At the Lake, with Quotes

Lake Cumberland 2016

"The enormous lake stretched flat and smooth and white all the way to the edge of the gray sky. Wagon tracks went away across it, so far that you could not see where they went; they ended in nothing at all." --Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie, Chapter One

Well, our recent journey was not in the winter as was Laura's nor to Minnesota, and yet our tracks did take us to a lake that stretched far and to a destination that offered new and memorable experiences: Kentucky's Lake Cumberland. This is where we went for a 'mini-vacation,' kids and grandkids all in tow. We did most of those things you do when you go to a lake--fishing, boating, swimming, hiking--but mostly it was all about good family time and beautiful sights and sounds. Sharing favorite snapshots along with accompanying quotes. Hope they brighten your day as the trip did ours.

"Instructions for living a life: Pay Attention. Be Astonished. Tell about it." 

--Mary Oliver, from her poem 'Sometimes' 

" 'Now shall I walk or shall I ride?'

   'Ride,' Pleasure said;

   'Walk,' Joy replied." 

--W.H. Davies, Welch poet

"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes." 

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, 

somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. 

Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be." 

--Anne Frank

"Never be afraid to sit awhile and think." 

--Lorraine Hansberry, playwright

Where is your favorite place to sit awhile and think?

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Words of Wisdom from Laura

photo courtesy Wikipedia Commons

"To laugh and forget is one of the saving graces." --Laura Ingalls Wilder

A Collection of Laura's essays...

I rediscovered a gem of a book on my shelf: Little House in the Ozarks, A Laura Ingalls Wilder Sampler, Rediscovered Writings (edited by Stephen W. Hines). From the flyleaf: "Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957) began writing, at age 65, a series of eight children's books about her life in the pioneer west--the Little House books--which we all know and love. Yet, twenty years before she even started these books, Wilder wrote articles for regional newspapers and magazines. Little House in the Ozarks is a collection of these articles..."

Rocky Ridge Farm

I'm not sure exactly where I stumbled upon this book, but most probably I bought it on one of two very special trips--either the time we visited Laura's Rocky Ridge Farm in Missouri in 2001, or the Laura Ingalls Wilder home in DeSmet, South Dakota, which we toured in 2003. Both memorable events.

A sample of essay titles in the book reveals a wide range of topics that interested Laura, including:

When is a Settler an Old Settler
How to Furnish a Home
We Revel in Water!
The Great Woods Have Been Destroyed
I Don't Know What the World is Coming To
Are Your Children Confident?
Fairies Still Appear to Those with Seeing Eyes
Life is an Adventure
What Became of the Time We Saved?
Daily Tasks Are Not Small Things
What Women Can Add to Politics
The War, the Terrible
Pies and Poetry
Laura and Mary Quarrel at Thanksgiving
The Things that Matter

The one essay, however, that made me chuckle is titled: If Only We Understood, December 1917. An excerpt:

"Mrs Brown was queer. The neighbors all thought so and, what was worse, they said so.

"Mrs Fuller happened in several times, quite early in the morning, and although the work was not done up, Mrs. Brown was sitting leisurely in her room or else she would be writing at her desk. Then Mrs. Powers went through the house one afternoon, and the dishes were stacked back unwashed, the bed still airing, and everything at 'sixes and sevens,' except the room where Mrs. Brown seemed to be idling away her time. Mrs. Powers said Mrs. Brown was 'just plain lazy,' and she didn't care who heard her say it.

"Ida Brown added interesting information when she told her schoolmates, after school, that she must hurry home and do  up the work. It was a shame, the neighbors said, that Mrs. Brown should idle away her time all day and leave the work for Ida to do after school.

"Later it was learned that Mrs. Brown had been writing for the papers to earn money to buy Ida's new winter outfit. Ida had been glad to help by doing the work after school so that her mother might have the day for study and writing, but they had not thought it necessary to explain to the neighbors..."

In this essay, Laura went on to make the point that 'the things that people do would look different to us if we only understood the reasons for their actions," and that we should be understanding. "A genial attitude toward the world and the people in it," she says, "is a better way."

Point well taken, but I can't get past the fact that almost 100 years ago writers were a curiosity to some. What, your house isn't orderly? What, you just sit idly and appear to be doing nothing?

Is there anything new under the sun??

Just thought I'd share a different side of Laura. She was one very interesting lady with a lot to say!

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Grandma's Bell, Little House on the Prairie, and Genealogy Stories

Grandma's school bell and quilted pillow

"A long time ago, when all the grandfathers and grandmothers of today were little boys and little girls or very small babies, or perhaps not even born, Pa and Ma and Mary and Laura and Baby Carrie left their little house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin."--Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie

My grandmother never wrote on the scale of Laura Ingalls Wilder (and of course there would only be one Laura anyway!), but she did write down the story of her childhood. It is recorded in a little 22-page booklet for her descendants to enjoy. Yes, though she was grandma to us, she, too, was once a little girl. In her story she tells of mischievousness (my grandma, really?), escaping the 1913 Marietta flood, loss of loved ones in the 1918 influenza epidemic, and dashed dreams--including the fact that she wanted to be a teacher but, except for Sunday School teacher, never achieved that goal.

My sister collected bells, mostly U.S. state bells, but we also found the little gem featured in the photo above tucked away in her collection. The label affixed on the inside simply reads, "Grandma's Bell." I often wondered about its history. Was it Grandma's inspiration, reminding her that even if she had not attained a teacher's degree she could still be influential? Had it been a gift? Did a one-room schoolhouse teacher who knew of her dreams bequeath it to her?

Two things happened recently that prompted some of my reminiscences. My 5 year-old granddaughter started reading the Little House on the Prairie series (yay, Angelica--another generation to be warmed and inspired by Laura!), and my cousin Amy floated a pretty neat challenge at the first of the year that seems to have exploded. Let me explain.

Amy is a certified genealogist. We have her to thank for the details of our family's genealogical tree on my mother's (and her father's) side. Amy blogs at No Story Too Small, "Life is Made of Stories." In her profile she says she doesn't think she's been to a cemetery she hasn't liked. She is seriously good at what she does.

Well, I have to brag on my younger cousin. Amy proposed a challenge for 2014 to her readers: "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks." Not only is she posting about her ancestors once a week (some mine, but she writes on both sides of her family), but she's also running a recap each week of those who have accepted the challenge and are posting about their ancestors on their blogs. As of week three, she is up to 242 links! What fascinating reading. Oh, imagine multiplying our own stories by those of each person around us, enlarging the circle, generation after generation. How many Little House on the Prairie series could we collectively write??? Amazing information at No Story Too Small. You can get lost in the links each week.

Amy's first of 52 posts featured, ta-da, our grandmother--along with photos and little details even I didn't know about. She started with Grandma because, as she says, she credits her for instilling in Amy her love of family history and genealogy. Funny, but I've credited our grandmother for instilling the love of writing in me (though I suspect Amy got her writing talent from her, too) since Grandma not only wrote that short history of her childhood but also poetry.

See, Grandma, you were a teacher after all.

And so I share this for all who love stories, history, genealogy, and just plain old inspiration to get out there and do what you love, and love as you go. Along the way collect your stories, pass them on. Who knows, maybe someday someone will say, oh, yes, she was a little girl once and what a neat story she lived to tell.

Love you, Amy--and if you're reading this, watch your mailbox. I think Grandma would want you to have the bell next :-)

Have you traced your family tree? Any stories pop up that you would want to pass on to those who follow after you? Has anyone in your family written about their childhood that gets passed down generation-to-generation?

"And so our mothers and grandmothers have, more often than not anonymously, handed on the creative spark, the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see--or like a sealed letter they could not plainly read." --Alice Walker

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