What's With All This Prairie Hoopla ?

Truth vs. Dramatic License on the Prairie

I’m sitting here at a farm in Pennsylvania trying to enjoy my morning ritual before getting all dolled up and standing outside in the horribly smokey air, for day five of a fourteen day shoot for my lifestyle brand, Modern Prairie.

I say trying to enjoy my morning ritual but something is really nagging at me this morning.

I have remained silent since the release of the new version of Little House on the Prairie. For two reasons; Honestly, I’m afraid that I am unable to be fully objective because I am too deeply involved to weigh in without emotion. Second, I really don’t think it is my place to weigh in. The audiences reactions should speak for themselves. Critics and pundits be damned.

All of that said, I do want to speak to an issue I am seeing run rampant on social media and in articles. That is whether or not the new Little House and the original version are historically accurate.

The short answer is no, neither are entirely accurate to the times nor the books.

For example, unlike on the new show, Laura Ingalls Wilder didn’t spend much real time in Independence, Kansas until she was sixty years old and on a road trip with her daughter Rose. Unlike the original show, the real Ingalls family only lived in Walnut Grove, Minnesota for a short while not years and years.

Here are a few more historical innacuracies from both versions;

The girls ages are completely wrong. Mary Ingalls never married. Carrie Ingalls was born in August, not on Christmas Day. There was no Albert Ingalls, or James or Cassandra for that matter. There was also no Jenny Wilder. Charles Ingalls’ brother did not fight or die in the Civil War. Nellie Olsen didn’t marry a Jewish man and give birth to twins. This list can go on and on.

My hope is that folks realize that these are all perfect examples of dramatic license. Even the real Laura took dramatic license in writing her books. For example, in the book, Little House on the Prairie, all three Ingalls girls are older than they were in real life.

So rather than getting all twisted up in what’s real and what’s dramatized, maybe just sit back and go for the ride the creative minds behind these shows want to take you on. If you like it, stick with it. If you don’t, you don’t have to watch.

If you are like me and still crave the actual, real, one hundred percent truth, then I suggest you watch, what I consider to be the definitive documentary on the subject of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

That documentary is PBS Laura Ingalls Wilder; From the Prairie to the Page.

It is directed by emmy-winner, Mary Murphy . Produced by Mchael Kantor and associate produced by my brilliant pal and walking encyclopedia of Laura Ingalls Wilder information, Christopher Czajka. You can find it on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.

I hope this helps to clarify things a bit. I truly believe there is lots and lots of room for many stories to come out of the Little House universe for decades to come. Maybe some day, someone will do a version that is word for word and scene for scene the books Laura wrote. Maybe someone will take the whole thing in a different direction and in a different timeline. Who knows.

The important thing is that the core tenets of Laura’s stories continue to resonate today. Those are, to be kind, to be charitable, patient, tolerant, open, curious, loving. To support those in need. To care for, nurture and love one’s family. To respect nature. and be grateful for her bountiful gifts. To love God and each other.

I think Laura herself said it best,

“As you read my stories of long ago, I hope you will remember that things truly worthwhile and that will give you happiness are the same now as they were then. It is not the things you have that make you happy. It is love and kindness and helping each other and just plain being good.”