Rose Wilder Lane, Laura Ingalls Wilder

http://www.ecommcode2.com/hoover/research/wilder/index.html

Rose Wilder Lane diaries and papers. 

Shirley temple passed away

Today Shirley Temple Black passed away at re age of 85. She was famous for being a child actor. She was born in 1928 a year before the Great Depression would rear it's ugly head. Many would go to the movie theaters to forget their woes. I wonder if the ingalls-wilder clan did the same? What was their first reaction to movie theater! 

Having asked a lady who works at the library she said it was Rose Wilder Lane who mentioned going to the theater with her parents. 

"POX"

Today I skimmed the book "POX" on search library overdrive. I was able to skim and jump to the part of anti-vaccinationist. This chapter takes place in the early turn of the 20th century. I recommend you read it. Dr. Immanuel Pfeiffer was an anti-vaccinationist who thought the vaccine poisonous. 

I heartily recommend people read this book. Laura Ingalls Wilder's family would have had to have dealt with this. Compulsory or voluntary vaccinations? 

Smallpox vaccinations are no longer required nationally for school age children. It's amazing how the pendulum swings back and forth. 

What has changed from 1902 to 2014? Hygiene awareness. In 1902 not everyone had running water or toilets. The result? People didn't take daily baths as the modern 21st century person would. When Laura was a child it was common for people to take a FULL bath once a week. The rest of the week spit shine baths were the norm. Today no one would put up with that in this society. Personal hygiene kits have changed as well. 

During Laura's time one soap was used for EVERYTHING; hand washing, face cleansing, bathing, shampooing, washing dishes. Today soap has become specialized. Dish washing detergent to wash the dishes. Shampoo to wash hair. Conditioner to help the hair out. A bar of soap to bathe with. Facial cleansing soap to help rid acne and toothpaste to brush your teeth. If you were using baking soda to wash at one point you used it to brush your teeth. 

What else changed? Mortality rate of infants and children. Mortality rate of birthing mothers. Life expectancy increased with better medicine.  Also WORKING TO THE BONE TO SURVIVE. 

On The Shores of Silver Lake

In this story I previously mentioned that Mary Ingalls is blind.  What I didn't mention was how recent it had been. The story opens with the family recuperating from Scarlet Fever. Mary is already blind. The family had her hair cut for medical/hygiene reasons. 

Happy new year

Happy New Year! Yesterday we went to the library. I was able to borrow the next by by #LIW #Wilder. #ONTHESHORESOFPLUMCREEK. I just started reading it. Very interesting facts about that time. As you can see I got caught up in tweeting. On The Shores Of Plum Creek.

1. First time the girls ride on a train.
2. Laura's amazed by the water and cup on the train.
3. The hotel where Pa picks them up has a rotating towel dispenser. That old, huh?
4. Jack, Laura's dog dies before they leave.
5. Laura sees the train engine separate and rotate on a Swivel track and attach itself to the other end of the train.
6. Mary is blind in this book. Laura promised to be her eyes.
7. Pa went ahead of the girls with Aunt Docia for a job that paid $50/mo.
8. Aunt Docia wasn't very happy with the results of the contract with railroad. They owed money to the railroad! And still Uncle Hi signs another contract! Give them strength!

The town pump is the biggest treasure of all

Before we had running water in America everyone had to go to one if various locations to secure water. In the TV series the Ingalls family got their water from a creek. In town people would get their water from the town pump. In the TV show the school had a pump. In the 1894 travel diary Laura Ingalls Wilder repeats this many times from town to town. Every town they stopped at they always camped at the school because it had an open public pump.

Recently I came upon a McGuffey's reader that had a story titled THE PUMP. It described itself by the people coming to itself. Each paragraph described a different person and was numbered. The end included a vocabulary list with the words divided by syllables. 

The town pump can be read in the mcguffey reader. A lot has changed since then. While out water is now cleaned piped to businesses and homes by the county/city less people drink the water. More people prefer to drink sugary or caffeinated drinks. Water is no longer free either. Because it is a utility there is a bill to pay for usage. Water as a utility is mandatory. I'd like to look up which decade it became mandatory. I may have to ask an architect friend or relative. 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe_Drinking_Water_Act

So far I have found a 1974 Act nationally regulating drinking water. See above Wikipedia link. Before that regulations were local. Bottled water is regulated by THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION while tap water is regulated by THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. 

Sorry no recent posts

I'm sorry I haven't posted recently. I had to return the books. I'm waiting to borrow again from the library.