During my trip to southwest Missouri in late June, I had the opportunity to visit Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Mansfield, Missouri. Mansfield also happens to be the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author of the Little House on The Prairie (LHOP) books. The house where she wrote the books is now a museum. And Baker Creek Seeds has a simulated pioneer village that is free for visitors.
My grandniece, Bailey, is a big LHOP fan, as are several of her friends. They formed a LHOP fan club and have meetings where they read and discuss the books. I visited Baker Creek with her mother, my niece Cheryl, who thought a trip to Mansfield would be a great summertime field trip for the girls and was able to make it happen this week. On top of all that, they actually met Jere and Emilee Gettle, the owners of Baker Creek Seeds, in the village restaurant, which really makes me envious I wasn’t there.
It was a beautiful day and the girls had a great time. This is my niece, Bailey, on the right with a friend, posing in the village square. Although the perspective of the photo masks it, the site is quite hilly. The retaining wall in the background encloses the demonstration garden and you can see the hotel, mercantile store and apothecary buildings behind it.
The mercantile store carries dry goods, including bolts of cloth and patterns. They also feature hand made textile item like these country dresses the girls are trying on. Bailey bought the dress she is wearing with the profits from her lemonade stand, which should make club meetings more fun.
If you are planning a trip to Branson and have a LHOP fan in your family, consider allowing a day for a side trip to Mansfield to visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and the Baker Creek Pioneer Village. It’s well worth the time.
I used to be a LHOP fan too. Where do you think I first heard about watermelon rind pickles? Bossy Eliza (Almanzo's sister) mentioned it. I still have my whole set of the books, which my daughter enjoyed last year.
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