History Titans - Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Life Story

Laura Ingalls Wilder

A Life Story

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Introduction

I n modern literature , Laura Ingalls Wilder is a household name. Most people know her because of her Little House series of books, and the TV show that aired courtesy of NBC Studios between 1974 and 1983. Laura was a pioneer girl whose life was chronicled in the series, painting a picture of what life was like during her time.

Her books have been read by many parents and their children alike, and they tell a tale of struggle, hardship, determination, love, family, heartbreak among other common sentiments that we grapple with all the time. Laura was born in Wisconsin on 7th February 1867 to Charles and Caroline Ingalls. She had an elder sister, Mary, who was two years older.

This book tells Lauras story about the travels and experiences they had during one of the most tumultuous periods in American history. Her family was not wealthy. They were an ordinary family, ordinary folk whose desire was to farm, hunt game, and live a normal life. In search of a better life, they would move from one town to the other, and each time Lauras experience would inspire her to create new content for a different book in her series.

The Little House series is more than just a story about the life that Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family lived, but also about struggles that people can relate to. We see the struggle of a young girl who became a teacher at the age of 15. Many people are dealing with a lot of things today. As you read the book, you get to reflect upon some of the challenges that you might be struggling with and appreciate the fact that nothing is peculiar about them. They are just part of life that you must go through.

Like many hardworking poor families, several tragedies befall the Ingalls family from time to time, but they stick together, and they overcome them in the long run. These are some of the lessons that you get from Laura's story. When families stick together, they can achieve so much.

A natural disaster that almost wipes out their existence has the family shaken. An entire country is left shaken in the aftermath of the largest locust attack in the country's history. Even at this bleak moment, the family sticks together and still make it against all the odds.

We also learn about Laura's relationships, where we see the purest form of love. We recognize a genuine love affair that is so pure, the traditional love that most people today can only theorize or dream about. A love affair with no strings attached. A story of a boy who falls in love with a girl, and does everything possible to ensure she is safe and protected.

In 1932, Laura published the first of a series of books in the Little House series, books which would later see her receive honors even posthumously. The first book in the series reflects her life in Pepin, Wisconsin. As the family moves from one place to the other, her adventure influences the rest of the books she would write. There are fictional elements here and there, but mostly the stories are about her experience and life as it unfolded through her eyes.

The book gives you a glimpse of life during the period in which Laura was alive. Life was not as expensive as it is right now, but for a family born into the struggle, you can feel the strife through her words. This book also highlights the hard work that made the family struggle and succeed with the bare minimum.

Chapter 1: Humble Beginnings

T he Little House book series has influenced the lives of children and families over the years. It is more of a fairy tale, seen through the eyes of Laura Wilder. Even in the way she describes her surrounding, talking about big wood trees standing all around, and beyond the dark, tall trees, more trees still. As far as you could go, there was nothing but trees. No roads, no houses, no people even, just trees and wild animals.

However, when you read her works, you soon realize that what she described as trees was a place between Wisconsin and Minnesota. The trees she described were a variety of red oak, sugar maple, basswood, and elm.

In one of her earlier writings, Laura described her birthplace as a log house within miles of Lake Pepin. Lake Pepin has always been popular, even long before Laura was born. This is where the Chippewa meets the Mississippi, the tributary that feeds the Wisconsin pine forests north of the river.

Anyone who happened to pass around this area will have a story to tell. The subject of these stories was almost always Maiden Rock. Maiden Rock is a 400-foot limestone expanse that is unmissable, especially to visitors. Some of the notable people who have regaled audiences with tales of their exploits at Maiden Rock include Mark Twain, George Caitlin, and William Cullen Bryant.

It is no surprise that Charles Ingalls would also have stories about Maiden Rock, stories that he would fondly tell his daughters. Everything from the Indians, the lake, and the rock. This was one of Lauras fond memories. Her father would bring the girls here from time to time, and they would collect pebbles. The pebbles themselves were so pretty, given that the Minnesota water had washed over them time and again, polishing them smooth in the process.