Trundlebedtales

Today I'm going to be doing a reading from my favorite of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. An early major plot point in the book the Yankee uses an eclipse to get out of being held hostage and to gain power in the court.

I have two programs in April and there is a lot of stuff going on. There is another production of Little House on the Prairie: The Musical. There are two cast reunion events and Malone is starting a new event.

What happened in Laura Ingalls Wilder fandom during 2023.

In honor of Read Across America we're going to get another story from Thornton Burgess. His stories were originally published in magazines and in most of them they set up the next chapter. This particular one those is short stories. We're going to start with "Mr. Toad's Old Suit."

March is the start of the year’s Laura Ingalls Wilder season. It’s still pretty quiet. However, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum in Mansfield, Missouri is the first of the Laura homesites that close for the season to reopen each year. Walnut Grove and De Smet are both at least partially open all year, but with Mansfield’s opening it means that the Laura Ingalls Wilder season has officially begun! We've got an event in Burr Oak and a production of Little House on the Prairie: The Musical. This month will also be the long awaited 50th Anniversary event in Simi Valley.

My friend Kelly Pelzel and I headed down to Mansfield, Missouri for Wilder Days. We didn't get a roving report done at the time. We set up a time to record it and..... BlogTalkRadio wasn't doing live shows so I recorded it instead. Listen to all our tips as we get you to take a trip with us to Mansfield, Missouri, Wilder Days, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum.

What do people talk about? Normally people tell their Laura story. We all have one. How we discovered Laura and her booksWhat your favorite story is from the booksWhat’s the best thing in your Laura collectionWhat’s your favorite edition of the booksWhat’s the craziest thing did you do because it was a “Little House” thing (place visited, craft tried, book read) I hope to either hear from you live or…. Give Laura a Call and Give a Listen Call in (714) 242-5253 or toll free 1-877-633-9389 to call into the show.

February in Laura's birthday month so for a winter month we get a lot of action this month. A lot of it is online so you can participate. We'll have an online birthday party on this podcast and there will be one for the Walnut Gove Pageant where they celebrate with people who played Nellie in the pageant over the years.

January has an astonishing number of family dates. There are annual meetings for members in both Burr Oak, IA (Zoom link available for members) and Malone, NY. There basically weren't any Laura Christmas plays in production in December, but January is making up for it with 2 Little House on the Prairie: The Musical productions. 2024 is the 50th Anniversary of the Little House on the Prairie, the NBC TV series. Expect all sorts of events in its honor this year and they are starting to roll out.

December is not the busiest Laura month, but it does have several events restart with a Christmas theme. We have events in De Smet, SD; Spring Valley, MN; Mansfield, MO and a cast event. There are also events coming up with Trundlebed Tales and I am looking for your input for several questions.

Josh Gates, host of Destination Truth and Expedition Unknown and Josh Gates Tonight plus other Discovery channel shows, gives in person speeches and tours around the country. His current show is called AN EVENING OF LEGENDS, MYSTERIES, AND TALES OF ADVENTURE. It covers his time during the pandemic when Josh Gates Tonight gave us something of a lifeline. It tells about how he got the job he has now. He looks into how do science and the supernatural intercect. What's it like to attend one of his shows? Listen up and I'll tell you. 

We have events this time from The Newberry in Chicago, online with the Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association, Mansfield, MO, Cast Reunions at Non-Homesite Towns of More than 3 Cast Members, and looking ahead to Little House on the Prairie: The Musical.

This month two homesites are having their big Laura Ingalls Wilder event; Pepin WI and Mansfield MO. There is a smaller event in Malone/Burke NY. The larger fan events for the TV show have started up again. Find the complete list here: September 2023 Laura Ingalls Wilder Events – Sarah's Notebook (wordpress.com)

My friend Kelly Pelzel and I took an quick trip up to Walnut Grove to see the new pageant in July. After 45 years they have changed their pageant. They are taking the story and dividing it into three parts. The first one will have the most of the original pageant so they started with what will be the second of the trilogy. It’s called Chasing the Dream, 1875-1876. We also took a little time to hit some of the other places in town. This was Kelly's first trip to Walnut Grove. It wasn't a complete trip, but we saw a lot including getting in a good visit with William T. Anderson and Cindy Wilson.

August is growing as Laura Ingalls Wilder event month. Look for events in Pepin, WI: De Smet, SD; Spring Valley, MN; Malone/Burke, NY; and NBC Little House on the Prairie TV reunion events. 

July is one of the biggest Laura Ingalls Wilder event months. We're going to look ahead to events to Pepin, WI; Independence, KS; Walnut Grove, MN; De Smet, SD; Mansfield, MO; Malone, NY; Burke, NY; Old World Wisconsin; Eagle, WI; Nelson Pioneer Farm; Oskaloosa, IA; Project Archeology; and the Wilder Podcast.

June brings us into Summer and it's a big Laura month. Get the news from Pepin, WI, Independence, KS, Burr Oak, IA, De Smet, SD, and Spring Valley, MN.Then what's going on with the Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association and the South Dakota Historical Society Press. Are you going to an event this June?

Since this is late we'll go through some of the big events this year and what we're still looking forward to. Whether you're interested in the TV show, the museums, or books, there is a lot going on.

I didn't get a roving report episode although I didn't get to do it live. Instead I'm going to give you a full report of what it was like to attend this cast reunion and how it was different from other cast reunions. I'll include some ideas about what you should plan on if you make a Little House cast reunion trip. The cast included: Alison Arngrim (Nellie Olesen)Charlotte Stewart (Miss Beadle)Wendi Lou Lee (Baby Grace)Patrick Labyorteaux (Andy Garvey)Jennifer Donati (Baby Rose)  

Every year I do some reading in honor of World Read Aloud Day. It's every March 2nd in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday. Sometimes I do something Laura specific, but lately I've been doing Mother West Wind's Children by Thorton W. Burgess. For awhile I was doing short episodes as I tested various microphones, but today's is going to be my standard equipment. Learn more about Burgess and find a list of links to the other stories. Today we're doing "Why Peter Rabbit's Ears Are Long."