A Rare Literary Find

The lost chapter

It's been quite a while since my last Little House post due to a very exciting event in the literary community....the discovery of a lost chapter of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Recently, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Preservation Society has been renovating the recreated cabin from Little House in the Big Woods. Buried in the right-hand corner, under the concrete foundation, was an old-looking package wrapped in brittle duct tape.

The contents were 5 typed pages that, after rigorous examination by a panel of experts, have been determined to be hand-written by Pa Ingalls himself. It details a previously unknown period of time in the Ingalls saga.

It seems that one fall a tragedy occurred that could have brought an early end to Laura's tales. Late one September, Pa suddenly realized that he had done no winterizing to the cabin all summer long. Winter was rapidly approaching, and without dramatic intervention, the family would freeze to death.

Undaunted by this seemingly insurmountable circumstance, Pa devoted the next month and a half to unceasing labor. His job was made harder by the fact that most of what he needed hadn't been invented yet. So Pa set to work creating a primitive oil refinery to develop the petroleum products he needed for covering the windows with plastic, a loom to create the first duct tape recorded, and a furnace to spin glass fibers for basic fiberglass insulation.

After invention came installation, and Pa spent many, MANY hours putting all of his clever devices into use. Of course, Ma was right by his side, and being gifted with truly hardy pioneer spirit, refrained from pointing out that if Pa had done it when he was supposed to, he wouldn't be in such a rush now.

When I learned of this stunning lost chapter, I simply had to include it in my blog. I have followed Pa's account as closely as possible, though of course all the products are already available to me. I don't have to invent them, thank goodness, because just installing them has proven to be enough of a project! It has been a truly unforgettable experience, but I am glad to be finished and ready to pick up the less strenuous "known chapters."