"I Remember Laura" Blog-a-thon, Musical Memories and Beautiful Books.....

During the course of her young life, Laura Ingalls Wilder was greatly influenced by music lovingly played on Pa's fiddle. The songs played by Pa and sang by Laura and her family spoke of many things: love, hope, family, and faith in God. Laura said, "Whatever religion, romance, and patriotism I have, I owe largely to the violin and Pa playing in the twilight."

Welcome to week four of the blog-a-ton. Today we will be sharing favorite books and/or music as well as the memories associated with them. Laura Ingalls Wilder had a great love of books and music. Books were a rare treat in Laura's young life and she devoured them when she could get them. They were much prized by the Ingalls family, but they were scarce. Reverently, the few volumes they possessed were carried from place to place in their covered wagon trips; they were read and reread.

Music was a part of her everyday life be it Ma humming as she worked, Pa's fiddle playing in the evenings, the family singing together, or Mary's organ music. "Pa's fiddle was so much a part of the Little House Books that it was almost a character in those stories. Like most fiddlers of his time, Pa Ingalls was probably self-taught as a musician. No one in the family thought to ask him how he acquired his fiddle on the frontier...On each move west, the fiddle was carefully packed among the quilts for safe keeping..." Musical Memories of Laura Ingalls Wilder
(photo~Charles "Pa" Ingalls fiddle which now resides at the museum in Mansfield, MO. Pa's fiddle was made in Germany around 1850.)

Charles Ingalls regularly entertained his womenfolk with spell-binding after-supper storytelling sessions, followed by his one-man fiddle concerts. "It puts heart in a man," Pa Ingalls said of those family evenings of story and song. Laura never forgot Pa's magical fiddle or story telling skills the were woven into her memories of home. What songs and books are special to you? Do you have a favorite memory that you associate with a book or song? Anyone is welcome to link up this week and share it.

On Wednesday's Prairie Post, we will visit the ancestors of Laura Ingalls Gunn, fourth cousin to Laura Ingalls Wilder. LIG has provided photos as well as family stories, so come and learn about another branch of the Ingalls family!

On Friday, sign up will begin for the GIVE AWAY, so be sure to drop by for a peek at the prize!

This coming Monday will conclude the blog-a-thon with sharing family heirlooms so be prepared to share your family treasures and to find out who the give away winner will be!

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Blessings,
Miss Sandy