| Laura
Ingalls Wilder Days Pepin, WI |
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The small town attracts crafts people from the region to recreate the setting of Laura's days in the big woods. Dressed in traditional costumes, these skilled artists created items right before our eyes as they showed us the old-fashioned methods of blacksmithing, basket weaving, wood carving, wool spinning, quilting, wood turning and open hearth cooking. We enjoyed the weekend watching and talking with these talented people, eating at the pancake breakfast at the school, standing in the rain for the shower of candy at the parade, taking a ride in a horse-drawn wagon, watching the tomahawk throw competition, and strolling by the booths selling yummy treats and cute handcrafted items. Harrison and Amanda loved the Punch and Judy puppet show, and we all tapped our feet to the folk sounds of some local musicians. We arrived late the first day and missed the morning 10K run/5K walk, the 5th grade spelling bee, a cake walk, a hoop rolling contest, and the Laura Ingalls look-alike contest. There was also a 4-H petting farm, a Sunday Ecumenical church service, an on-going Little House reading marathon, a Laura Ingalls Wilder display, beautifully-costumed members of the Living History Society holding a picnic and tea party in proper 19th century style (even in the rain), a beard growing contest, a pie and pumpkin contest, and a raffle for a beautiful quilt. It was a great family event and well-worth the drive! |
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In the bottom of the hearth, "klinker" forms from the silica in the coal. As it heats, the silica melts out and forms a type of glass. It's called klinker because of the sound it makes when tossed together. "He had a puzzle on display that he had made which consisted of two horse shoes linked by short chains with a ring around the chains. He showed me how to get the ring off and I got pretty good at it." |
Laura
Ingalls Wilder Country : The People and Places in Laura Ingalls Wilder's
Life and Books |
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Her husband is a blacksmith and worked next to her. They travel to many festivals and fairs in the area, sharing their special talents. |
The first five "Little House" books in one set: |
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Roger also works as a facilities manager in Minneapolis, but manages to spend a lot of time working with wood. Need a custom chair? Call Roger at 612-823-9213. |
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) This
skilled craftsman was making a guitar for his son, patterned after one made
over a hundred years ago. He is using mahogany wood that he has had for
over 10 years. (Mahogany is now an endangered tropical rain forest tree.)
He taught himself instrument making as a teenager by studying books on the
subject. He had already done mother-of-pearl inlaying around the opening
on the face of the guitar. We watching him planing the side pieces to an
even thickness with an antique tool before wetting and bending them, using
a thick metal pipe filled with burning coals. He said it takes about 80
hours to make a guitar. |
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) A
few of the craftspeople brought their whole families with them and camped
overnight in old-fashioned tents. This family also brought their horses,
including a spunky colt. The mother of the family was a seamstress, using
a foot-powered sewing machine to make aprons and bonnets. Their tent was
furnished with a wooden bed complete with rope-lashed "springs",
covered with a beautiful handmade quilt, and an antique wooden clothing
trunk sat in one corner. |
My Book of Little House Paper Dolls : The Big Woods Collection by Renee Graef (Illustrator) |
) In
one of the tents, out of the rain, was an ongoing reading marathon of the
Little House books. We sat in and listened to a couple different chapters
during the weekend. It was fun being reminded of the great stories we had
read many months ago. |
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For Younger Readers |
For Older Readers |
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PLEASE DONATE GENEROUSLY TO HELP THE VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA
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We
got a chance to step back in time and get a taste of what life might
have been like many years ago. Every year the city of Pepin, Wisconsin,
birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder, celebrates the life of this well-known
author.
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