Seeking Laura Ingalls Wilder Letters

PR Log (Press Release) – May 14, 2007 – During her lifetime as an author, Laura Ingalls Wilder responded to every fan letter she received, until the last 6 months of her life. She saved the fan letters  and all are carefully preserved. Ironically, her responses were scattered to the four winds and while some have come safely to rest in museums, archives, and libraries across the country, others currently reside in scrapbooks, the backs of drawers, in musty files, and in old shoe boxes tied up with ribbon and carefully put away. As interest in Laura continues to grow, now is the time to bring those letters to light.

Please help make sure those letters aren't lost forever. In conjunction with the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, repected Wilder authority Sarah S. Uthoff is seeking photocopies of Laura letters. These would be scholarly study copies only and will be deposited in the newly built archive room at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, Minnesota.

Uthoff is also seeking photos of any of the Wilder museum sites pre-1985 or photos of any special local Wilder events, such as gingerbread parties that you might have attended. Copies are accepted by photocopy, photograph, or scan sent by by e-mail. Thank-you for your help and please help to spread the word.

Send photocopies to:

Sarah Uthoff
Trundlebed Tales
P.O. Box 111
Solon IA 52333

Questions? Contact me at:
info@trundlebedtales.com

Uthoff has long been tracking letters in archives across the country and her campaign has brought to light several in libraries across the country, such as the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Public Library and the Grand Forks (Nebraska) Public library. Individuals from Iowa City to California have also contributed letters to the collection.

Interest in Wilder is high this year because it is the 75th anniversary of the publication of her first book, "Little House in the Big Woods." It is also the 50th anniversary of two the memorial societies founded in her honor the year she died and the 150th anniversary of her husband, Almanzo James Wilder's, birth. To learn more about Uthoff, the quest for letters, or the many celebrations of Wilder planned this year, visit http://www.trundlebedtales.com