As a young girl, I read the Laura Ingalls Wilder collection. Somewhere between The Little House In The Big Woods and The First Four Years, I came to a realization that set me on a course that even well over 30 years later is still a driving force in my life. If a girl who lived on a prairie could write about her life and the people that shaped it and have others want to read those stories, then why not me?
Over the years, I have dreamed about visiting the places where Laura lived and wrote about and even though I have lived just ninety minutes or so away from Pepin, Wisconsin for over a year, it took me deciding to go home to my own roots to go and discover Laura's.
I will begin by saying that the museum or even the house seven miles into the woods, were not really worth the trip. Quite honestly, the museum was the poorly kept, with a few little things tossed into a two rather small buildings. With Laura Ingalls Wilder used as a ploy to actually get people through the doors. If you are planning a trip to Pepin to discover the history of Laura or find yourself immersed in all things Laura Ingalls Wilder, I suggest choosing a different Laura Ingalls Wilder location. I will be visiting Walnut Grove in the next couple of weeks in hopes of finding a little more welcoming reception.
The musuem which is named "The Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum. Has a few things from the area with a few old copies of Laura's books, some photos that are available via a web search and a gift shop FULL of things to sell to those who stop in to find themselves deeply disappointed by both the incredibly rude staff person and the grand total of 3 small display cases with items related to but not always directly from Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter Rose Lane Wilder.
When attempting to ask the woman behind the counter questions about both Laura and the merchandise for sale, my friend and I were met with one word answers. It felt as if we were bothering the woman who sat behind the counter without so much as a smile for incoming visitors. Given, I live in Minnesota and the drive to Pepin was filled with beautiful scenery, I didn't feel as if the day had been a bust but it certainly was not what I was expecting.
There had been a along highway 35 as we approached Pepin with an arrow pointing to a side road that stated "Birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder". There had also been a small open air produce market on the corner of that road. My friend and I decided to stop there and see if the people were friendlier. Much to our delight they were very friendly and very helpful. Of course the amazing fudge they were selling, was simply a bonus.
The woods are still pretty big, but I assume they are nothing like they were 150 years ago. The little house: it is not more than a shell of a house. 3 rooms, a fireplace and a loft. Where imaginations run wild but nothing much to really connect with. Inside the house was nothing more than a single picnic table, a cork board with a few photos and brochures and empty rooms.
We also had run into a group of people whom we had also encountered at the produce stand/market. We talked about the strange weather we have been having in the mid-west this past year and how hot Texas is most of the year (one of the people in the group was visiting from Texas). Then I mentioned that Laura had been my inspiration to write. The mother pointed to her teenage daughter and said "This is my writer". There are not any greater words to a writer than to discover there is another writer in the room. We spent quite some time over that picnic table, discussing traditional publishing versus self publishing. Hard copy versus digital and of course genres. I gave the girl my thoughts and feelings and suggested a local writer who had become very successful in her genre for her to research.
There was little else to do or see so it was time to leave the little house in the sort of big woods and Pepin. As we headed out of town and back toward Minnesota, I knew the trip had been worthwhile for me.
Not because of a building or a lackluster museum but because of a simple reminder.
I have spent the past year trying to write and being told that I should be writing something else. I have two books written in many pieces in my computer files. One is for younger women the other about my daughter. Both come from my heart. These are not the books, I am told by others to write. I work in a field that most people write books about what they do and pass on more watered down versions of others information. I really can't imagine what I would write about that topic that others have not already covered, so I find myself getting smacked with writer's block on a daily basis.
Today, I am going to dust off the writing way in the back of my computer. Stories about my daughter and other writing that I do simply because it brings me joy. Like Laura, I am going to write about the people and the things that I love.
I might not have found the Laura Ingalls Wilder that I was looking for in Pepin, Wisconsin but what I did find was the writer that I have always been. The one that writes for the love of the story and the people in those stories.
What is on my bucket list? To visit every place that Laura has written about and not just find Laura but also find the writer that she inspired over 30 years ago.
My mantra for life is "Live with passion". Today, I am reminded to write with that same passion.
Live With Passion
Bel
