Monday, September 28, 2020

Inspired by a Childhood Heroine

 


Two weeks ago today, I hopped in my car and drove about 5 hours west. West into the prairie, west into a fun-filled week, and west into the past.

I was headed to a writers' retreat with Mary Connealy and Jan Drexler. We rendezvoused in De Smet, South Dakota, the "Little Town on the Prairie" of Laura Ingalls Wilder fame. 

I had been to De Smet before, years ago, with my children and my mother-in-law and had toured the sites at that time. Jan had driven through earlier this summer (on her way home from the wedding of her son, Benjamin, to my daughter, Heather!) and had viewed the sites but hadn't toured inside the buildings. And Mary had never been to De Smet.

We have so much in common, Mary, Jan, and I. Beyond writing, we have a love of history, share some mutual interests, and...we all LOVE Laura Ingalls Wilder. From a young age, each of use were influenced by her writing.

Mary beside a covered wagon.


Each of us had a "Laura" story to share, about when we first read the books, about reading the books to our children, about how we were inspired to write thanks to Laura.

Mary also mentioned that one thing that inspired her was that Laura's first book, Little House in the Big Woods, wasn't published until Laura was SIXTY-FIVE. She didn't complete the series until she was SEVENTY-SIX. 

It's never too late to embark upon a dream. 


Here are a few pictures from our retreat. In addition to touring the LIW sites, and sampling the fare at nearly every restaurant in town, we stayed at the lovely Heritage House Bed & Breakfast, across and down the street from the Loftus Store and directly across the street from the corner of Calumet and 2nd street where the Ingalls family waited out The Long Winter in the store Pa had built on that lot. The proprietress, Kim, could not have been more gracious and welcoming, and our rooms were lovely, looking down on the wide main thoroughfare of De Smet. 


The pantry in the Surveyor's House
from By The Shores of Silver Lake

Mary and Jan hard at work in the
front room of the B&B. 

One of my books in the De Smet, SD
Library! With an honest-to-goodness
card and paper card catalog!

The first schoolhouse in De Smet, 
attended by Laura and Carrie. It was in 
this room that Laura "Rocked the Desk"
until Miss Eliza Jane Wilder sent her home
from school. When they began restoring the school
for tours, they found the original blackboards behind 
the wallpaper. 

The lovely new statue of
the town's most famous
resident. 

Cabinets and cupboards built by
Charles Ingalls for his wife. The shelves
are stocked with dishes belonging to
Caroline, Laura, and Rose.

One volume of Mary's Braille Bible.
The Bible rests in Mary's room in the
De Smet house built for her and Caroline
by Charles.

The house in town, built by Charles
Ingalls for his wife and daughter. Sadly
he only lived in the completed house for
a couple of years before he passed away.

Question for you: Have you ever visited the home of an author who was your childhood favorite? Have you ever visited a Laura Ingalls Wilder site?



He only wanted a duchess for a day--but she’s determined to make it a marriage for life

When his father and older brother suddenly pass away, the new Duke of Haverly is saddled with a title he never expected to bear. To thwart the plans of his scheming family, the duke impulsively marries a wallflower. After all, she’s meek and mild; it should be easy to sequester her in the country and get on with his life--as a secret agent for the Crown.

But his bride has other ideas. She’s determined to take her place not only as his duchess but as his wife. As a duchess, she can use her position to help the lowest of society--the women forced into prostitution because they have no skills or hope. Her endeavors are not met favorably in society, nor by her husband who wishes she’d remain in the background as he ordered.

Can the duke succeed in relegating her to the sidelines of his life? When his secrets are threatened with exposure, will his new wife be an asset or a liability?


You can get your copy of The Gentleman Spy HERE!



Best-selling, award-winning author Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. She’s a transplanted Kansan now living in Minnesota, and she is married to her total opposite and soul mate! When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum and cheering on her Kansas Jayhawks and New Zealand All Blacks.

You can connect with her at her website, www.ericavetsch.com where you can read about her books and sign up for her newsletter, and you can find her at online  https://www.facebook.com/EricaVetschAuthor/ 
where she spends way too much time!








55 comments:

  1. This sends chills up my spine. Or down, I'm never sure how the cliche goes. To see the cabinets that Pa Ingalls actually made...No, sadly, I've never been to the home of a favorite childhood author. I've driven by Louisa May Alcott's place in Concord, Mass. dozens of times, but never stopped -- was always too intent on getting to Lexington-and-Concord. Would love to visit the Birthplace of Maud Hart Lovelace if I ever get to the Midwest again.
    I've been to Ralph Waldo Emerson's place, also in Concord, Mass., but that is hardly a guiding light for a young girl. Also been to Robert Frost's farmhouse in Derry, NH.
    Erica, what fun to have a writers' retreat1
    Been busy with beta readers for final "Western Dreams" book and had a cover reveal for my Christmas novella. It's up on my Facebook page if you've got nothing better to do.
    Will try to get back later,
    KB

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    1. Kathy, I'll stop by to see it. Congrats on the cover!

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    2. Kathy, congratulations on the cover reveal! I would love to visit Louisa May Alcott's place, and if you do get to Maud's, let me know! I live about 100 miles from there! :)

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    3. Kathy, I have been to De Smet and you can also see a tree that was planted by Charles. Very cool.

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    4. Sandy, I love those trees on the homestead, and standing on the slope and taking in a view that was so familiar to the Ingalls family. :)

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  2. Erica, what a wonderful trip! I'm still so envious! I know y'all had a great time--and got work done of course. :)

    I've never visited any sites of favorite authors. I would love to! I've always wanted to go to Prince Edward Island to see the Anne of Green Gables setting. Maybe someday!

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    1. Oh, Kathy's comment reminded me of the three trips I chaperoned with my kids' high school. On those trips, I toured Louisa May Alcott's home! I visited the home in Salem that inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables. And I also saw Emerson's home.

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    2. If you plan a trip to PEI, take me with you!!!! I adored the Anne books!

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  3. This looks like so much fun. My daughter is about old enough to be able to sit still and listen to these books and I can't wait. I haven't read them in forever. And maybe someday we can travel to see sites like this, too. I write contemporary, but I read a ton of historical. And I am married to a history teacher. I should start campaigning now. :-)

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    1. You'll have to make the trip someday, Amy. And don't forget to include a stop at Walnut Grove, Minnesota, to see the location of the house on Plum Creek!

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    2. Ah, Amy, I almost envy you the joy of being able to introduce your daughter to Laura. I loved reading those stories to my kids!

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  4. As I was walking the dog this morning, I was thinking that two weeks ago this morning I headed east to De Smet to meet you and Mary! It was a great central location for all three of us. We'll have to do it again!

    And yes, if anyone is wondering, we all got a LOT of writing done! I think it was definitely Laura's influence. :-)

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    1. We did get a lot of writing...and rewriting...done! And lots of talking, too! :)

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  5. Fun post, Erica. My husband and I visited De Smet three years ago for a fall getaway. We enjoyed it. We have also been to the Laura Ingalls Wilder sites of Mansfield, Missouri, where she spent her final years and wrote her books, and Independence, Kansas, where Little House on the Prairie was set. I need to visit the ones in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I love visiting author's homes. I grew up not far from Red Cloud, Nebraska, which was the home of Willa Cather and where she set her books.

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    1. Sandy, come see me! I live within 100 miles of three LIW sites, and under 200 from another!

      I have always wanted to see Rocky Ridge in Mansfield. Bucket list item!!

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    2. Hi Erica:

      I had the good fortune to tour the Will Rogers Museum, just north of Tulsa, also with Mary, Ruth, and Tina some years ago. I wanted to write funny columns like Will Rogers when I was a child. Mary was all over that museum which had all things Rogers. I’m sure that whatever history was there to be enjoyed, Mary enjoyed it! I could tell right away that Mary is a great traveler and a joy to be with.

      I did see Will Rogers' real home and I toured John Muir’s home in Martinez California where my mother lived. He had the entire top floor of a large house as an open one room place to write. I liked Will Rogers’ small book lined office better. It had a window behind the desk with a wonderful landscape view. I don't think the view distracted Will.

      I have not read the Little House books before but now I want to. I also want to go to both North and South Dakota as those are just two of the few states I’ve not visited. I look forward to seeing and doing what you did in De Smet. I once went to a writing session in Kingman, Kansas at a B&B but it was cancelled so I enjoyed reading about your successful retreat. Thanks for all the pictures.

      Vince


















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    3. Vince, I have North Dakota on my "To Visit" state list, too! You'd think I would have been there by now, having lived in a bordering state for so long.

      I would love to visit the Will Rogers museum someday, too. He was such a droll wit with plenty of wisdom in his humor.

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    4. Yes! Will Rogers with Vince, Tina and Ruthy!!!! It was really inspiring. I didn't know that much about Will Rogers and loved learninng more.

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  6. Thank you for sharing a bit of your retreat. That was a nice little vicarious break :-) and with some amazing authors. I had to nab your book because I had been waiting for it you you just reminded me! Have a great day

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    1. Hi, Dalyn! We had such a fun time. I hope you enjoy the book! :)

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    1. :) Thank you, Carrie! I'm thinking next time, our retreat will need a few super-fun reviewers along! :D

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  8. What an experience! I've never visited the home of an author whose work I read as a child, as far as I remember. However, this reminds me of when we went to Helen Keller's home, Ivy Green, a few years ago. Inspiring is the word. :-)

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    1. Ivy Green would be a wonderful place to visit! *Gets out map and trip journal to see how I can get there...*

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  9. Rachel, I visited Heller Keller's home as well! She was inspirational, for sure!

    Erica, you made my eyes tear! I loved all the Little House books and then shared them with my two daughters. My youngest and I read them together at night before she went to sleep. How I treasure those special memories!

    Your writing retreat sounds like it was wonderful! Loved the picture of the B&B. How fun to write in the lobby or parlor! Were folks in town stopping by to see three famous authors at work?

    Flannery O'Connor is a favorite GA author. Whenever I'm in Savannah, I always visit her apartment near the Cathedral of St John the Baptist where she attended church. I hope someday to visit her "later" home in Milledgeville, Ga.

    I've also visited Mark Twain's home in Hannibal, MO. The town is a treasure and so rich in history!

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    1. Debby, I love the image of you and your daughter reading just before bed!

      Sadly, there were no crowds piling in to see the three of us in De Smet...I'm sure it's because they were properly social distancing...LOL!

      I was in Savannah for one weekend a few years ago, and I wanted to see Flannery's house, but alas, it wasn't on the group's agenda. Maybe next time. I want to show my husband Savannah.

      I've been to Twain's house in Missouri. Doesn't Hannibal do a wonderful job depicting his life and works?

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    2. One person did come to see the famous authors, remember, Erica.
      Well, okay, actually I left my phone at a restaurant and someone tracked us down and gave it back. But still................

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    3. I had two little ones when we visited Hannibal and they loved every minute! I'd love to take the grands there now!

      True story. We lived in a small MO farm town where my husband was teaching ROTC at North East Mo State University. His parents were visiting in DEC so we made a road trip to Hannibal. As we're driving along a back road in the midst of corn fields, we spied Santa Claus, in complete Santa garb, standing by a farm fence. He was alone. No sleigh. No reindeer. No vehicle of any kind. No farmhouse. No other people in sight. He waved and we waved back. The children were amazed. I was as well. What was Santa doing in that Missouri corn field? I keep wondering...

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    4. And that, my friends, is the beginning of another romantic suspense novel!!!!

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    5. Oh, yes, I have also visited Mark Twain's home.

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  10. Here's something that struck me after our trip. I always thought of Pa as a wanderer. Dragging his family here and there into wild country. But book #1 Little House in the Big Woods was in Wisconsin. #2 Little House on the Prairie was in Oklahoma. Book #3 On the Banks of Plum Creek was in Walnut Grove (where the TV show was set) and books #4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 were in De Smet. Little Town on the Prairie, On the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, These Happy Golden Years and The First Four Years. They got to DeSmet and lived out the rest of their lives there. Circumstances pushed them through a few moves but then they settled in their little Town on the Prairie and stayed.
    Pa built a house in town and he, Ma and Mary lived there the rest of their lives. Pa, Ma, Mary, the young son of Laura and Almonzo, and I think Grace and her husband, are all buried there.
    We visited the cemetery.

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    1. The impression I got from the books was that Charles would have moved on had Caroline not put her foot down. Charles and Laura had that wanderlust, wanting to see what was over the horizon, and even though he stayed, I always had the feeling he would have drifted on had it not been for his family responsibilities.

      I loved visiting the cemetery, and I could have stayed for a long time wandering amongst the stones.

      That "Baby Son of A.J. Wilder" stone is heartbreaking.

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    2. I'll also add, the TV series was called Little House on the Prairie, but that book is in Indian Territory. The town they were in was Walnut Grove, Minnesota but that book is set on the Banks of Plum Creek. The book spanned more years but basically it was set in De Smet (I mean most of the time they covered). And that's Little Town on the Prairie and onward. But De Smet is never mentioned.
      So why'd they choose a different title, a different town name and a different setting? Weird.

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    3. Marketing, dear Mary, marketing!

      As much as you can admire Father De Smet for the missionary work he did, it doesn't make a pretty town name. At all.

      But don't you just want to live in a place called Walnut Grove?

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    4. Erica, you mentioned the grave of "Baby Son of A.J. Wilder." I was struck by the fact that only the father got credit on the son's grave. What about his poor mother?

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    1. Me too! And we got to massage the plot of your book! :) I love plotting other people's books! :D

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    2. You helped me, Erica. I keep hearing yours and Jan's ideas while I'm writing. It helped.

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    3. Why is it so easy to work on someone else's sticky plot situation, but not our own?

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    4. Why indeed! Perhaps it is because I can easily complicate someone else's plot knowing I don't have to write myself out of the sticky bits I create! :)

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  12. I've been to Arbor Lodge, the home of J. Sterlin Morton. He did some writing but he's best known for Arbor Day and the trees he planted and urged others to plant in the windswept grasslands of Nebraska.
    OH COME ON! Surely I've been to more authors houses!!!???
    I'm drawing a blank

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    1. You've never been to my house...we could remedy that...

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    2. Hey! I've been to Debby's house. And what the heck, my OWN house. I've been to Lorna Seilstad's house. Julie Lessman's house. Cheryl St. John's house. Pam Crooks' house. Ok, this is better. I was at John Neihart's house. Hmmm this is adding up.

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    3. You've never been to my house, either.

      I think this calls for a Connealy Road Trip!

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  13. Erica, I will definitely let you know if I get to your neck of the woods.

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  14. I don't think I've ever visited an author's home. And I think the only time I've been to DeSmet was on a one-day round-trip from Rapid City to drop my kids at church camp. Too long of a drive to stop for sightseeing :) I do think it's a cute little town and will have to make a point of going there "on purpose" some day. I'm so glad you had the chance to get away and not just enjoy the company, but actually get some writing done too!

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    1. There was much work done, for sure! And the good company. And I think we all got good sleep at night, though we did stay up a bit late..

      An 'on purpose' visit to De Smet is definitely worth it!

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  15. I thought of another one. Sort of. I was in the Strater Hotel in Durango Colorado. Where Louis L'Amour had a room and stayed often, though it wasn't his home. He wrote many of his books there.

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  16. I'd love to visit Desmet! I grew up on those books and tv show. I visited Jane Austen's home in Bath one year and it was a thrill! At the same time one of the local museums had a special exhibit of austen movie costumes on display.

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    1. Lee-Ann I read every one of those books ... every winter...to my girls. We'd start as soon as it got cold and just read however many they could beg me into for however long. The whole series every winter for years. The only downside...I got real tired of them all calling me MA.

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    2. Too funny, Ma! I just realized I have a homeschool book with activities for Little House in the Big Woods my girlfriend sent me. Guess what we're studying in October???? :)

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    3. Ah, Bath! I had a trip scheduled to see England (and Bath) in May of this last year, but sadly...2020. Someday I will get there! I have a few authors' homes on my England bucket list. From Walter Scott to Beatrix Potter! :)

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  17. Ah.....I would have loved to have a cuppa with the three of you. I haven't been to De Smet for years. I have watched a few videos from the television show, but I do not care for them after having grown up with Laura Ingalls Wilder books. I also spent most of my grade school years in a tiny country school, then also taught in one. How often the methods of my favorite country school teachers came in handy for my own teaching. And I don't know what happened to my original comment name.....Dee LeRoye aka Clarice Roghair

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