She’s Just As Relevant Today

Forty years ago today, the world lost one of its most important journalists, Rose Wilder Lane. Amy Lauters, Lane scholar and author of The Rediscovered Writings of Rose Wilder Lane, Literary Journalist, honors her on Legacy.com, with a nod to Rose’s political influence in light of the contentious atmosphere surrounding today’s election.

From the Legal Side of Things

This post from BlogHer blogger Megan led me to an interesting commentary on the legal ramifications of the Friendly Family Productions lawsuit. A commenter also mentions the recent Lizzie Borden case in Massachusetts, which Only Laura reader Dennis brought up as soon as the story hit the news. Although not quite the David-and-Goliath story of the Little House on the Prairie lawsuit, let’s hope someone is paying attention to that precedent.

A legal defense fund is being set up for the Little House on the Prairie Museum. More to come.

Laura Ingalls Wilder on Twitter

Laura Ingalls Wilder is all over the web with her own web sites, blogs, and email fan groups. Now she even has two identities over at Twitter: HalfPintIngalls, which is sassy and smarmy and enjoying a bit of notoriety, and the more sedate LIngallsWilder, where curiously she seems to be chatting with no one but her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane.

Little House Lawsuit on NPR

Late last week, the lawsuit made National Public Radio. Listen here.

(It’s just a two-minute segment.)

TV’s Almanzo On “Little House: the Musical”

Check out what Dean Butler has to say about the “Little House: The Musical,” which he and his wife saw this past weekend in the last two performances. I’m so pleased he made the trip.

Snippet:

Kevin Massey plays Almanzo with a quiet confidence and focus that is heroic and compelling …

For those keeping track, no, I have not posted my own detailed review yet. I’ve been caught up in other people’s. And I’m just not that good of a review writer. Is it enough to know I loved it?

Jezebel Weighs In On The Lawsuit

No new info, but the comments are priceless.

Jean Schodorf Clarifies

Jean Schodorf is Bill Kurtis’ sister and part-owner of the Little House site outside of Independence. I’m moving her comment to the top of the blog so no one will miss it.

And for the record? The original Little House on the Prairie has an excellent gift shop, well laid out and full of stuff you wouldn’t necessarily expect. I’m not one of those fans who has to have absolutely everything — God help my storage space if I were – but I still managed to leave with a couple bags full on my last visit. Good stuff.

Thank you for supporting our museum, the original site of The Little House on the Prairie. I just wanted to correct the statement issued by the attorney for the Friendly Productions. They wrote a letter where they offered $40,000 for the trademarks. In addition, we would have had to change the name of our farm, give them the website, and the trademarks, change our organization name and they would tell us what we could sell at our farm gift shop. We have some cute, nice little souvenirs about Laura and also books so that we can support our museum and pay expenses.

We wrote the Friendlys a letter saying that we were declining their offer, but we wanted to continue negotiations. They did not respond to our letter to continue to negotiate. However, we did receive a call from an LA attorney who wanted to know if we needed representation in LA. My director, Amy Finney, said no because we were in negotiations with the Friendlys. I asked her to call him back and ask why he had called, which she did. He was the one who told us that we had been sued and a complaint had been filed in federal court in Los Angeles. That is their definition of not wanting to interfere with the maintenance of the museum and also with their continued efforts to work out a settlement.

Thanks to all of you who care for Laura and her writings. Keep us in your thoughts.

Jean Kurtis Schodorf

Butler’s Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura Earns Five Stars

Greetings from Oregon by way of Colorado! I’ve been at the mercy of finicky hotel wireless connections. I’m crossing my fingers that this time, my review of Dean Butler’s impressive ode to Malone, Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura, will load.

***

Legacy Documentaries’ project for the Malone homesite, Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura, was released this month and is now available exclusively through the Almanzo Wilder Farm in Burke, NY. The documentary covers Almanzo’s life from the time of Farmer Boy up until he joins his life with Laura’s in De Smet. Order your copy here.

“TV Almanzo” Dean Butler’s made-for-radio voice smoothly narrates the 53-minute DVD; his wife, actress Katherine Cannon, brings book excerpts to life. The story reaches back to the first Wilders in North America in the 1600s, the moves forward using historical realities of economic life and daily living to illustrate the unfolding of migration to the West. The production’s special effects, simultaneously impressive and understated, wouldn’t be out of place on any cable TV special. In my favorite trick by far, the camera zooms in and pans over Garth Williams’ illustrations (the colorized ones) from the pages of Farmer Boy. Specialized animation turns each illustration into a series of moving segments independent from one another, infusing each of Williams’ renderings with unexpected life and movement. Although Mr. Corse’s blacksnake whipping was never my favorite scene, I was drawn to – and into – its drama and tension as the camera hovered in turn over each character as Katherine read.

 

Morgan horses play prominently in the documentary, enhanced by comments from a Morgan expert from New York. Dramatic scenes – the black splotch, the silver dollar at the County Fair – are reenacted by human actors. William Anderson lends his expert analysis to the story, offering bumper commentary between segments on this period in history in context of Farmer Boy. Also on hand is Barbara Walker, author of the Little House Cookbook, because if there’s any book in the Little House series that commands the commentary of a food expert, it’s Farmer Boy.

 

I was impressed. So smooth and professional was the production that I found myself getting lost in it, as I would any decent TV show. In fact, I decided that Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura wouldn’t be out of place on the A&E cable channel. It’s a testament to Legacy Documentaries that “Life Before Laura” watches like it belongs. Its biggest weakness is the dramatic real-life reenactments, but that’s usually what I like least about any documentary-style TV show.

 

The DVD uses footage of the school sessions held at Ingalls Homestead in an admirable use of cross-marketing the rest of the homesites would do well to emulate. Seeing brief mentions of the other homesites is an additional breath of fresh air to any fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s homesites. (Note to site directors: Fans love this!)

 

In addition to the biographical sketch of Almanzo, the DVD offers a segment on the history and evolution of the Wilder homesite, from its purchase by the Almanzo and Laura Ingalls Wilder Association in 1988 through years of restoration to the extraordinary, picturesque Little House destination it is today.

 

As Little House homesites go, Malone stands slightly off-center. It isn’t the easiest to get to. The book commemorating it is the only one in which Laura Ingalls does not appear. It’s outside of the Midwestern enclave of most of the homesites. You’re not that likely to pass through its northern New York location, just south of the Canadian border, on your way to somewhere else; chances are if you go to Malone, you’re going with a purpose, and on purpose. For those whose geography or finances won’t allow this kind of dedicated trip, Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura is an apt stand-in. From the farmhouse kitchen to the parlor’s wallpaper to the barns and the animals that once were housed there, to the acres of land, fields and trees that surround the farmhouse, the camera takes every opportunity to reveal the farm we learned to love in the pages of Farmer Boy. If you can’t be there, this DVD’s virtual visit is the closest you can get.

 

Now … how about the same treatment for the rest of the sites?

 

Note: the DVD is selling for a reasonable $21.95. However, I suspect the fact that the price does not include shipping, and that said shipping brings the total to $31.45, might mean that the site earns fewer orders than anticipated.

 

Bill Kurtis Weighs In

The latest stories, all of which stem from a Chicago Tribune story, have Bill Kurtis weighing in on the lawsuit. Not much new other than his quote.

Laura Bush on Visiting Rocky Ridge

The White House has posted the First Lady’s remarks on her recent visit to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum in Mansfield, Missouri.