Little House Minicast – Shownotes

We try to keep the podcasts to an hour, and well…we got rather chatty about Laura Ingalls Wilder and didn’t cover all of the Little House Books in review. So, during this mini-cast we finish the final three books of the series. Beginning with Little Town On The Prairie, and ending with The First Four Years – which was published, unedited, posthumously in 1971. In addition to the brief book summaries, and several tangents, we got so involved  talking about oranges that we forgot to mention the SECOND major thing that happened to Laura on the day of Ben Woodworth’s party – she experienced electricity for the very first time! Was, in fact, ZAPPED, by it – not sounding too fun from over here.  Here is a machine from about fifteen years after this party – when you got to PAY for your torture- er, curing what ails you.

Ow. Ow. Ow. Wonder why you don’t see these around anymore?

Because we just can’t drop the oranges, here is another tidbit:  Laura  had mentioned having an orange just once before this: At the church Christmas tree in Walnut Grove, each child received a little bag of popcorn with an orange at the bottom. However, this was edited out of the final manuscript! Often times  we are so organic in our discussions, we like to have the chance to clarify, you know, round out the information. For instance, Nellie Oleson was a completely fictional character based on three separate “mean girls” from Laura’s childhood:
  1. Nellie Owens was, in fact, from Walnut Grove, had a brother named Willie, and her parents ran the mercantile.
  2. Genevieve Masters took over the nastiness in DeSmet – she’s the one who boasted about having come from “Back East” and who made friends with “Lazy Lousy” Eliza Jane Wilder.
  3. Stella Gilbert’s role was rather innocuous – she wasn’t mean to Laura, but did pursue Almanzo at the same time that he and Laura were courting. Innocent Almanzo felt sorry for her and invited her to buggy ride with Laura, thinking that they were friends. Au Contraire, Almanzo!!
When asked by children after the books were published “What happened to Nellie,” Laura often referred to Genevieve Masters’ move back East and her early death from pneumonia – so we’re going to give the “Nellie Oleson” title to Ms. Masters… but how much of the bad behavior was based in fact, there’s just no way to know. Our parting advice: Be nice to your elementary school friends, kids! You never know who just might write a book!

As always, music for our podcast comes courtesy of Music Alley. Visit them at music.mevio.com.

Episode 2 – Laura Ingalls Wilder

Episode 2 – Laura Ingalls Wilder

Channel your inner pioneer. Think tall plains grasses, humble and hardworking people who knew what it meant to carve a life out of the rugged terrain.  The woman we talk about this week is remembered for romanticizing her childhood and for sporting a really, sweet bonnet. But her reality was not all about fiddle playing and homesteading- it was a difficult life. One that was full of failure, and some controversy, on the road to literary success .

Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was born in 1867, the second child of Charles and Caroline. Her childhood began in Wisconsin and then took off as the family was led by her Pa’s roaming spirit around the then just establishing Midwestern states. It was a hard life  of danger and self-reliance, but also an exciting life of new frontiers and conquering the unknown.

The history of Laura’s early life is outlined in the beloved nine-book, Little House series. One of the books, Farmer Boy, is a recounting of the early years of her husband, Almonzo Wilder. The last book in the series , The First Four Years,  gives an idea of what early married life was like for the couple. But these books are fictionalized accounts written for children. They talk of the hardships of the times in a most simple fashion, and major heartache is omitted entirely.

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Episode 01: Marie Antoinette

Episode 01: Marie Antoinette


We launch our podcast with a woman who has been long misunderstood. She is most remembered for two things, and one is completely inaccurate. That’s right, total tabloid fodder that morphed into historical “fact”.

Maria Antoine Josepha Joanna, born into Austrian royalty was a girl with a fine pedigree, stunning looks, graceful carriage and a pleasant demeanor.  The path of her life was created by her mother (whose wasn’t, right?) who took great pride and long thought into marrying off her  children not necessarily for love, but for political reasons. Her youngest daughter would be plunged into an extraordinary life in a foreign land first as the Dauphine of France, then as Queen, mother, style icon,and eventually, political prisoner and symbol .

But this isn’t a Disney Princess story.  It was one of patience, sacrifice, duty and planning, and –quite frankly- it wasn’t all big fashion, cake and champagne. That was the image, not the reality. In some regards, the history of Marie Antoinette was not only a result of her upbringing and the political climate, but she was also a victim of the social media of her time ( and yeah, ultimately, the guillotine. Ouch.) <em> <strong>(Click here for more fabulous shownotes!)</strong> </em>!