Mrs Olsen would have been jealous...The Ingalls Family descended from the Mayflower and related to Franklin Roosevelt

“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet things of life which are the real ones after all” Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1917

Little House in the Big Woods: A Review

By Erica Romano & James Romano

Greetings 1000 Bookies!! Today the portal of our book travels leads us to the Wisconsin of the 1870s for our next stop on the 1000 Books to Read Before You Die. We visit the world of Laura Ingalls Wilder through her first novel, Little House in the Big Woods. The Little House on the Prairie saga has always held a special place in my life. The TV classic was a staple in my home growing up. My mother watched the show religiously both when it was in first-run and then in syndication. The afternoons (after General Hospital) were devoted to Little House Reruns. The story of the Ingalls family and all of their trials and tribulations were very important in the house I grew up. During the pandemic, as we approach month six of social distancing and quarantine, with schools going to virtual education and entertainment curtailed, I began watching the series again on one of the dozen Hallmark and Hallmark-esq channels out there in TV Land. One of my daughters, Erica, began to watch the series with me and began to enjoy. I am very proud of the contributions of my Erica to the writing of this post.

Because Erica liked the series and we owned the book collection, she and I began to read Little House in The Big Woods, which is on the 1000 Books to Read Before You Die. At approximately 230 pages, the book is a fun read. It was published in 1932 at the height of the Great Depression, highlighting self-reliance in tough times. The novel is based on the true life story of the Ingalls family and since it is geared to young people much of the harder aspects of their life were excised. The story covers the families time in the Big Woods near Pepin, Wisconsin. Pepin is located on the Mississippi River on the border with Minnesota. The Ingalls family would remain in this area for 3 years. They seemed to live in proximity to Charles Ingalls' (Pa) extended family, who are featured in the book.

The Ingalls family from the Little House TV show were like old friends in my childhood so I undertook some research on the Ingalls family and what I found was most interesting. Laura Ingalls Wilder was a relative of the Delano Family, as in President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Charles Ingalls’ paternal grandmother was a Delano (Margaret Delano), the same Delano that descended from Richard Warren, a passenger on the Mayflower. If Mrs. Olsen (the town busy-body on the TV show) had known that information at the time, she would have been jealous of them. The Ingalls were simple, hardworking people that were descended from some of our most important ancestors in the formation of this nation. Ironically, Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter Rose Wilder Lane were anti-New Dealers and early adherents to the Libertarian Party.

Charles Ingalls was born in New York State and his family traveled to Wisconsin to settle. Hiw wife, Caroline Ingalls was born in Wisconsin where they met and fell in love. The characters in the book are the same from the television show that we all know and love. Charles and Caroline eventually have 5 children. Mary, Laura and baby Carrie are featured in the first book. A son, Charles and a daughter, Grace, were born later. Baby Charles died as an infant and that event was featured in the show as was baby Grace’s birth. The adopted children were just part of the TV series.

The Ingalls live in a log house and we experience basically a year in the life from harvest time to the following harvest and all that goes along with that. We learn about all their preparations for winter from butchering time, to smoking time and the preservation of food. Interestingly, Laura and Mar use a pig’s bladder to make a ball to play, this scene absolutely grossed Erica out. Ma makes a dish called “head cheese” out of the meat from the pig’s head. We learn of the chores that need to be done to run the farm—“Wash on Monday, Iron on Tuesday, Mend on Wednesday, Churn on Thursday, Clean on Friday, Bake on Saturday and Rest on Sunday”.

The favorite part of the story for Erica (who does no chores) was the chapter on Christmas. Erica loved the story about the Ingalls cousins coming to their house for Christmas Eve & Christmas Day. Specifically, Erica loved that Laura received a rag doll that she named Charlotte. Another place that Erica also found amusement was later on in the story when Laura meets her cousin, another Laura Ingalls (her grandmother was named Laura so many in the family were named for her). Laura and Cousin Laura got into a tiff over who had the cutest baby sister. Erica enjoyed that. Finally, Erica kept coming back to the fact that Pa Ingalls made his own bullets for his long rifle. Mary and Laura would sit and watch him clean his gun and then make his bullets. When he was finished however the girls would burn their fingers when they touched them which Erica found hysterical. She found it hard to understand the hand to mouth existence, Pa had to hunt for their food if they wanted fresh meat and to collect their pelts to trade for items they needed.

My favorite chapter was “The Dance at Grandpa’s”. The last snow of winter was called the sugar snow. Grandpa Ingalls and his two sons would tap the maple trees when temperatures became a little warmer and made syrup (and brown sugar). The Ingalls hosted their entire family and friends for a dance. Laura was with her aunts and uncles. Everyone was dressed up in their best, her one Uncle was in his “Blue” uniform from his time in the Union Army. Pa Ingalls played his violin for the dancing. Grandma Ingalls was quite the dancer and has a dance off with one of her sons. Interestingly Pa played the song Buffalo Girls on his violin, this song was so popular it was featured in the movie It’s A Wonderful Life, 80 years after these events. Grandma Ingalls made a "Treat" by mixing snow into the maple syrup. That seemed odd to Erica and even to me.

In our society today, a 7 year old girl like my daughter Erica had an interesting time understanding there was no central heat or electricity. Families had to plan their food for the winter months. Wild animals were always a blessing and a curse. Laura and Ma went out to get water and their dog Jack kept barking, they soon discovered a bear in their cow pen. Charles is always setting traps to capture, kill and skin animals for their pelts. With our fast-paced lives, Erica did not understand keeping the Sabbath and refraining from work on Sundays.

Little House in the Big Woods is a charming book for young people to read. There are stories as told by the father which must have lived on with the girls some about their father as a boy some about their grandfather. It’s a story of growing up in a day gone by. Erica and I plan on reading the entire series. I was so glad for the opportunity to enjoy this with her. I hope you find a series you can read with a child in your life. And as Melissa Gilbert (who portrayed Laura Ingalls) once said after Michael Landon (Charles Ingalls) passed away, "Thank God for Reruns."