1930s Party For Laura Ingalls Wilder

One hundred and fifty six years ago a baby girl was born in a tiny log cabin home in the big woods of Wisconsin. Yet her birth is still being celebrated today all over the world. Come join me for a 1930s Party For Laura Ingalls Wilder.

How Do You See Laura?

For many people when they think about Laura Ingalls Wilder I imagine that they picture her living as a pioneer girl on the frontier in the 1870s and 1880s. This makes sense as the Little House books are set during that time period. 

From the left – Carrie, Mary and Laura Ingalls circa 1879

Laura in 1884

But there was also an Edwardian era Laura.

Laura at the Rocky Ridge Ravine around 1900.

A 1920s Laura with Almanzo and Nero the dog in front of the Rock House.

 As well as Laura and Almanzo in their golden years. 

Laura In The 1930s

Recently I have been thinking about Laura in the 1930s. It was the Great Depression. The stock market crash of 1929 had financially decimated the Wilders. There was a real fear that they would lose their farm in Mansfield, Missouri. Laura’s daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, a successful author and reporter, encouraged her mother to write about her childhood memories.  Little House in the Big Woods was published in 1932. It was a smashing success so Laura continued writing. Eight books in the Little House series were published in her lifetime. That series of books have now been sold by the millions, translated into thirty-three languages and were the basis of the popular long running television series. 

In thinking about what Laura would have worn in 1930s I reflected on some key elements. 

Laura was a farmer. The Wilders had a dairy farm and a large apple orchard. She was proud of her prized Brown Leghorn chickens. You can see a listing of all the farm essays that Laura wrote  HERE. 

Like many women during this time Laura probably wore sturdy cotton dresses in her daily life. Perhaps they were even made from feed sacks. 

From letters and photos it’s known that Laura enjoyed pretty things such as floral dresses and was always well groomed. 

So I began researching patterns that would be appropriate for a woman in her 60’s to wear. 

Revival Designed 8769

A dress with fairly clean lines and minimal embellishments seemed appropriate. A historical pattern made available by Revival Designed was selected.

It should be noted that this pattern is probably best for a sewist who has some familiarity with vintage patterns. Such patterns have minimal instructions as they assume most individuals of that time period would have had an extensive knowledge of sewing methods. The dress features lapped seams. These are useful when design elements, such as points and curves, are a feature. The stitch uses a traditional right-sides-together method of construction. 

There is an extremely helpful online Facebook page where members can ask questions and share their makes. I myself asked for other options of finishing the neckline. 

Modifications made: the neckline was lowered by 2 inches in the front. I self drafted an interior facing to finish the neckline.  Two inches was also taken off the width of the belt to better suit my petite torso. 

This dress is quite comfortable to wear. I could easily gather eggs, pick apples or sit down to write for several hours. 

The vintage cotton calico fabric is a reproduction of a feed sack print. 

The fluttery sleeves are so fun. The belt buckle is a vintage find selected to match the buttons. 

There are a total of 12 buttons up the back. 

Buttons are a key design element in several of Laura’s books. So the dress had to have buttons! 

“Then she put on her fresh sprigged calico and buttoned up the back.” (Little Town on the Prairie, Chapter 8, Fourth of July).

1930s Party For Laura Ingalls Wilder

This is not the first party that I have given in Laura’s honor.

In celebration of her 150th birthday I gave a Town Party.

As well as a Country Party. 

But what would a birthday party for Laura look like in the early 1930s?

How would the table be set?

I considered that Laura was an accomplished needleworker. In The Long Winter Laura writes about embroidering leaves and flowers onto perforated cardboard to make a picture frame for Carrie’s Christmas gift.

She also felt great joy in the prospect of creating other projects.

There was a pasteboard box full of bright-colored yarns and another box filled with embroidery silks and sheets of perforated thin cardboard, silver-colored and gold-colored. Ma gave both boxes to Laura, saying, “You gave away the pretty things you had made. Now here are some lovely things for you to work with.” Laura was so happy that she couldn’t say a word. Chapter 32, The Christmas Barrel

In her later years Laura was a member of an embroidery circle in Mansfield. So I imagined that her table setting would begin with a lovely embroidered tablecloth and napkins. 

Next, came some amber colored Depression glass dishes given to our family by my dear friend Kelly. 

The silverplate was purchased by my great grandmother Lenora using S & H green stamps. 

Would Laura have had flowers on her table in deep winter? I answer that question in this accompanying video. 

The Menu

In planning the menu I researched what people often ate in the Depression era. Beans were a staple as was cornbread. 

Chili

While there is a recipe for Baked Beans in The Little House Cookbook I opted to make chili. 

• 1 pound of ground hamburger, chicken or turkey. (I chose chicken as a nod to Laura’s farm.) 
• One small white onion, diced
• A red pepper finely diced
• One 16 ounce can of diced tomatoes 
• An 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
• 16 ounce can of kidney beans, do not drain
• 2-3 teaspoons of chili powder
• Two cloves of garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Brown meat in a large pan with the pepper and onion. Drain off any fat. Add in the remaining ingredients to the pot. Simmer on low to medium heat for 20 minutes. 

You can serve it with sour cream, shredded cheese, or avocado. Whatever you might enjoy. 

Cornbread

I used the cornbread recipe found in The Little House Cookbook. The bacon drippings from breakfast were saved but somehow got tossed out. So the pan was greased with butter which Laura would have had access to as she had a dairy farm. As the recipe has no leavening agents, such as baking powder, the loaf barely rose. You can see it in the image below at the back of the table. 

The verdict: my family politely said I didn’t need to make it again. Smile. 

Easy Apple Crisp

While apple crisp would perhaps not be the first thing you think of for a birthday dinner Laura would have had apples galore in her cellar.

Last week I had made homemade oatmeal cookies. It was too big of a batch and several of the cookies went stale before they could be eaten. In thinking about how precious food was in the Depression era I simply crushed up the cookies and sprinkled them over this easy apple mixture. 

• 5 cups of sliced apples
• 2 to 4 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons of butter, more if needed

Mix the apples, sugar and cinnamon together. Cook in a large pan, with butter, over low to medium heat until the apples are soft.

Place the apples in a baking dish and cover with the crushed oatmeal cookies. Bake in a 350 degree over for 15 minutes. 

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, if desired. 

You can see me cooking the cornbread and apples in today’s video. As Laura often wore an apron I put on this cross back apron. 

Today’s Video

This special video shares creating the tablescape and menu preparations. It also features a reading from Little House on the Prairie. 

If you wish to view the video in a larger format just click on the black box in the lower left hand corner that says Watch on YouTube.

 

I hope you have enjoyed this latest installment of Lessons With Laura. You can find the complete list of previous Little House posts HERE. 

The complete video playlist can be viewed HERE. 

Happy Birthday Laura!

I’ll see you on Sunday.

Laura