Laura (Bush) Visits a Little House

Earlier this month First Lady Laura Bush visited Rocky Ridge Farm, site of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum near Mansfield, Missouri. Mrs. Bush and I are both lucky to share the name of one of our favorite authors. :)

Rocky Ridge is now part of the Save America's Treasures project, which Mrs. Bush explains in her remarks. (Click title of post for her speech.)

(Hat tip: Only Laura.)

Rocky Ridge is where Laura wrote the Little House series of books. I've been fortunate to visit twice, both as a child and again in the early '90s. On the latter trip I was also able to visit the Little House on the Prairie site near Independence, Kansas. What a thrill to see the Verdigris River and the location of Pa's well! There's a replica cabin at the site as well, which gives visitors a real feel for what it must have been like when the Ingalls family lived there.

It's thus very disturbing to learn that the heirs of Ed Friendly, producer of the LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE TV series, have sued the non-profit museum at the site for using the name LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE.

It's hard to fathom the greed that would cause the company to sue the actual site for using the very name Laura gave it!

You can listen to a story about the lawsuit at NPR.

Previous Little House posts: The Real Little Town on the Prairie, Children's Literature in the Weekly Standard, Little House Books: No Illustrations More 'Relevant'?, Little House Music Lives On, Little House: The Musical, A Little House Roundup, Melissa Gilbert to Play Ma in Little House Musical, and Entertainment News Roundup.