero and threw the shorts away in the bathroom.

The chapter calmly ends with Pa and Laura walking home. Pa asks Laura how her day was. Laura answers, "Mrs. White spoke well of my buttonholes." 

What Would Laura Do?

• Refuse to embrace new technology
• Use her wages to help family
• Avoid conflict
• Do the job right

Carrie volunteered to do extra chores so Laura could work in town. I am pretty sure I have never volunteered to do extra chores - unless it was a photo opportunity. 

See you soon for Chapter 6 - "The Month of Roses."
Prairie Eydie 

Chapter 4 - "The Happy Days" Are Here Again for the Ingalls

I am loving all the happy chapters in Little Town on the Prairie. Get ready because chapter 4 is delivering more fields of green, cat adventures, and cozy family moments. 

Fun facts. The first religious gathering in the settlement of DeSmet met at the Ingalls house. Later they gathered in an unfinished train depot until the church was built.

DeSmet, South Dakota is growing fast. This has to be irking reclusive Pa. But, he can no longer drag his family further West, since he promised Ma they wouldn't move again. 

Pa and Ma start attending meetings to organize a church. (I am a little surprised Ma is allowed to attend the meetings.) There is even more good news - Pa gets a job building the church! His work hours are from 7 AM to 6:30 PM and he earns 15 dollars a week. 

Laura meditates on the reasons she is happy and grateful.

• The garden is growing well
• They are getting milk from the cow, so they can regularly make butter, buttermilk, and cottage cheese
• PA IS EARNING MONEY!!!

Laura's thoughts turn to Mary attending college for the blind. Laura knows, when she turns 16, she must teach school to earn money for Mary's tuition. 

Then, Laura begins mentally listing the family's needs:

• dresses
• shoes
• flour, sugar, tea
• salt meat (there is no game for Pa to hunt due to the glut of settlers)  
• lumber for the house
• coal for the winter

Even with the oodles of money Pa is earning, it would be difficult to pay Mary's tuition. 

Did you know Laura got her started her writing career by penning articles about chicken rearing?  Her favorite breed with the brown leghorn chicken.

As if we haven't had enough joy, Pa comes home with even more good news. "I saw Boast in town today, and he sent word from Mrs. Boast. She is setting a hen for us! As soon as the chicks are big enough to scratch for themselves, he's going to bring us the whole batch." Mrs. Boast is a gem. Having a flock of chickens was life changing for the Ingalls. Laura day dreams about pullets, eggs to set, cockerels to fry, lots of eggs, and the occasional chicken pie.

Can enough be said about the kindness of friends? Yesterday a friend stopped by with a sweet gift. Cat pens and sticky notes - nestled in a bag decorated with hearts. My friend said, "I thought of you when I saw the pens and couldn't resist." I thought of you are powerful words. The gift made me feel special; plus, the post-its are super sticky. The world would be a better place if we all stopped to think of others. Today I am going to channel my inner Mrs. Boast.

LIW takes us on a tedious, comedic interlude involving the wee kitten wrestling with a rodent. The kitten eventually wins the match. "Then her own little teeth snapped hard, into the mouse's neck.  The mouse squeaked shrilly and went limp." (We do find out that the kitten's name is "Kitty.") I guess the Ingalls rodent infestation has been solved.    

Sadly, dear reader, the chapter ends with Pa asking Laura, "How would you like to work in town?" Drat. I thought he had forgotten about Laura getting a job.  

What Would Laura Do?

• List reasons to be happy and grateful
• Save money for college
• Make mental shopping lists
• Daydream  
• Get a job

See you soon for Chapter 5 - "Working in Town."

Prairie Eydie
      

Chapter 3 - "The Necessary Cat"

I often ask myself, "How did Laura Ingalls Wilder get through hard times?" The Ingalls family didn't lack challenges.  Today we learn about "The Great Rodent Infestation of 1881." During the Covid-19 pandemic, I decided to reread Little Town on the Prairie to discover - What Would Laura Do?

Chapter 3 begins with Pa complaining about gophers eating his corn. (I so prefer light-hearted conflict with gophers over the looming starvation we read about in The Long Winter.) Pa needs to replant the corn.  Before he gets to work, Pa makes up a fun rhyme to entertain his girls:

One for a gopher,
Two for a gopher,
Three for a gopher,  
Four don't go fur.

There are so many, many things to be sad about during a pandemic. But, it is important to laugh during a crisis. Since Pa's rhyme didn't make me laugh, here are some things I am smiling about these days:

A pocket of happiness.

I have rediscovered this comic thanks to Saint Vincent thrift stores.  Now my daughter is reading them, even though I question the content. Cathy comics center around swimsuits, salads, phone calls to her mom, and dull dates with Irving.  

• Cathy comics
• Video - follow the link for some fun - If Birds Had Arms
• Flowers in wall pockets
• Books by Liane Moriarty (I am currently reading Three Wishes)

Pa replants the corn. And again - the gophers strike. The gophers are eating, burying, and nibbling Pa's seed corn. Ma says the mice in her kitchen are as thick as honey. Ick. The Ingalls fondly recall Black Susan, the cat they left behind in Pepin, Wisconsin. They want a cat, but Pa says, "There's not a cat in this whole country, that I know of."  

That very night, Pa wakes up thinking a barber is cutting his hair. (Laura can hear everything through the partition.) Pa throws something against the wall. Ma thinks Pa is delusional.

Pa:  I heard the barber's shears go snip, snip. 

Ma (yawns): Well lie down and go to sleep. 

Pa: In my sleep I put up my hand and - Here. Feel my head."

Ma:  Charles!  Your hair's been cut! A place as big as my hand, shown clean off.

Pa:  I put up my hand, and I took hold of - something ---

Ma (hopelessly):  I do wish we had a cat.

The conversation continues until Ma declares that a mouse was gathering Pa's hair to make a nest. In the morning the family finds a dead mouse on the bedroom floor. Again - ick.  

Now I would believe a mouse could make a nest in Pa's beard. That seems extremely possible.

Okay.  I don't know about you, but I am not buying this story. Pa must have been a heck of a sound sleeper to let a mouse chew a hand sized chunk of hair off of his head.  If I had a rodent problem that bad, I would walk back East to get a cat. What about you, Bonnetheads? Could this have happened?  

Pa has a County Commissioner meeting to attend. He is the oldest settler and must help form a county. Pa, jokingly, says he will tell the other commissioners that his wife cut his hair. 

This adorable illustration makes up for the fact that Laura forgot to tell us the kitten's name.

When Pa returns from the meeting, he rushes into the house and places a tiny kitten into Mary's hands. Laura describes the kitten to Mary, "Its eyes aren't open yet. its baby fur is blue as tobacco smoke, and its face and its breast and its paws and the very tip of its tail are white. Its claws are the tiniest wee white things."

My cat, Millie.  She earns her keep by being cute.
I agree with Ma - a cat is well worth the price.   

Pa admits the kitten was too small to take from its mom, but he had to buy it before someone else. Pa paid 50 cents for the kitten and Laura freaks out at the cost. (Good thing Laura can't see my grocery store receipts. They would send her into a panic.) Ma quickly backs up Pa. "I don't blame you, Charles. A cat in this house will be well worth it."

Laura makes the kitten a cozy nest in a paste board box and Ma feeds the kitten milk from a teaspoon. Hopefully this young, tiny kitten will be able to single-handedly solve the claim shanty's gopher and mouse infestation.

What Would Laura Do?:

• Eavesdrop on private conversations.
• Lament about the cost of things nowadays.
• Create cozy environments for kittens.

See you soon for Chapter 4 - "The Happy Days."

Prairie Eydie   
  

      

Chapter Two - "Springtime on the Claim"

I often ask myself, "How did Laura Ingalls Wilder get through hard times?" The Ingalls family didn't lack challenges. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I decided to reread Little Town on the Prairie to discover - What Would Laura Do?

Little Town on the Prairie
Chapter 2 - "Springtime on the Claim"

Chapter two starts with a brief review of the previous book, The Long Winter. LIW (Laura Ingalls Wilder) skims over the winter of 1880 - 1881. She mentions the blizzards, twisting hay, and grinding wheat in the coffee mill. 

The Long Winter was painful for LIW to relive. I sense, in her writing, an eagerness to move on cheerful memories filled with family and the prairie's beauty.  I, too, am eager to focus on happier times. Soak up this description:  "Meadow larks were flying, singing, up from the dew-wet grass. Jack rabbits hopped beside the path, their bright eyes watching and their long ears twitching as they daintily nibbled their breakfast of tender grass tips." (Full disclosure. I skipped descriptions as a young reader and love them as an adult. I currently skip text that involves a character's dreams. I don't have time for that.)

This is the first time, in the Little House series, that Laura has her braids pinned up. Our Laura is becoming a woman!

Before breakfast, Laura milks the cow, Ellen, and moves Ellen and her calves' picket lines to fresh grass. Laura also teaches the calves to drink skim milk from a bucket. (I am not sure why this is necessary.) 

Left to right:  Carrie, Mary, and Laura. Notice the added flounce on the bottom of Laura's dress to make it a proper length.

Look closely. Laura already has the determination required of a pioneer woman.

Midway into the chapter, LIW gives a brief history of each sibling, except Grace. (Just so you know, Grace is 4 and asks a lot of questions.)

MARY

Scarlet fever left Mary's clear, blue eyes sightless. She prefers indoor work to outdoor work."I must work where I can see with my fingers. I couldn't tell the difference between a pea vine and a weed at the end of a hoe, but I can wash dishes and make beds and take care of Grace."  Mary is insufferably cheerful and good, which irritates Laura. 

CARRIE

Carrie is a proud 10 year old. She is small for her age, but is able to help Mary with all the housework.

LIW also mentions that many people are arriving from out East to settle the prairie. Ma said there was no time for visiting in the Spring. Poor Ma needed some "Girl Time." It was gossipy Pa, during the long winter, who got all of the daily chit-chat and news at Fuller's Hardware store.

During the Covid pandemic, I talk daily with girlfriends. Sometimes we talk about workouts. One of my friends is training to climb a mountain and carries weighted backpacks on her runs. Another friend is committed to getting in 10,000 steps a day. In my quest to firm up my "bat wings," I have discovered (with a little help from a friend) The Lazy Dancer lean arm workouts on You Tube. 

We also talk about what we are and aren't reading. For now, I have stopped reading books about World War II (The Alice Project, by Kate Quinn, sealed that deal.) Yesterday I finished reading The Hunger Games prequel, so apparently I have no problem reading about fake, future wars. My friend, Prairie Sherry, loans me all her finished books. She devours books like I devour sugar snap peas from my garden.

Sometimes we talk about food. Last night I gave my friend detailed instructions on how to make oatmeal in the microwave. She was still making it on the stove. No one needs an extra pan to wash. I talk about ordinary things everyday with my girlfriends. But it is through the ordinary that lasting friendships are built and maintained.  I wonder what Ma talked about with her girlfriends?

The marvelous invention that saved Pa's aching back.

After breakfast, Pa goes out to break sod since he wants to plant corn. Pa has a new toy - a breaking plow!  LIW jumps into a tedious description of how the breaking plow works. Let's cut to the chase. The blade cuts through the sod and the moldboard flips the 12 inch strip of sod over. Pa is over the moon and jokes, "By jingo, that plow can handle the work by itself. With all these new inventions nowadays, there's no use for a man's muscle." Is this the same man who thought kerosene was "new fangled" a few months ago?

The breaking plow was revolutionary to Pioneer farmers. I started thinking about things that have revolutionized my life.

• The hot glue gun. Just yesterday I glued my house numbers onto freshly painted siding. Now FedEx and UPS workers can stop ringing the doorbell to double check my address.  
• The FriXion erasable pen.  This game changer was shared with me by a 7th grade boy who loved to take perfect notes.
• Enbliss bralettes from Soma. Trust me ladies.  You need a wardrobe of these comfortable beauties.  

Sheep sorrel - Sprintime? Or lemon flavoring?

In the afternoon, Laura took Mary for a walk on the prairie. Laura shows her dreamer side and Mary displays her uptight, realistic side as they discuss the ever controversial - sheep sorrel.  

Laura:  Sheep sorrel tastes like springtime.

Mary (gently correcting):  It really tastes a little like lemon flavoring. 

A buffalo wallow.

During the walk, Laura decides to come clean about wanting to slap Mary in the past.  Laura confesses, "And you always were good.  It made me so mad sometimes, I wanted to slap you. But now you are good without even trying." Mary is shocked at the confession, but Mary also has a confession to make. "I was showing off to myself, what a good little girl I was, and being vain and proud, and I deserved to be slapped for it." Now it is Laura's turn to be shocked. The confessions are soon forgotten once they reach a buffalo wallow full of violets. The violets grew "thick as honey."

Laura and Mary bring violets for Pa, Carrie, and Grace to smell. (Grace will only play in the field behind Pa.) The girls watch as Pa plants four corn kernels in a hole. Curious Grace wants to know why and Pa responds with a catchy rhyme. 

One for the blackbird,

One for the crow,

And that will leave

Just two to grow.

I think of Laura every time I pick flowers from my gardens.  I may need to plant some violets next year.

After the corn is planted, Pa decides to finish building the shanty. He adds two tiny bedrooms, each with a window, onto the main room. Laura marvels how spacious the front room is now that there are no beds in it. More lovely descriptions of home follow:  "The scrubbed board walls and the floor were a soft yellow-gray. A bouquet of grass flowers and windflowers that Carrie had picked and put in the blue bowl on the table, seemed to bring springtime in." 

A replica of Ma's whatnot shelf.

The chapter ends with a lengthy description of Ma's whatnot shelf and with Laura declaring the front room "beautiful." LIW keeps her readers hanging as she does not address what job Pa wants Laura to take in town.  

What Would Laura Do?

• Soak in nature's beauty.
• Teach animals new skills.
• Take afternoon walks, alone or with family.
• Pick flowers.
• Be curious about planting veggies.
• Delight in an orderly, clean house.

Laura had a lot to teach us today! Now, I need to head outside to water my veggies, before taking a brisk walk. . . by myself. See you soon for chapter 3 - "The Necessary Cat".

Prairie Eydie


  






  







      



    

Chapter 1 - "Surprise"

I often ask myself, "How did Laura Ingalls Wilder get through hard times?" The Ingalls family didn't lack challenges. 

They lived in poverty and needed to break sod to plant wheat. (Recently, I did some landscaping and breaking sod isn't easy! It would be even worse for Pa, since prairie grasses have LONG roots.)  

During the Covid-19 pandemic, I decided to reread Little Town on the Prairie to discover - What Would Laura Do?

Little Town on the Prairie
Chapter 1 - "Surprise"

The book begins with Pa asking Laura if she would like to work in town. His question creates a standstill to the Ingall's meal of bread and tea. He may as well have asked if Laura would like to train elephants!

Young pioneers, like Carrie and Grace, enjoyed cambric tea. Cambric tea contains just a splash of tea. The remaining ingredients are sugar, hot water, and heated milk or cream. I wonder how it would taste iced?

Starbucks should feature cambric tea during Laura's birth month of February.

Ma stops pouring Pa's tea and peppers him with questions. "A job? For a girl? In town?" Ma assumes that Pa wants Laura to work in a hotel among strangers. Pa takes issue with Ma's assumption. "Who said such a thing? No girl of ours'll do that, not while I'm alive and kicking." 

Replica of the claim shanty Pa built for the family. Originally it was one room. Pa later added on two bedrooms that each had a window.  

Laura, of course, doesn't want to work in town. People make her nervous, especially when they look at her. She is busy and happy since the family returned to the claim shanty. I am angry Pa wants Laura to get a job. She is only 14 and just survived a traumatic winter. Pa, and his adventurous pioneer spirit, should have remained a bachelor.           

The one page chapter ends before Pa can explain what the job is. LIW is definitely wielding the art of "Cliff Hangers." 

What Would Laura Do?

• Take time to think before responding to an alarming question.

Maybe I could get a job in town washing clothes.

See you soon for Chapter 2 - "Springtime on the Claim."

Prairie Eydie

  

Prairie Eydie's Long Winter Reflection - Part 2

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder has given me much to reflect on.  Today concludes my top 10 list of favorite "What Would Laura Dos," from The Long Winter. 

Reconnect with Old Friends

Laura enjoyed reconnecting with her friend, Mary Power, when the blizzard winds stopped shrieking.  After living an isolated life, it must have been wonderful to connect with a friend. 

Prairie Eydie and Jenny - back when social distancing wasn't a thing.

The pandemic gives me time for long, meandering phone calls.  Last week I caught up with my childhood friend, college roommate and life long "sister," Jenny.  We have the magical ability to pick up as if no time has passed.  Our conversation flowed through topics from gardening, the Gifted and Talented program, book titles, and our children.  It is a gift to be connected to people from your past. 

Who can you reconnect with today?

Laura listened to her inner voice and prioritized hanging curtains.  

Listen to Your Inner Voice

Laura's inner voice told her she belonged on the prairie.  Her inner voice strongly complained about leaving the shanty for Pa's storefront in town.  Remember the many times Pa's inner voice told him to prepare for a difficult winter.

Pa Listens to his Inner Voice in Chapter 3

Finally I am in my fifties and listening to my inner voice more.  My inner voice tells me to embrace who I am - a thrifter, writer, collager, and mom.  The same voice tells me it is okay to dislike brunch, outdoor festivals and petunias.  (I still feel free to ignore my inner voice and continue to make poor decisions from time to time.)  

What is your inner voice telling you?

Get Some Exercise - Outside

On blizzardless days, Laura would take Mary on walks outside of town.  They would breathe in cold air and feel the sunshine on their faces.  And.  Their spirits would be lifted.  (Poor Ma never joined the girls on their walks.  She would have benefited most of all.)

Most days I get my exercise by alternately running and walking outside.  I run for 60 seconds and then I walk for 90 seconds.  I used to worry about how silly I looked.  A middle aged woman lurching along, wearing a tank emblazoned with the phrase, "Strong is the New Skinny."  Fortunately my inner voices commends me for getting outside and moving.  Like Laura, I breath fresh air, enjoy flowers, and my spirits are lifted.

One of my Marilyn collages.  There is nothing I better than scissors, scraps, and a jug of Mod Podge.

Find a Creative Project

We found out in Chapter 18, "Merry Christmas," that Laura enjoyed needlework.  She used fine threads to embroider thin, silver cardboard.  Who could forget Laura's generous spirit when she gifted Ma an embroidered hair receiver and Carrie a cross stitched picture frame?  (Alright.  In case you did forget, click on the link below)

Chapter 18 - Laura's Creative Spirit Shines


Laura's hands grew too rough, from twisting hay, to work with fine embroidery thread.  When the Christmas barrel arrived, it included embroidery silks and sheets of thin silver and gold colored cardboard.  Ma gave the supplies to Laura.  "Laura was so happy that she couldn't say a word.  The delicate silks caught on the roughness of her fingers scarred from twisting hay, but the beautiful colors sang together like music, and her fingers would grow smooth again so that she could embroider on the fine, thin silver and gold."

I have been using my extra time to create.  If you don't know what to do for fun, remember what you did for fun when you were 10.  When I was 10, I loved to write, read Laura Ingalls books, and cut out pictures from Tiger Beat magazine.  So, it makes sense I spend my days blogging about Laura and collaging. 

What did you like to do when you were 10?  Draw horses?  Write melodramatic poetry?  Organize drawers?  Build with Lego?  Bring some creative fun back into your life!

Play Some Games

Ma was the master of organizing mood-lifting competitive games.  Remember that barn burner when Laura, Mary and Carrie recited as many Bible verses as they could remember?

Chapter 13 - Ma Takes on the Role of Game Master

As the pandemic marches on, I have stopped playing games with my kids.  In Spring, I was playing Scrabble, Zeus on the Loose, and Cribbage.  It is time to channel Ma and get the good times rolling again.

What games do you enjoy playing with your family?

Join me next week as I glean more "Laura Gems" from the book, "Little Town on the Prairie."  You won't want to miss it!

Prairie Eydie