by Spencer Howard In the spring of 1885, 18-year-old Laura Ingalls (soon to be married to Almazo Wilder) did not graduate from high school in De Smet, South Dakota, though perhaps she should have. Of course, high school in the current sense didn’t exist then, especially in rural areas. Most Americans had no opportunity to … Continue reading Graduations that never happened — Laura Ingalls Wilder
by Spencer Howard One of the hidden gems at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum are the papers of Rose Wilder Lane, which document the extraordinary lives of Rose and her mother, Laura Ingalls Wilder. Laura’s Little House books are a fictionalized account of her childhood, but they contain many charming and vivid descriptions of pioneer … Continue reading Searching for the real Laura Ingalls Wilder
by Spencer Howard Presidential Libraries are not libraries in the usual sense. They are archives and museums, bringing together in one place the documents and artifacts of a President and his administration and presenting them to the public for study and discussion. Like all Presidential Libraries, the Hoover Library has collected documents and artifacts from … Continue reading The Papers of Rose Wilder Lane
